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Paula Tallal
Paula Tallal is a neuroscientist at Rutgers University and Co-Founder and a
Director of Scientific Learning Corp. Her research focuses on how the brain learns
and processes language, why language-learning problems arise, and how we can
prevent or correct those problems.
The statements below summarize some of her work.
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Learning allows “controlling one’s world,” so learning should be pleasant or
positively reinforcing. This is especially true of language-learning because
communications through language is the pivotal mechanism for most other
learning.
Language-learning and learning through the use of oral and written language is
not pleasant – and will be avoided – if language-related brain structures and
functions fail to adequately
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The rate at which the brain distinguishes phonemes and detects language patterns
strongly predicts language and learning outcomes.
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perceive differences in phonemes (sound bits that make up language),
detect phoneme and other language “patterns” (such as which sounds
usually go together, stress or accent regularities, etc.), and
do all this rapidly and efficiently.
Fluency with language requires processing of phonemes in the range of
tens of milliseconds. For example, the acoustic difference in “b” and “d”
in “bad” and “dad,” respectively, is 30-40 milliseconds.
Children with language impairments often process phonemes at the rate
of hundreds of milliseconds per phoneme.
Individually-adaptive computer programs or games, used intensively, can
reduce the time required to discriminate phonemes from 400 milliseconds
to less than 100 milliseconds per phoneme. Further, there are indications
that the time can be reduced further, eventually approximating the normal
range.
When children’s processing speed is adequate, they are said to be “phonologically
aware.”
Phonological awareness may have a genetic component, but most children’s
phonological awareness can be enhanced through abundant very early language
experience, especially in a positive emotional environment. The more practice
children have in hearing language and responding to it, the faster and more
efficient they become with oral and written language. Good language skills lead
to success with reading, and success with reading, to success in school and
beyond.
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Parents can help their children increase their phonological awareness through
simple home-based activities (see Tallal’s short article below, published by the
Cherab Foundation).
Phonological Awareness Activities
by Paula Tallal PhD
Phonics approaches focus on helping a person understand that words can be broken
down into smaller units, or sounds and it is these sounds that need to be attached to letters
and then combined again to pronounce a word. The best approach to helping a person
understand this (called phonological awareness) can be done by simply playing a few
simple word games.
For example, practice recognizing the sound (not the letter name) at the beginning of a
word, and then think of other words that begin with that same sound. (The problem with
teaching the letter names rather than the sounds in words is that the letter NAME may not
actually occur in a word that includes that letter. For example, the letter name for B does
occur in the word "before," but not in the word "balloon," even though both begin with
the same letter. However, both begin with the letter sound "bah" as do all other words
that include this letter. So it is much better to teach a person the letter sounds first rather
than the letter name and then to play word games that help them find a particular sound in
spoken words.)
After working on initial letter sounds, see if the person can say whether that sound is
inside or at the end of spoken words. Do not introduce the actual written letter until this
skill is well mastered.
Once the letter sounds can be recognized within words, it is usually easy to learn which
letter(s) goes with each sound. Start with consonants and do vowels after consonants are
mastered.
Another game is to say what a word would sound like without the first sound. For
example, ask "How would you say the word STOP without the first SOUND (S)?" Play
this game orally; do not use letters or writing. The answer is that the word STOP without
the first sound (s) is the word TOP.
You can also move on to final sounds once the person can master the initial sound
deletion task. For example : "How do you say the word PLATE without the last sound
(T)?" Answer: PLAY.
If someone has trouble doing these games you can start with compound words to give
them the idea. Example: "How would you say the word COWBOY without the COW?"
Answer: BOY.
Another good word game is rhyming. Begin by pronouncing a word like HAT and ask
the person to say a word that rhymes with HAT, such as CAT, MAT, SAT, etc. Think of
words that have lots of rhymes. Play this game orally at first. Next you can show the
person how rhymes work by making up a card that just has the rhyme part on it, like AT
and then thinking up new first SOUNDS that, when attached to AT, will make up a word.
Then, using a series of cards with single letters on them, find the letter that goes with that
first sound and put it in front of the AT, showing how sounds/letters can be combined to
make new words.
All of these games are designed to get the idea across that words can be broken up into
sounds, and that it is these sounds that must be attached to letters in order to learn how to
read.