Speech and Language: What Teachers Should Know About Supporting Communication

Articulation: Difficulty producing sounds clearly. "Wabbit" for "rabbit." Common in younger children; most resolve naturally. If persisting past Year 1, worth investigating.

Fluency: Stuttering or cluttered speech. Affects confidence and social interaction.

Language: Difficulty understanding or expressing ideas. A child might understand simple instructions but struggle with multi-step directions or complex sentences.

Social communication: Difficulty using language in social contexts. Taking turns in conversation, interpreting non-verbal cues, understanding jokes or sarcasm.

Year K-1: Simple 3-5 word sentences, basic understanding of instructions, interest in communication.

Year 2: Mostly clear speech, can follow two-step directions, tells stories with sequence.

If a child is significantly behind these milestones, or if speech is hard to understand beyond Year 2, mention this to families and suggest a speech pathology assessment.

Model clear speech: Speak clearly and at a moderate pace. Use simple but not baby talk.

Create communication opportunities: Ask open questions. Wait for responses. Give time for children to process and respond.

Model language: When a child uses simplified language, respond with the correct form: Child: "I goed." You: "Yes, you went to the park!"

If a child has a speech pathology assessment and receives support, the pathologist will suggest strategies for the classroom. Implement these consistently. Brief daily practice often beats weekly sessions.

Communicate: "What can I work on during writing? What's a realistic goal for the term?" Partnership maximises progress.

A child learning English as an additional language needs time and exposure. They're not language-delayed; they're building multiple language systems.

Some "errors" are normal: mixing languages, slower sentence construction. Celebrate multilingualism. Create space for home language use. Partner with families to understand the child's full communication across languages.