The way a child speaks and listens impacts his/her chance of success from a very early age. Alison Marrs, professional advisor for The Communication Trust, recommends teaching children to express themselves fluently and with confidence in five simple ways:

Create the right speaking and listening environment...

Children need a quieter environment than adults in which to listen and learn, so be aware that even if it does not seem noisy to you, it may be for your child. Have times during the day when there is no background noise, and always do this when engaging in a specific activity with your child (a game, reading, homework, etc.) This is not to say that you should never have the TV on. Research, however, shows that for children to listen and learn from TV, adults need to view it alongside them to spark conversation.

Comment More/Question Less

Adults naturally lead conversations and are able to test children’s knowledge. But research shows that frequent parental use of directive and corrective statements – for example, questions and command giving – has been linked with delays in children's language development. Instead, try to open up a chat with a comment, such as: ‘Look, it’s a bird!’ as opposed to asking, ‘What’s that?’ See how your child responds.

Use Open-Ended Questions

Research into the use of open-ended questions with school children – for example, questions that start with "What could we do?, Can you find a way to?, etc" – has shown they can support learning and develop creative thinking and problem solving skills. This is compared to closed questions that only require one-word responses.

Give Children Time to Answer A Question

Often children need extra time to understand a question and think of their answer. Instead of jumping in to help them answer, count to 10 and wait to see if your child answers. At the end of waiting, if your child has not responded, repeat the question or rephrase.

Have Fun With Words

A child’s vocabulary is incredibly important to their learning. Research shows that vocabulary size at five years of age has links to later successes, such as literacy skills and academic achievement.

When talking or reading with your child, check word understanding and support word learning by talking about word meaning and sounds. This helps them to learn and recall words. For example, ask about: a word’s first sounds; rhyming words; syllable number; what you do with the word; where you find it; what it looks, feels or tastes like; what group (category) it belongs to, and what else belongs to this group.

Communication Games

What’s Going On In This Picture?

Ask your child to explain what he/she sees in a picture. Encourage description of the colors, the people, the scenery, and extend into minute details possibly unforeseen. For older children, ask what (according to them) might have happened before the scene and what they think will happen later. This parent child communication game will help children communicate in a logical and authentic manner.

20 Questions

This communication game will develop your child’s ability to ask direct questions. Have a group of children sit in a circle with one child in the middle. Tell the child in the middle of the circle to think of a person, place, or thing that other children will have to guess. The group can ask the child 20 questions to identify the unknown. The child can answer the questions in a simple "yes" or "no", or expand into small details.