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Abstract

A national survey of educators and speech-language pathologists was conducted to determine current perceptions and practices regarding figurative language instruction. The overall survey response rate (N=806)was 69%. Results showed that the majority of respondents provided either formal or informal figurative language instruction to students; fourth grade teachers taught figurative language more often than third grade teachers, special educators, or speech-language pathologists; a variety of instructional methods and materials were used; and there exists a moderate to great need for more instructional materials in this area. The majority of respondents believed that understanding figurative language could benefit students both socially and academically, and that students in special education had more problems understanding and using these forms than regular education students. A discrepency was found between the perceived value of figurative language instruction for certain special education students and their perceived problems in this area.

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A Survey of Educators and Speech-Language Pathologists Regarding Figurative Language Instruction

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