Episode 33: Morphology and morphological awareness with Julie Wolter
Aug 10, 2020
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Julie Wolter dives into morphology and morphological awareness, discussing language development, intervention strategies, and the importance of morphological awareness in literacy success. The conversation also explores the creativity of word formation and the significance of incorporating morphology in education and speech-language pathology. Additionally, the podcast touches on childhood books, parenting, and current research on morphology in early literacy.
Understanding morphology aids language development through morphemes and bound morphemes progression.
Morphological awareness enhances literacy skills by connecting orthography, phonology, and semantics.
Assessing and integrating morphological awareness in intervention strategies benefit children, especially those with language disorders.
Deep dives
Importance of Morphology in Language Development
Understanding morphology and morphological awareness is crucial for language development. Morphemes, the smallest units of meaning, play a significant role in language development where children start with base words and progress to understanding bound morphemes like plurals. Inflectional morphology, focusing on morpheme changes, develops first, while derivational morphology, changing a word's class, evolves over time. Morphological awareness aids children in manipulating and understanding units of meaning, ultimately enhancing language comprehension.
Integration of Morphology in Reading and Comprehension
Morphological awareness is essential for decoding words and comprehending language. Morphology acts as a 'binding agent,' connecting orthography, phonology, and semantics to enhance literacy skills. Children learn to decode words based on morphological units, and this awareness aids in reading comprehension by inferring meanings in context based on morphological strategies.
Assessment and Intervention Strategies for Morphological Skills
Assessing morphological awareness in children, particularly those with language disorders, is crucial for tailored intervention strategies. Standardized measures for morphological awareness are limited, leading to research-developed assessments like the 'farmer task.' Dynamic assessments, aiding in scaffolding learning, help children understand morphological relationships between words transparently or opaquely. Intervention practices integrate morphological awareness through structured literacy approaches and inquiry-based learning to enhance vocabulary and word analysis skills.
Educational Implications and Implementation of Morphological Awareness
Educators, including teachers and speech-language pathologists, should focus on developing knowledge of inflectional and derivational morphology to enhance instruction. Morphological awareness aligns with essential literacy components and aligns with Common Core standards. Establishing instructional goals that incorporate morphological strategies in decoding and comprehension settings can significantly benefit students, especially those with learning disabilities or language disorders.
Research Focus on Early Morphological Skills Development
Current research emphasizes early identification and intervention for morphological skills in children to prevent literacy challenges. Studies highlight the significance of integrating morphology and orthography in reading intervention programs. Dynamic assessment tools demonstrate that children as young as first grade can engage in morphological awareness tasks, suggesting the importance of early screening and treatment to support language and literacy success from an early age.