Language Labs are words and activities to fill in language gaps for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.  Remember, typically language is learned by just being around language. Even an infant might not understand the words but they are piling up and building a "library" of knowledge in that baby's brain. Children who are deaf and hard of hearing usually miss that effortless language learning, so parents and professionals have to make sure there are no missing gaps in vocabulary and language development. 

Enter Language Labs! Use them like a checklist to make sure your child/client knows all the words (spoken/signed/both.)Make sure your child understands the word/concept expressively (what they are saying/signing) and receptivelly (listening/signing comprehension.) Pick a topic and find out which Phase to start with. 

Use them like a checklist to make sure your child/client knows all the words (spoken/signed/both.) Make sure your child understands the word/concept expressively (what they are saying/signing) and receptively (listening/signing comprehension.) Pick a topic and find out which Phase to start with.

Phase 1: The 500 most frequently used words and/or the words that are typically learned first.

Phase 2: The next 500 most frequently used words.

Phase 3: The basic minimum words that are needed to begin a reading program in kindergarten/1st grade.

Phase 4: The rest of the words that a child knows by age 8.

Don't use flashcards (or not all flash cards)! After you pick a topic area, use the words in their appropriate phase until they know the words-expressively and receptively.

We've included several activity ideas on each Language Lab, and there are more on our Pinterest page, https://www.pinterest.com/beginningssc/.