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In English, there are 44 speech sounds. Creating speech sounds is a more complex process than you might think! It requires the coordination of different muscles and structures. The lips, tongue, teeth and other parts of our mouth all play an important role. Where learners have difficulties creating certain sounds, their fluency, ability to be understood and confidence in speaking aloud can all be affected.
Tip or Idea: Rather than asking them to repeat a word ‘properly’ you can present the correct pronunciation back to them in a natural way e.g. ‘look a tat’... ‘oh yes, a cat’. You can also support self-esteem by repeating back the parts of speech that you have understood and encouraging them to continue the conversation.
Free resource to help you with this activity: Use this fun vocabulary game to practise basic vocabulary and pronunciation with your learners.
Dual coding, developed by Allan Pavio, is a teaching method that combines different types of stimuli to support students to learn and remember information. It is particularly beneficial for learners with special educational needs. An example might be combining words with pictures or audio with text.
Tip or Idea: Start with an image and ask students to explain in their own words what they mean or flip it around and provide students with a word and ask them to draw or create their own image.
Learners with speech and language difficulties may find it difficult to use the correct tense or find it hard to understand the concepts of time.
Tip or Idea: Take 5 minutes to chat together at the end of a busy day or lesson. Talk about what you did, what you enjoyed or what made you laugh. This gives learners the opportunity to practise using the past tense and maybe time and order words too like first, next and then.
Every learner is unique! This includes your SEND learners. Sometimes you need to create a bespoke resource to support their individual needs.
Tip or Idea: Using multimodal resources can provide a multi-layered approach to learning, removing barriers for learners and creating a fun, engaging learning environment.