Transcript I want to learn more! - Oral Language and Literacy

Syntax
Syntax
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An Overview and Implications for Instruction
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Jayne Jaskolski
Sue Saynay
Rosalie Schatzman
Julie Steuber
Syntax =
The study of phrases, clauses and
sentences.
(Parker & Riley, 2010)
Important Concepts
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Category
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Lexical
Phrasal
Important Concepts
Left-to-Right ordering S
 Phrase structure rules
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NP - VP
Left-to-Right ordering
Permissible elements for each type of phrase
Optional phrases
Tree diagrams
recursion
Important Concepts
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Constituents: 2+ words dominated entirely & exclusively by a single node
Hierarchical structures: the grouping of phrases and words.
1. Structural ambiguity:
Example: “Old men and women.”
Old [men and women].
[Old men] and women.
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Resolving ambiguous pronoun reference:
Example: “American history teacher”
[American history] teacher
American [history teacher]
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Processing passive sentences
Example: The dog licked the boy.
The boy was licked by the dog.
Structure in Strings
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Some words: the a small nice big very boy girl sees likes
Some good sentences:
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Some bad sentences:
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the boy likes a girl
the small girl likes the big girl
a very small nice boy sees a very nice boy
*the boy the girl
*small boy likes nice girl
Can we find subsequences of words
(constituents) which in some way behave alike?
Structure in Strings
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Some words: the a small nice big very boy girl sees likes
Some good sentences:
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Some bad sentences:
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(the boy) likes (a girl)
(the small girl) likes (the big girl)
(a very small nice boy) sees (a very nice boy)
*(the boy) (the girl)
*(small boy) likes (the nice girl)
From Substrings to Trees
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(((the) boy) likes ((a) girl))
boy
the
likes
a
girl
Node:
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((the) boy) likes ((a) girl)
Deliberately chose constituents so each one has
one non-bracketed word: the head
Group words by distribution of constituents they
head (part-of-speech, POS):
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the point in the tree diagram that can branch.
Noun (N), verb (V), adjective (Adj), adverb (Adv),
determiner (Det)
Category of constituent: XP, where X is POS
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NP, S, AdjP, AdvP, DetP
Node Labels
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(((the/Det) boy/N) likes/V ((a/Det) girl/N))
S
NP
DetP
the
boy
likes
NP
DetP
a
girl
Development of Syntax
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Grammatical skills by age:
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Early grammatical knowledge
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Telegraphic utterances
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Grammatical morphemes
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U-shaped developmental pattern
I sitted down. Three mouses.
Questions and negations
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24-36 months old or around the 400 word milestone
The progression of inflections
Over regularization
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15-24 months old
More cookie.
We going store?
No, go home.
I not know.
Complex expressions
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We went to the store and I got a toy.
Byrnes & Wasik, 2009
Factors that Affect the
Development of Syntax
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Theories
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Learning /behaviorist
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Nativist
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Grammatical knowledge is inherent
Working memory
Constructivist
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Reinforcement is the key.
emphasis on children’s ability to consciously utilize skills and problem solving abilities to build
their grammatical structures
aligns with schema theory.
Emergentist
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Born with ability to produce language
Environment provides cues that will be mirrored
Byrnes & Wasik, 2009
Common Core Standards: By the end of 5th Grade
Children Will Demonstrate Mastery In . . .
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Written Language
Writing
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Write:
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Opinion pieces
Informative/explanatory texts
Narratives
Research pieces
Use conventions of Standard English:
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Conjunctions, prepositions, &
interjections
Correctly form & use verb tenses
Use correct punctuation
Oral Language
 Listening & Speaking
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Engage in collaborative discussions
Adapt speech according to situations: using
formal English when required
Pose and respond to specific questions
Summarize text and/or discussions
Be aware of the connection to the standards….
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Students will…..
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Speak clearly
Speak in and write complete sentences
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Use appropriate sentence structure (word order, pronouns, verbs)
Ask questions
Tell personal stories
Follows single step directions
Follows multiple step directions
Use formal English in appropriate circumstances
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Which includes knowledge of conventions
Instructional Implications –
Written Language (reading and writing)
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Classroom Implications
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Discussions
Book buddies
Parental help inside and outside of the classroom
Clarify and extending story and writing
Think alouds before, during and after reading
Teacher modeling and instructing- during reading and writing experiences
The best way to get children to write more complex sentences is by sentence combining (Scott,
2009).
Children must have a foundation of grammatical knowledge to become successful readers and
writers (Byrnes & Wasik, 2009).
Instructional Implications –
Oral Language (speaking and listening)
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Teachers should provide….
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Substantive conversation everyday
Rich talk- sentence structure, vocabulary, etc….
Cognizant about what you are saying and how you are saying
it…..directions, explanations, discourse conversations
Not just about learning themes…Zoo…but about Fossils and Rainforest….
Development of
reading, writing, speaking and listening
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Talk and print are different and teachers should expose students to both.
Assessment to guide instruction
Both skills develops over time
Small group, large group, center time
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Everyday conversations
Shared storybook reading
Songs, rhymes and word play
Story telling
Circle time
Dramatic play
Model formal English
Speak clearly
Diverse populations
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ELL students
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Home language into classroom through literature
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Promote home school relations
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Support and recognize transition from home language to standard English language
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Knowledge of the structure and cognitive processes of language in students first
language…and how that impacts learning the grammar and conventions of English
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Develops over time…object: paper, verb + noun :put paper, sentence: I put the paper
on your desk.
Students with special education needs:
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Aware of language deficits and strengths that affect spoken and written language
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Assess, instruct, assess, instruct –be intentional
Both:
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Model language-both spoken and written
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Provide opportunities for them to practice, question, retell, and share ideas
References
Byrnes, J.P. & Wasik, B.A. (2009). Language and literacy development: What
educators
need to know. New York: The Guilford Press.
Parker, F. & Riley K. (2010). Linguistics for non-linguists: A primer with exercises. Boston: Allyn
& Bacon.
Scott, C.M. (2004). Syntactic Contributions to Literacy Learning. In C.A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B.
J. Ehren, & Apel, K. (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders
(pp.340-362). New York: The Guilford Press.
Scott, C.M. (2009). A case for the sentence in reading comprehension. Language, Speech, &
Hearing Services in Schools, 40(2), 184- 191.)