Streng Alice H. Syntax, Speech & Hearing. Applied linguistics for teachers of children with language and hearing disabilities

Grune & Stratton, Inc., 1972. — 290 p.Language that is learned naturally through the ear develops so spontaneously, so effortlessly, and so early in life that one seldom stops to think about the process as a remarkable human feat. But when it is considered from the stand point of children who have difficulty in their initial language learning, it unveils itself as a very complicated intellectual task. One of the most evident conditions that prevent the natural learning of language is lack of hearing present at birth or acquired at a very young age. Other conditions that could deter the acquisition of language include faulty auditory perception, inability to relate spoken or graphic symbols to referents,
inability to recall symbols, and very low intellectual capacity. Whatever the cause of linguistic deviance, the children who do not learn language naturally will need the guidance of teachers in acquiring an understanding of and proficiency in using language.
Anyone who aspires to teach English to children with language-learning problems will be a better tutor if he understands the manner in which language normally develops. Beyond that, he must be thoroughly grounded in the grammar, or syntax, of English. It would be quite unusual for an instructor in physics not to have a thorough theoretical knowledge of his subject, but it is not unusual to find teachers of language-handicapped children who are not adequately prepared for their task. The ability of a person to communicate his thoughts clearly in the spoken and written forms of language does not guarantee that he can teach children his own skills. He needs a thorough and detailed knowledge of how his language operates. This book is designed to present to teachers the minimum essentials of English grammar that are necessary for them to under stand in order to guide children toward competent use of English. No single book could possibly include all the fine details of the grammar of a language.
Therefore, only those aspects which are elementary and basic and which seem relevant to teaching children with language deficiencies have been included in this text.