Facilitating pragmatic skills through role-play in learners with language learning disability

South African Journal of Communication Disorders

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Facilitating pragmatic skills through role-play in learners with language learning disability
 
Creator Abdoola, Fareeaa Flack, Penelope S. Karrim, Saira B.
 
Subject Speech-Language Pathology Role-play; Pragmatics; Language learning disability
Description Background: Role-based learning involves the process whereby learners acquire skills, knowledge and understanding through the assumption of roles within real-life settings. Role-play holds potential as an effective learning strategy for children; however, there is limited research on the use of role-play as a therapy method within the field of speech-language pathology. Children with language learning disability (LLD) typically present with difficulties in social communication, which can negatively affect their social and academic achievement.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of role-play as a therapy approach targeting the pragmatic skills of stylistic variation and requesting for clarification in learners with LLD.Method: The use of combined positivist and interpretivist paradigms allowed for the implementation of an embedded mixed methods design. An experimental pretest-posttest design was implemented. Eight participants, who were learners with a diagnosis of LLD, were purposefully selected. Data collection was conducted over five phases, utilising the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (4th Ed.) Pragmatics Profile, discourse completion tasks, session plans and session records. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and were supplemented by qualitative data from session records.Results: Results revealed improvements in stylistic variation and requesting for clarification post role-play intervention, with minimal changes in the control group. Limitations of the study have been reported for consideration when interpreting results.Conclusion: Role-play as a therapy approach targeting two pragmatic skills, stylistic variation and requesting for clarification, was found to be beneficial for learners with LLD. Recommendations for the implementation of role-play as a therapy approach were made.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor University of KwaZulu-Natal
Date 2017-07-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Mixed methods design
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajcd.v64i1.187
 
Source South African Journal of Communication Disorders; Vol 64, No 1 (2017); 12 pages 2225-4765 0379-8046
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/187/739 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/187/738 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/187/740 https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/187/737
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2017 Fareeaa Abdoola, Penelope S. Flack, Saira B. Karrim https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT