SPEECH-LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT AND EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES: AN APPRAISAL OF NIGERIAN TEACHERS’ ROLES TO APHASIC PUPILS

Résumé

Language delays and speech language impairment altogether called communication disorders are conditions that make it difficult to communicate effectively using language. Communication is disordered when it is impaired, reflecting a distraction to the message, as proper flow of information is distorted. This study investigates the effect of speech language impairment on pupils’ academic performance and the roles of teachers to aphasic pupils. It uses questionnaire and interview approach to elicit how teachers have assisted pupils with aphasia. The study reveals that Nigerian teachers have done very poorly in playing their roles towards aphasic pupils. The findings reveal that many primary school teachers do not have job satisfaction and thus are not ready to give any extra assistance to pupils with the disorders. Again, many teachers are not properly trained on how they can assist disordered pupils as most of them see their job as a means of survival. It concludes that lack of job satisfaction and training of teachers are the major causes of poor attention to aphasic pupils, and recommends that teachers should be well trained and paid to boost their readiness to give maximum attention to pupils with aphasia.