1. Innovation at Jockey Club Sarah Roe School The use of core vocabulary in alternative and augmented communication (AAC) and language learning Presented by Stephanie Eber (Speech and Language Therapist/head of therapy JCSRS) 2 October 2015

2.  What is core vocabulary  Why teach core vocabulary  How we teach core vocabulary at JCSRS  How students use core vocabulary at JCSRS Topics to cover:

3. Core vocabulary is a small set of simple words, in any language, that are used frequently and across contexts (Cross, Baker, Klotz & Badman, 1997) What is core vocabulary

5.  Limited set of highly useful words  Words apply across settings  Vocabulary is primarily pronouns, verbs, descriptors, and prepositions  Very few nouns are included in a core vocabulary  Consistent location of vocabulary Features of core vocabulary

6.  Core vocabulary can be combined with fringe vocabulary (category specific words, usually nouns) to form diverse and varied sentences on any topic  Students need to have access to both core and fringe vocabulary to truly communicate effectively  The number of core words displayed varies. You can start of with a small number of core words, or you can start with a high number of core words  Always present more than what the student can use for exposure and greater language learning

7.  Vocabulary growth and expansion for communication, reading, writing  Students can express a variety of communicative functions (requesting, commenting, protesting, asking, answering, share information, greet)  Students can communicate across contexts with all people  Increase the semantic and syntactic complexity of students’ utterances Why teach core vocabulary?

8.  A3 charts in each classroom with removable pictures How we teach core vocabulary at JCSRS

9.  The same core words in the same location as classroom charts used in students’ communication systems (eg. Proloquo2go)

10.  Use of core words in literacy tasks -Words included in class ‘word wall’ -Books (commercially available books and books created by therapists) with core words and phrases -Writing and typing core words

11.  Speech therapy sessions targeting particular phrases

12.  Students are encouraged to use core vocabulary words at all times to build up sentence structures  Students are encouraged to write/type core words in their written words to write grammatically correct sentences (for able students)  Teaching, modeling, encouragement, praise How students use core vocabulary at JCSRS

13. Stephanie.eber@jcsrs.edu.hk http://svy.mk/1QCjJhy – Evaluation formhttp://svy.mk/1QCjJhy Any questions