Speaking characteristics Potential strategies
  • Add, substitute or rearrange sounds in words, as in phemomenon for phenomenon or Pacific for specific.
  • Help learners recognize this challenge.
  • Work on vocabulary and phonetic skills such as: word-part highlighting and visually highlighting the differences in the words.
  • Make a list of words that they commonly substitute to help them increase their awareness and ability to self-monitor.
  • Provide practice listening for, identifying and producing the sounds.
  • Omit or use grammatical markers incorrectly, such as tense, number, possession and negation.
  • Help learners become aware of this challenge.
  • Determine what areas are incorrect most frequently and make these the focus areas for remediation.
  • Use a similar sounding word, like generic instead of genetic.
  • Use the wrong form of a word, such as calling the Declaration of Independence the Declaring of Independence.
  • Help them recognize this challenge.
  • Work on vocabulary and phonetic skills such as: word-part highlighting and visually highlighting the differences in the words.
  • Make a list of words that they commonly substitute to help them increase their awareness and ability to self-monitor.
  • Provide practice listening for, identifying and producing the sounds.
  • Use the same words over and over in giving information and explaining ideas.
  • Have difficulty in conveying ideas.
  • Work on building vocabulary.
  • Encourage learners to write down their thoughts prior to speaking.
  • Use mostly simple sentence construction.
  • Overuse and to connect thoughts and make statements.
  • Build vocabulary through the use of word-building, word maps that give words to concepts that are part of a theme, and personal dictionary strategies.
  • Have problems giving directions or explaining a recipe.
  • Talk around the topic, but don’t get to the point.
  • Help learners recognize this challenge.
  • Have them write down key points and use them as a reference when talking or providing information.
  • Teach learners to plan, make notes and rehearse when preparing for important communications.
  • Interject irrelevant information into a story.
  • Start out discussing one thing and then go off in another direction without making the connection.
  • Help learners recognize this challenge.
  • Help them understand the components of a story.
  • Encourage learners to write down their thoughts before speaking.
  • Encourage learners to slow down and pace themselves.
  • Can’t call forth a known word when it is needed and may use fillers, such as “ummm,” and “you know.”
  • May substitute a word related in meaning or sound, as in boat for submarine or selfish for bashful.
  • Help learners recognize this challenge.
  • Encourage learners to write down their thoughts, including key words, prior to speaking.
  • Do not follow rules of conversation like taking turns.
  • Do not switch styles of speaking when addressing different people.
  • Help learners recognize this challenge.
  • Provide individualized practice listening for and identifying different styles of speech and practise taking turns and following the rules of conversation.