Part 2: The language we use with others

By Jenny Bowers

For this term, as there are many professional discussions and reports about the importance of language and vocabulary for children and young people, and how this appears to be in decline, I am writing a sequence of blogs all about language.

Last month I explored the language we use with ourselves and in this second blog I am going to be exploring the language we use with others.

Within education we have sector specific language. This is to be expected, after all there is specific terminology in finance, in business and in health. What is crucial for us to remember is that sometimes we are in communication with those not immersed in our specific sector.  For example, family of children, social workers, health sector workers and those within our locality. It is important therefore that we use language that bridges the conversations of individuals and brings people together. What we don’t want to do is appear condescending or superior. What we do want to is encourage and support others in using the technical and sector specific vocabulary, so that it can enrich and empower them in conversation.  We want them to feel they can contribute.

Working within the SEND field this becomes even more crucial as we have a lot of acronyms, words from other fields (health in particular) and very specific words that might mean something different to others. This means that it can be confusing, even for those working in education. Think of an Early Careers Teacher, a newly appointed teaching assistant or someone working in a school office.

How, therefore, do we go about managing the use of sector-specific vocabulary, without overthinking every single conversation and exhausting ourselves in the process? I’d like to recommend 3 top tips:

1. Recognise what language is education sector specific
2. Recognise what language is SEND specific
3. Consider your audience, what will they have heard before, what will they know, what would they use, what would support them to be active participants in the conversation?

Start by going to where information is in print, in policies, on your website, in the Local Offer and in your school SEN Information Report, for example.

• Is there a glossary?
• Are acronyms/abbreviations spelt out the first time? 
• Read these documents out loud to yourself. Read them to someone else.  Is there clarity, is there explanation, is there appropriate use of technical language that the reader can absorb and then utilise?

Now think about how you can improve these, if necessary, so that they are in ‘plain English’ with appropriate use of sector specific language, that is explained.

You can then think about how some of these phrases and technical language comes across in the conversations you have, and how you can use them better to support everyone in the conversation. This will come naturally to you once you notice and consider it, that is the beauty of language!  Awareness expands empathy. You will also begin to notice how people will use these terms and phrases back with you, or with others. You are empowering them to be part of the conversation as everyone is talking the same language. Through sharing the language of education and SEND in a way that also explains it this language becomes a bridge.

Now we have considered our use of technical and sector specific aspect of the language and how to remove this as a barrier to conversation. Next, we need to consider the primary or preferred language or way of communicating of those we are communicating with? Communication is a two-way flow. Have we also listened and incorporated their language into your vocabulary? Are we acknowledging the value and importance of their language? This might be through localised phrases and dialects, through cultural exchange or it might be through understanding that they prefer a certain terminology when it comes to a diagnosis or need.

Language has great power; to enable true and powerful dialogue, to find common ground, and by utilising it effectively it will lead to greater understanding. However, we need to find a way to value and utilise it in a way that is comfortable to us and comfortable to those we are speaking with.

Note I have used ‘with and not ‘to’. A subtle difference, but one that encapsulates what I have been talking about.

There has been a lot to absorb this month, and so next month I continue to consider language, how we hear it and how we respond to it and in December I will be exploring how it brings us joy!

What are your experiences and approaches to using language effectively with others?

#TeamADL regularly delivers accredited ‘Managing Difficult Conversations’ training, based on Harvard research.  You can find out more here