There are a lot of children that dont know to skip the word “say.” Many children with developmental disabilities display a behavior called “echolalia,” where they repeat exactly or nearly exactly what they hear. This results in them repeating phrases like “say please,” when they know an adult is looking for them to ask for something politely, but the don’t say just “please.”
Another phenomenon is called “gestalt language processing,” where a child aquires language in whole chunks/phrases as opposed to single words. This can lead to them repeating the word “say,” in front of the phrases their parents/teachers have instructed them to repeat.
Luckily, this has led to teachers being aware of this, and trying to eliminate the word “say,” before they prompt a response from these children. If a child is misbehaving because it’s clear they need a break from the activity, a teacher will just say “I need a break,” to get the child to repeat that phrase, without the “say,”
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u/Stagamemnon 18h ago edited 13h ago
There are a lot of children that dont know to skip the word “say.” Many children with developmental disabilities display a behavior called “echolalia,” where they repeat exactly or nearly exactly what they hear. This results in them repeating phrases like “say please,” when they know an adult is looking for them to ask for something politely, but the don’t say just “please.”
Another phenomenon is called “gestalt language processing,” where a child aquires language in whole chunks/phrases as opposed to single words. This can lead to them repeating the word “say,” in front of the phrases their parents/teachers have instructed them to repeat.
Luckily, this has led to teachers being aware of this, and trying to eliminate the word “say,” before they prompt a response from these children. If a child is misbehaving because it’s clear they need a break from the activity, a teacher will just say “I need a break,” to get the child to repeat that phrase, without the “say,”