Watch Your Language - Aileen Kelly

I work part time in a provision for children with speech and language difficulties, and also part time teaching primary one - so my life is all about developing language! I completed my MEd, during which I ran a collaborative enquiry which looked at how those working with children can alter their language to encourage children to talk more (more talk=more practice talking=more practice thinking). I wanted to share what I have learnt from my work, my Masters and my close collaboration with speech and language therapists. Here is some of what we talked about:

  • If you want children to talk more, you have to give them opportunities to talk - play based activities, outdoor learning, group tasks, problem solving, real life experiences....
  • If you want children to really get into a conversation with you, you have to really get into conversation with them. Don't ask questions unless they are genuine! Make comments, share your thoughts and feelings, use "I wonder ..." statements. All of these are less threatening and encourage openness and sharing.
  • When children are playing, get down and play with them. Model play, model vocabulary, model sentence structure, model thinking - remember some children have none of these models at home.

On a slightly separate note: for the children who are you are struggling to understand - either because they struggle with speech sounds, or their grammar is so disordered they are hard to follow - please make a referal to SLT in your area. Some areas have a telephone triage service where you can talk through your concerns. SLTs are fantastic, and would rather assess a child who does not need help, than leave a child to struggle. An SLT recently told me that the figures show that most chidlren with a speech and language delay below the age of 5 will catch up with normal support, but most children who still have a difficulty beyond this will not. The earlier this support is given the better, so do not be afraid to make contact with SLT.