Understanding Verbal Talent: An Interview with

Penny Kolloff Ph.D.

What is "verbal talent"?

Verbal talent seems to resist precise definition, although Joyce VanTassel-Baska has described verbal talent in terms of precocity, intensity and complexity. In my experience, verbal talent shows up in various forms that are recognizable by teachers and parents. I think of verbal talent as a facility with language in its broad forms - reading, writing, speaking and listening. Talent may appear in the form of advanced vocabulary as it did with Tracy, a 6th grader, who flounced up to my desk fuming, “Ms. Kolloff, someone absconded with my pencil!” Or it may be the advanced reading level of 2nd grader, Jonathan, who responded to his teacher's request to bring favorite books from home by pulling from his backpack one of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. The mother of Aline visited my classroom one afternoon with a portfolio of stories that the 7-year-old had written at home, one of which was 22 pages long! Each of these young people demonstrated verbal talent.

What behaviors indicate a child is verbally talented?

Among general behaviors, verbally talented children read well. They read avidly and at advanced levels in comparison with others their age. They often read early - arriving at school already well ahead of their classmates and eager to continue their progress rather than be slowed by a curriculum that delivers small measured bites of reading. Verbally talented children also have advanced vocabularies that are evident in their writing, and these vocabularies may also manifest themselves in children's oral language, sometimes resulting in teasing, but often alerting other bright students to commonalities. I was once approached by several of my gifted students who urged me to place “that new guy, Bill” in our program because “he talks like we do.”

Verbally talented children often write well, a reflection of their reading experiences. They may write for pleasure, branching into areas of writing not typical of their age-mates such as poetry, drama, reviews, and journals. When teachers invite students to write a poem, the typical student may dash off a haiku, economizing with that 17-syllable formula so often taught in the elementary grades, while the verbally talented student may plunge into a sonnet or a work in free verse. Behaviors of verbally talented children reflect passion, depth and breadth. These learners choose to read and write for pleasure, and the results are notably more advanced than those of others.

What is the significance of early reading?

A body of research supports a connection between early reading and later success in verbal areas. Children who learn to read before entering school tend to be excellent readers and writers throughout school and beyond. Children who are immersed in early literacy experiences are often ready to read earlier than those whose exposure is more limited. This does not, however, preclude the emergence of verbal talent among children who learn to read in the early grades.

Are there gender differences in verbal talent?

According to research, girls, as a group, surpass boys in the area of verbal ability: they tend to read somewhat earlier than boys, their writing ability is superior to boys', and their overall achievement in verbal areas, as measured by standardized tests, is higher than the achievement of boys. Some of these differences may result from differences in children's early exposure to literacy experiences and the subsequent motivation to engage in reading and writing, which is generally more characteristic of girls.

What can parents do at home to develop their child's verbal abilities?

Fortunately, there are so many ways to do this. First, parents should read to babies from birth, and reading aloud should continue even when the children become capable of independent reading. Listening to stories and poems helps children develop vocabulary, a sense of the structure and rhythm of language, and a repository of literary experiences from which they can draw.

A second way to help children develop verbal abilities is for the family to create an environment and time for reading. Children who grow up in homes where the adults are readers are likely to develop the habit. Although I did not appreciate it at the time, I benefited from the fact that our family did not have a television until I was ten. Clearly time away from television and computers offers time to read and write. Adults should serve as models for enjoyment of books. My parents read to us regularly, and we often saw them reading for pleasure and heard them talking about their books.

Libraries are magical places to explore reading. As soon as children are old enough, they should have their own library cards. Ben Carson, a gifted neurosurgeon who was raised in poverty in Detroit, had a mother whose third-grade education did not preclude her from ensuring that her boys had library cards. Ben and his brother visited their public library every week and were required to report to their mother on the books that they read (Carson, 1990).

Friends have shared other ways that they have created the reading habit in their children. One mother reports having a collection of books and books on tape in the car so that her son would always have access to them. Other parents make sure to give books as rewards and gifts at holidays and birthdays. Ideally a child has a place in the home relatively free of distractions where she can read and write. Parents may also need to encourage children to broaden their reading selections. Young people who are in a reading rut with the Baby-Sitters' Club or Goosebumps series may be persuaded to read more challenging books in a related genre. Children who read and reread their favorite books rather than moving on to other literature may be nudged to expand their literary horizons. I was one of those, reading Gone with the Wind several times between the ages of 10 and 12. During summer vacations, my mother solved this problem by giving me a list of books she thought I should read, and I grew to love Daphne du Maurier and Charles Dickens as I became better acquainted with them.

What outside-of-school activities should parents consider for a verbally-gifted child?

Libraries, bookstores, colleges and universities offer many programs and services for verbally gifted children. Summer is the time to look for these opportunities. Locally, children may join reading or writing groups in their community. With a bit of organization, families of verbally talented children can also form book or writing groups for those with similar abilities and interests. Local colleges and universities often have summer or Saturday classes for young people, offering a variety of engaging classes on topics such as creative writing, journalism, science fiction or fantasy literature, foreign language, Shakespeare, and Writer's Workshop. Universities also attract gifted young people to residential summer programs where they can focus on one or two courses especially designed with their talents and interests in mind. Many universities also have distance learning courses for gifted students offering advanced topics for students who are motivated to work independently. These courses also provide a rich resource for families that are home schooling. How else might a fourth grader study the works of Edgar Allan Poe or Mark Twain, or a seventh grader learn how to write dramatic scripts?

What constitutes a good school program for high-ability verbal students?

The key to good school programs for verbally talented students at all levels is a range of experiences and choices to match students' abilities. Excellent programs for high ability students provide appropriate experiences to students who need them. One of my favorite writers on the subject of children with verbal talent, Michael Clay Thompson, says: “In order to develop verbal talent, we don't give kids things they can do; we give them things they cannot do, yet.” In the elementary grades, programs and services are based on the recognition that children within the same classroom read and write at different levels, and therefore their needs are different. Such programs encourage the placement of advanced students with similarly talented learners in order to provide them with challenging learning experiences, which may include having students read advanced literature, allowing them to move to other classrooms for reading instruction, and giving them opportunities to demonstrate mastery of basic skills and concepts taught at that grade level in order to move to higher levels of instruction. At the elementary level, a program may be implemented as cluster grouping in which several verbally talented students are placed in a heterogeneous classroom with a teacher who provides differentiated instruction for them in their area of strength.

Middle school programs often group students with similar verbal abilities and provide different instruction in reading and language arts delivered by teachers who are skilled in working with high ability students. Good programs often differ from the regular curriculum in the literature that students read and the breadth and depth of writing experiences. Advanced curriculum for verbally talented students ideally should include in-depth study of language components including etymology, grammar, and vocabulary.Middle schools that are in tune with the needs of gifted students also encourage participation in a Talent Search (such as CTD's Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search) so that students can assess their abilities by taking an advanced test and comparing their performance with those of other capable age-mates. Talent Search also connects gifted students with summer and academic year opportunities for course-taking.

A good high school program includes significant opportunities for honors and Advanced Placement courses. Some high schools also encourage independent study and mentorship programs that allow talented students to work with writers or to study a particular author or work, or to proceed with advanced foreign language study beyond the school's regular program.

What other options may be appropriate?

Acceleration in its various forms may be beneficial to verbally talented students. Some students benefit from moving ahead in a particular subject, such as reading. A gifted reader may leave her third grade classroom and read with fifth graders. Careful assessment of another student may result in advancing him from second to fourth grade based on his overall readiness for the curriculum. Program options at the middle and high schools may include specialized seminars for high ability students, which allow focused study of a topic, an author, a work of literature, a period in literary history. Examples that I have observed include “Dickens and the Industrial Revolution” and“Literature of the Lost Generation.”

In summary, verbally talented young people benefit from intensive reading and writing experiences, advanced level study with others of similar ability, and guidance provided by families and educators.

Reference: Carson, B. (1990). Gifted Hands. New York: Harper Paperbacks.

Penny Kolloff is Associate Professor Emerita from Illinois State University and currently serves as president of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children. She is a member of the advisory board for the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. Penny is the author of a number of book chapters and articles and a frequent speaker and consultant on literacy and gifted children.