Language From Head to Toe

Posted on Monday December 21st, 2015 by Michèle Minor-Corriveau

Welcome to my blog: Language from Head to Toe !

What is the purpose of this blog, you ask? My goal is to encourage each and every person who interacts with children and adults with written and oral language difficulties to have a more mindful approach to intervention. Intervention is teaching and teaching is intervention.

Key concepts: My blog will be aimed mostly at the main language modalities: oral (i.e., speaking and understanding) and written language (i.e., writing and reading, and of course spelling).

My promise: Each post will appear in French as well as English whenever possible. Topics will relate to oral and written language. Posts published in both languages may not always be identical, giving bilingual readers some level of novelty, should he/she be interested in taking a glance at both posts.

What can you expect to find in this blog? You can count on anything that relates to language, learning and teaching. I will share posts that relate to oral and written language, learning difficulties and provide tips that can help students maximize their potential. You will find reflections in response to something I’ve seen, read or discovered… something I am compelled to share with all of you. I will use my dashboard to share research results from studies that have previously been published by friends, colleagues and students, as well as others that are hot off the press. I will gladly showcase their poster presentations to give you a first-hand account of research findings, even before they are officially published.

Logo : Though two hands or two butterfly wings may seem purely symmetrical, upon careful examination, one notices that they are in fact quite distinct. The butterfly logo comprised of hands and a foot speak to the asymmetry of oral and written language; of comprehension and expression; of reading, writing and spelling; of French and English. The foot used as the body of the butterfly represents that effective communication skills are required as a foundation for academic success.

While some strategies are found to be useful in both languages or both language modalities, oral and written language skills are NOT mirrors of one another. Both modalities (oral and written) deserve to be tended to specifically and explicitly. Though some skills will transfer from one language to another, while others will need to be taught directly within the context of the targeted language. Teamwork can not only enhance the struggling students’ experience in learning these skills, but it is essential to their academic success.

The success stories and challenges shared on this blog will help to better enlighten the processes involved in learning to read, write and communicate and assist parents and teachers help their children or students maximize their potential for growth, in both French and English whenever possible. At times I will describe how technology can be used to support students in their efforts to achieve better spelling abilities as well as reading automaticity and comprehension.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog and that you will share it with all those who may be interested by the various topics. Please feel free to ask questions or suggest topics. Whenever possible, I will integrate these topics in future posts if I deem that my experience is sufficient to shed some light on the matter.

Happy reading. Stay tuned. My next post should come shortly.