Help your child with spoken language

Talking is how we usually express ourselves. That's why talking is often referred to as "Expressive Language".

From the moment they are born babies start to learn how to communicate. They do this through listening, watching, copying and touching. Play also helps them to develop their communication and social skills. Before children can use spoken language effectively, it is important that they develop their skills in looking and listening, play and understanding.

We communicate with each other in different ways and learning the skills of interaction is really important for having good conversations.

We need to learn how to take turns, when to talk and when to listen, and how to notice if someone is not listening or is bored with what we're saying. We need words to do this, but also skills in looking, listening and noticing people around us.

Children and young people benefit from practising having conversations with adults, as well as people their own age.

Encouraging happy, confident talkers

Some people find expressing themselves difficult but remember that communication is a skill like any other - the more it is practised, the better it gets!

Try to avoid asking your child to 'say this' and 'say that' as this can discourage children from wanting to talk.
Accept the sounds your child makes as the words they mean and say it back to them correctly (eg child: "ta-ter", adult: "yes, tractor").
Use actions and gestures to support what you say, sometimes learning an action for a word can help children learn the word itself.
Wait and listen for your child to talk, sometimes we talk too much because we want to fill in the silences.
Encourage all of your child's attempts to communicate. Actions, pointing and pulling faces are all ways your child is trying to tell you something, as well as words.
Set aside some time every day to talk with your child, letting them talk about what they are doing or what interests them.
Model and add - always add one or two words to what they say (eg child: "car go", you: "Yes, the car is going fast").
Repeat the child's sentence back to them using the correct structure (eg child: "him falled down them", you: "yes, he's fallen down the steps").
With older children, explain word/word endings and why they are important (eg "when there is more than one object you add an 's' to the end).
Give your child choices to encourage them to use words (eg "Do you want juice or milk?").
When introducing new words to your child make sure you only use one new word at a time, and use that word in different situations throughout the day (eg at home, walking to the shops, at meal times or at bedtime).
Give your child a reason for talking (eg when they give you their coat, ask them what they want, don't just help them put it on).

Ways to support your child at home

What is different

Get your child to look at you carefully then ask them to close their eyes.

While they are not looking, change something about your appearance, like rolling your sleeves up, messing up your hair or putting on some glasses.

Can they spot what is different?

Favourite things

Play a game sharing ideas of favourite things. Ask them what their favourites are and tell them yours.

My favourite food is...
My favourite TV programme is...
My favourite day is...
My favourite book is...
My favourite sport is...

Three good things

Spend some time with your child to talk about what they have enjoyed in their day.

A good way to do this is to ask "Can you think of three good things you did today?" Share with them good things that have happened in your day.

Charades

Get your child to play charades. Write down the words and phrases below on separate pieces of paper. Your child chooses one and acts it out for you to guess. For example:

The film the Lion King
Batman
The book character Harry Potter
Spiderman
A tiger

Would you rather

Give your child some options. Ask which they would prefer and share what you would choose and why! Would you rather...

be able to fly or be able to become invisible?
be lost in the jungle or the desert?
have a head the size of a kiwi or a watermelon?

Name five things

Encourage your child to recall words and you can join in too. Name five things...

that smell nice
that taste good
that are soft
that are small

Story time

Take turns to build a story together:

There was once a....
Who lived...
He decided to...
He met a...
They went to...
Then something amazing happened...
So then they...
And in the end...

Sentence starters

You begin a sentence and someone else finishes it. Decide whether it's silly or sensible.

Chicken is my favourite...
One day I ate an enormous...
In my garden I saw a...
I won an amazing...
The clown I saw was juggling...

Odd one out game

Give your child three or four words, pictures or objects. They must identify the odd one out and discuss why. Encourage them to use category words eg banana, apple, cherry and carrots. We would like them to identify the first three are types of fruit and carrots are a type of vegetable.