using the strategy of context to understand ambiguity
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Students with language difficulties are usually unaware that
language can be used non-literally and typically neglect to use
contextual cues to predict or derive meanings.
Understanding of what meaning lies beneath the surface of
spoken and written language can make a significant contribution
to social inclusion, participation in the workplace, friendship
group, and close relationships.
The DfES programme of study guidance En1 states that learners
“should learn to be flexible, adapting what they say and how they
say it to different situations and people”.
Working with adolescents can be challenging in finding inspiring
ways for them to take on board and learn strategies that they can
apply to a variety of situations. The use of context to work out
meaning is one such strategy that, once learned, can be applied to
different spoken and written situations. The use of music as a
medium to teach this strategy is highly motivating for young
people and engages them at different levels.
Young people with communication impairments are often
unaware of the meaning behind some slang phrases and that they
may be offensive to others, thus placing them in a vulnerable
position in the wider community. Alternatively they may over-
react to some of the slang used - particularly to swearing or
innuendo which also can cause them to be ridiculed by
unsympathetic peers. Thus, some of the additional work carried
out in this topic revolves around understanding the use of such
language, and at times the need to tolerate other people using
slang language in appropriate social situations.
Thus, therapy sets out to teach a context strategy to students to
use to begin to develop their awareness and understanding of this
aspect of language. Baseline and post-therapy measures were
used to see if use of the strategy increased their general
understanding of the narrative and supported the ability to work
out possible meanings of ambiguous language.
Song Lyrics • To give you an idea of the type of song used here are some of
the lyrics to “Fit but you know it” by “The Streets”
• „Fit but you know it‟ was the song used for the therapy
FIT BUT YOU KNOW IT
Verse 1
“Scuse me girl, I know it’s a bit embarrassing but I just noticed
some tan lines on your shirt”
See I reckon you‟re about an 8 or 9
Maybe even 9½ in 4 beers time
That blue top‟s some top you‟ve got on, is nice
Bit too much fake tan though, but yeah you score high
But there‟s just one little thing that‟s really really really really
annoying me about you, you see
Yeah yeah like I said you are really fit
But my gosh, don‟t you just know it.
CHORUS
I’m not trying to pull you
Even though I would like too
I think you are really fit
You’re fit but my gosh don’t you know it.
Examples of errors in understanding before the
students learnt to use the context strategy:
• For “you‟re about an 8 or 9”, students interpreted this as the
girl‟s dress size, rather than rating her attractiveness and how this
will get better the more alcohol he drinks (“Maybe even 9½ in 4
beers time)!
• Some students understood the slang for „fit‟ and „pull‟ but
found the whole meaning of the chorus difficult to understand – I
think you are good looking but you think a lot of yourself so I
don‟t want to be with you.
MethodologyParticipants• 9 students with a variety of communication disorders took
part.
• The therapy was delivered in a group
MethodPre-therapy baseline assessment completed
• Students listened Avril Lavigne‟s “Skater Boy”.
• Students completed worksheet to answer questions about the
meaning of the song and the slang used.
• Students also rated how easy/difficult they found the task.
• Only support given was reading or writing answers for students
who have literacy difficulties.
Therapy• Song used was „Fit but don‟t you know it‟ by “The Streets”.
• Therapists checked student understanding of context and when
they may have encountered this in the past.
• Students introduced to the use of context strategy and the idea
that slang occurs within a given context
AcknowledgmentsWith thanks to the young people of St Catherine‟s School and Grove Hill
FE Centre for working so hard on this module.
Figure 4. Graph shows the percentage of phrases
understood by the whole group
Conclusion/DiscussionThe results showed that the context strategy improved the young people‟s
understanding of the story of the song, and the non-literal language such as
idioms and slang in the song. Students are encouraged to use this strategy
throughout the curriculum and in social situations to work out the meaning
of ambiguous language both spoken and written. This has helped the
students to generalise this strategy.
Adolescents‟ language broadens as their exposure to different situations
grows, for example, going to a pub. For some students during therapy it
was important for them to practice not over-reacting to slang and swear
words, and to learn to respond appropriately. They have also been
encouraged to practice this in the community. The therapy helped their
understanding of non-literal language - when it is and isn‟t appropriate to
use the language, as well as how to respond to others using slang and
possibly offensive language. The therapy therefore supports their personal
safety.
Students were motivated in the therapy sessions because the content was
relevant to them. As most therapeutic interventions have been designed for
younger children, and are not so appropriate for this age range, it is
important to develop therapy that adolescents can relate to.
Developing pre- and post-therapy measures for given areas of specific
intervention is important for measuring the effectiveness of that therapy. By
starting small as we have done for this project, it allows for the
development of more effective pre- and post-therapy measures which can
then stand the rigours of more robust statistical analysis.
From our findings, we now would like to revisit the pre- and post-
assessments to look at making them more robust and add extra
measurements multiple choice for meaning of ambiguous phrases and a
way of checking if students can generate other times when this language
may be used!
Rachel Mathrick and Tina Meagher, SLTs St Catherine‟s School Isle of Wight
Literature citedDfES (2005) 14-19 Education and Skills
LONDON: HMSO
[1] http://www.nc.uk.net/
RINALDI, W. (1995), Language impaired teenagers'
comprehension of pragmatic meaning: a focus on
ambiguity, implications for practice. International
Journal of Language & Communication Disorders,
30: 515. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-6984.1995.tb01747.x
For further informationPlease contact [email protected] or
[email protected]. A copy of the poster can be obtained by
emailing the above.
Please see St Catherine‟s School website www.stcatherines.org.uk for
further information on the school and Grove Hill F.E. Centre.
“Language Through Lyrics”
Using the Strategy of Context to Understand Ambiguity,
Idioms and Slang in Song Lyrics
Methodology continued
The use of the Context Strategy1. Listen to the song.
2. Follow the words while you‟re listening.
3. Think about it a verse at a time.
4. Work out the context – work out what‟s happening.
5. Use colours to denote answers to the different questions.
Who is in the song?
When is it happening?
Where is it happening?
What‟s happening?
How are they feeling?
Why is it happening?
6. Pick out words or phrases you don't understand or are not sure
7. Find a picture using „Google‟ images to go with the word or phrase*
8. Use the picture to think about the literal meanings
9. If the literal meaning doesn‟t fit use the context to think what the slang
and sayings could mean.
*ensure appropriate safety filters are activated on computer
• Time allowed for discussion about the meaning of the slang and other
contexts this slang might be used in
• Discussed appropriate/inappropriate situations to use/not use specific
slang
Post-therapy assessment• Due to the results of individuals in pre-therapy baseline, the same song
was used
• The same question proforma is used for both pre- and post-therapy
assessments
• Pre- and post-therapy assessments are compared to see if the student has
made progress.
Results A rating scale was used to measure the students evaluation of the task.
Most students rated the post therapy task as easier. However, one of the
students rated the task as more difficult and this seems to relate to an
increased level of awareness on his part.
Student progress was also measured against their understanding of the
narrative of the story by (a) generating what they thought the song was
about, (b) choosing the main idea of the song from a choice of three
options (i.e. multiple choice)
Students understanding of ambiguous, slang and idiomatic language was
measured by asking students to generate possible meanings for 9 phrases
related to the song. The results show that all students were able to use a
context strategy to work out what the overall meaning of the story was
about. The results also show that using this strategy is effective to help
work out possible meanings for ambiguous language in lyrics. See figures
3 and 4.
Figure 3. Graph showing students understanding of
the narrative of the song
.
Figure 1. Visual supports for ‘when’, ‘where’,
‘who’ and ‘what happened’ questions Figure 2. Literal and non-literal meanings of ‘pull
you’
What is the meaning of „pull you‟?