Natalie: Looking at word use
Chapter two: Introductory level
Embedded Files
Task one
Task one
Watch the three video clips of the interview with Natalie. Write down your initial thoughts about Natalie’s communication in the interview.
Response sheet for Natalie (PDF, 119KB)
Clip one
Clip one
Natalie talking about how well she understands the tutors’ instructions at the college she attends.
Clip two
Clip two
Natalie asking the interviewer for some help with some of the words she is trying to say.
Clip three
Clip three
Natalie talking about her work experience placement.
No feedback for this task.
Task two
Task two
Watch the first video clip again carefully.
Observe and reflect: How would you describe Natalie’s speech, language and communication skills?
Make notes using specific extracts from the interview as evidence to support your observations.
Task two feedback
Natalie reports that sometimes she prefers people to explain things to her in a way that is structured and broken down into smaller stages, ie ‘step by step’. She finds small chunks of information which use simpler language easier to follow than lots of instructions all at once.
Natalie finds long and complex language difficult to follow. Natalie is able to reflect on strategies which help her, for example when she gets confused, she asks the person to repeat what they said again.
Using this strategy shows that Natalie is able to monitor how well she understands. This is a valuable skill to learn and is often referred to as a ‘comprehension monitoring’ strategy. Some young people who find it difficult to understand others talking to them may benefit from learning how to be better at comprehension monitoring.
This involves supporting the young person to practise:
Being able to self-monitor and identify when they do not understand an instruction or information.
Feeling able and confident to ask for repetition or clarification. Young people sometimes need to practise different ways of asking for clarification, such as asking the person to repeat the information, slow down or to break the information down into smaller chunks which is easier to follow and process.
Task three
Task three
Watch clip two again.
Natalie is giving tips on how to live life well. What do you observe about her communication in the interview and in particular, the words Natalie uses in this clip?
Task three feedback
In this clip, Natalie is able to communicate effectively, showing skills such as the ability to use appropriate eye contact and turn-taking. She is comfortable asking the interviewer to support her to use words she wants or is trying to say. Her responses relate to the interviewer’s questions and the conversation develops clearly and logically.
At two points in the interview, Natalie asks the interviewer to help her say the words she wants to. She checks that she has used ‘enthusiastic’ correctly and then the interviewer helps her to use the word ‘responsible’.
Natalie says, “I’ve got a few good words but I can’t get it out of my head”. This shows that Natalie considers that she knows the words she wants to say but for some reason, it is difficult for her to say them. This is sometimes described using the term ‘word finding difficulty’, also referred to as a word retrieval difficulty or naming impairment.
Word finding difficulties can be characterised by:
Short or longer pauses while the young person tries to think of the word they want to say.
During the pause, the young person may be described as ‘searching’ for the word.
A young person saying a ‘wrong’ word or a word they do not want to say. This word may sound similar to the target word or may be similar in meaning.
The young person having a better understanding of words when compared to their ability to say the words.
Natalie searches for the word ‘responsible’ for a short time before she thinks of it, and then has difficulty remembering the word correctly. After a short pause, Natalie gives a further answer “respons-”. The interviewer then suggests “responsible”. She then says, “it’s gone now, again” when she tries to give another answer.
When Natalie is searching for a word, the interviewer does not interrupt and Natalie has time to think through her answers. In a busy classroom or group discussion, it may be more difficult to quickly make a contribution to conversations.
Task four
Task four
Watch clip three again.
Natalie is talking about the work experience she does through college. What do you observe about her communication and in particular, how she explains the work she does in the café to the interviewer?
Task four feedback
Natalie talks enthusiastically about her work experience. She is keen to share information about the work experience, talking about the new recipe she has learnt and the skills she has practised this week. Her answer is interesting and relevant to the conversation. She uses humour well in the conversation and adds interesting detail such as the importance of removing the “dead man’s fingers”.
Natalie has remembered key terms such as “crab patties” and “dead man’s fingers”, and important facts (the “dead man’s fingers” are poisonous if eaten). She does not remember all of the details of her work experience.
Natalie mentions that her difficulties with maths make working on the till a bit difficult for her. She mentions that she has dyscalculia (referring to it as “dyscalculate”). The term dyscalculia refers to a specific difficulty or impairment with numbers.
Information about the condition dyscalculia
Natalie has a positive attitude towards learning and her own strengths and difficulties. She is able to identify areas where she benefits from support and is able to describe her positive progress in college.
Summary task
Summary task
Summarise your thoughts on Natalie’s speech, language and communication skills.
What have you learned from watching this?
How will your learning impact on your own professional practice?
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