Part of my "How to Teach English at Home" series.
The Importance of Speaking and Listening
Although developing your child’s speaking and listening skills might not be at the top of your list of priorities for teaching English, these skills are the foundation for all learning that happens!
Children learn to speak and listen years before they learn to read and write, and these skills are not only essential for learning and home education, but for communicating and building relationships with family, friends and the wider community.
By developing speaking and listening skills, this can help your child in so many areas such as:
-
Vocabulary development
-
Reading comprehension
-
Writing skills
-
Organising and expressing ideas and thoughts
-
Developing reasoning and critical thinking skills
-
Developing empathy and understanding other points of view
-
…the list goes on!
By consciously developing these skills, you are setting your children up for success, not only in education and future employment, but in everyday life.
One of the major benefits that home education brings to the development of speaking and listening skills is that your children naturally have more one-to-one or small group opportunities to speak, compared to being part of a big classroom of children in public education.
A Simple Progression of Skills
So by now, you might be wondering what this looks like. If your home education set-up is to use textbooks for English, you almost certainly won’t have bought a separate ‘Speaking and Listening’ book!
Below is a simple progression of key speaking and listening skills per age range. Please remember, this is a rough guide; all children develop and progress at different rates and behave differently in different situations.
Speaking skills progression
|
Ages 4-5 |
|
|
Ages 5-7 |
|
|
Ages 7-9 |
|
|
Ages 9-11 |
|
Listening skills progression
|
Ages 4-5 |
|
|
Ages 5-7 |
|
|
Ages 7-9 |
|
|
Ages 9-11 |
|
Practical activities for developing speaking and listening skills at home
Here are some practical tips for developing these skills at home. The chances are that you are already doing many of these things. When reading this list, mentally check off the things you are already doing and then choose 2-3 that you could easily incorporate into your daily life. The goal is to do this regularly and consistently.
-
Read aloud together every day
-
Have regular family conversations around the dinner table
-
Encourage storytelling about daily experiences
-
Retell books, films and family outings together
-
Encourage imaginative role play
-
Practise presentations to family members
-
Listen to podcasts or audiobooks together
-
Play board games that involve discussion and turn-taking
-
Hold family debates on fun topics
-
Visit museums, parks and attractions, discussing observations together
-
Give children genuine responsibilities that require communication
-
Encourage siblings to solve disagreements through discussion
Specific skills and how to develop them
1. Giving Opinions
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
"Would You Rather?" questions with explanations Choose a favourite from two books, foods or places Family vote on simple decisions |
"What do you think?" "Why do you think that?" "Can you give me another reason?" "What makes you say that?" |
2. Explaining Ideas Clearly
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Explain the rules of a game Teach someone how to make a sandwich or build with Lego Describe how to complete a familiar task |
"Can you explain that step by step?" "Imagine I've never done this before." "What happens first?" "Can you tell me more?" |
3. Listening Carefully
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Follow multi-step instructions Listen for specific words during stories Repeat back what someone has said before responding |
"Can you tell me what you heard?" "What was the most important part?" "Can you repeat my instructions?" "What did your brother/sister just say?" |
4. Asking Good Questions
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Interview a family member Think of five questions after reading a story Play "Question Detective" using interesting objects or pictures |
"What would you like to know?" "What question could you ask next?" "Can you think of a 'why' question?" "What are you curious about?" |
5. Building Vocabulary
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Replace simple words with more interesting ones Word of the Day challenge Describe objects without naming them |
"Can you think of a better word?" "Can you describe it another way?" "What's another word for...?" "Can you be more specific?" |
6. Giving Reasons and Justifying Opinions
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Debate everyday decisions Rank favourite books, toys or holidays Explain choices while shopping or cooking |
"Why do you think that?" "Can you convince me?" "What's your best reason?" "Can you give me some evidence?" |
7. Taking Turns in Conversation
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Family discussions using a talking object Story-building games Partner problem-solving activities |
"Let's hear someone else's idea." "Can you build on what they said?" "Whose turn is next?" "What do you think about their idea?" |
8. Summarising and Retelling
|
Activities
|
Useful prompts
|
|
Summarise a chapter in three sentences Retell a film using only the important events Explain what happened during the day |
"Can you tell me the main points?" "What happened first, next and finally?" "Can you tell the story in three sentences?" "What was the most important part?" |
