Language Support Groups
Telethon Speech & Hearing’s Language Support Groups are a structured and systematic approach to supporting early literacy development.
A synthetics phonics based approach to teaching reading and spelling
Talkabout Language Support Group is for Years 1, 2 and 3 students who are having trouble learning to read, spell, write and who demonstrate delayed oral and written language. We follow the Sounds~Write and Talk for Writing programs. Both are evidence-based approaches to literacy instruction and are recommended by Dyslexia SPELD.
Run in very small groups before/after school, our Language Support Groups are a convenient and positive way to build your child's confidence and skills with literacy, language and school.
Talkabout Language Support Group runs for a block of nine to ten weeks (dependent on the school term). The weekly sessions are for two hours with one hour devoted to reading and spelling development and one hour devoted to oral language and writing development. Across the term, our sessions target:
Phonological and phonemic awareness skills
Explicit teaching of the alphabetic code
Spelling at word and text level
Reading at word and text level
Polysyllabic words (reading and spelling longer words)
Oral language development
Written language development
Story structure
Success through structure and a team-based approach
Children with speech and language difficulties or disorders are at greater risk of experiencing literacy and writing difficulties as they enter formal schooling. This is thought to be the case as both speech/language development and literacy development share some of the same cognitive processes (phonological/phonemic awareness, phonological memory, working memory, rapid automatic naming).
The science of reading, spelling and writing and many robust studies reassure us that while children with developmental speech and language difficulties or disorders may be at risk of literacy difficulties they can achieve reading, spelling and writing success through a structured, synthetic phonics based approach to literacy instruction and the use of oral rehearsal before the writing process.
Each Language Support Group is led by a Telethon Speech & Hearing teacher or speech pathologist who is Sounds~Write and Talk for Writing trained and certified.
Our teachers liaise with their students’ mainstream teachers to provide a team-based approach to each child’s literacy and language development and can share assessment results and student progress with mainstream teachers.
Talkabout Language Support teachers can also assist with setting Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals, share resources and learning strategies to be implemented in the classroom, and work with mainstream teachers to ensure the home workload between school and Talkabout Language Support Group is manageable and effective.
Eligibility & Enrolment
Talkabout Language Support Groups are available for students in Years 1,2 and 3. We offer support for children experiencing difficulties with reading, spelling, writing and oral and written language development, who can effectively work in a small group setting.
Your child’s Talkabout 5 teacher and/or mainstream teacher will be able to guide you in in deciding if our Language Support Groups are recommended to support your child’s literacy and language development.
You can also chat to our team directly if you’d like to discuss the suitability of the program for your child!
Places AVAILABLE for students in: Years 1 and 2
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Telethon Speech & Hearing acknowledges and thanks all individuals and organisations for their support of our centre, including: Channel 7 Telethon Trust, Channel 7 and The West Australian
