Around 1.4 million children in the UK have some form of long-term speech, language, and communication need (SLCN), with research revealing that 80% of teachers believe children in their class are behind with their talking and/or understanding of words. It is estimated this affects as many as one in five children. And more than half of teachers also say they don't have sufficient training to support their pupils (Speech and Language UK, 2023a, 2023b).

However, teaching staff do not have to feel alone. With a variety of quick and easy strategies and resources at hand, you can support your pupils with the three most commonly identified issues in speech, language, and communication development.

We take a look at these below, with some quick tips and links to free resources at the end of the article, including resources from our organisation Commtap, a community interest company providing tools and resources, many free to access, to improve the lives of people with communication disabilities.

1. Unclear speech

Speech sound difficulties can range from being unable to say one sound to having a limited number of different sounds, meaning it is really challenging for a child to make themselves understood.

Children who are not understood may experience frustration and challenging behaviour or withdraw from situations to cope with the difficulty of not being able to get their message across.

Here are some strategies that can be used to help support pupils who may be struggling:

• When listening to your pupil, try to reduce background noise as much as possible. Move to a quieter area if necessary and if you can.
• Give your pupil the time they need to talk and make sure they are not interrupted by others.
• Avoid asking your pupil to say a word “correctly”. Instead model back the word they are trying to say. For example, if the pupil says “tat” when talking about a pet, you should model back “cat”.
• If you do not understand what has been said, ask your pupil to show you what they are talking about with encouraging gestures, using objects, pictures, drawing or pointing.
• Repeat back what your pupil says. This shows them that you have understood and will embolden them to tell you more.
• Give praise to your pupil when they have tried hard to communicate with you.
• If your pupil does not show progress with their speech over a term then contact your local speech and language therapy service for further advice and guidance.

2. Word-finding and vocabulary

Poor vocabulary development or having a good vocabulary but being unable to find the words you want to use can be problematic for many pupils.

Language is inextricably linked to our ability to learn. Research shows that children who had larger vocabularies as an infant are more likely to achieve higher levels of language and literacy at school (Nuffield Foundation, 2015). Having a clear storage system of language in your brain helps to categorise and link concepts and words. The smaller your vocabulary base is, the harder it is to store and link new learning.

The following strategies can help:

• Pre-teach key vocabulary before a topic is introduced. This could be done as a whole class or within small groups.
• Choose a set of key words for topics that are repeated and used in different contexts. Create opportunities for vocabulary games and challenges throughout the day using these key words.
• When learning new words, do not just teach the meaning, teach about the structure of the word – for example, how many syllables, first and last sounds, words that rhyme, etc.
• Add multi-sensory aspects to the teaching of new topic vocabulary using objects, pictures, photographs, gestures, written words alongside each other, and so on.
• For pupils who struggle with finding words, give them the time they need to express themselves and make sure all pupils respect the need for that time.

3. Visual support

For children who have poor understanding of spoken language, a weak working memory, or slow language processing skills, the challenge of being in the classroom each day and listening to verbal information can be immense.

Visual support can be used in a variety of ways to support your pupils to access the spoken language used in your classroom, helping them understand the daily routine, how much time there is left in an activity, and in many other situations.

The following tips can make a difference:

• Use visual timetables to map out the whole day, part of the day, what you will be doing in a lesson, or individual tasks.
• Make sure attention is drawn to the timetable at the start and end of lessons and between key parts of lessons.
• Where possible, make visual timetables interactive. For example, you could Velcro cards to a surface to support children to move a card when each part of the lesson is reached. This way, they can see what has been completed and what is coming next.
• Use countdown timers to help pupils understand how long is left on a task.
• Pair spoken language with visual support to access the two different processing channels in the brain – drawing from objects, symbols, photographs, gestures, written words, or demonstrations.

Final thoughts

When it comes to supporting SLCN in the classroom, there are numerous strategies that can be used, all of which become more effective when used as part of your daily routine. Strategies that may not only benefit the pupils you have identified as having a need, but all children in your class.

About Neil and Louise

Neil Thompson and Louise Ryves are speech and language therapists and directors at Commtap CIC. Further information including access to free resources is available at www.commtap.org 

Useful resources

• Commtap: Developing speech sounds: https://commtap.org/speech
• Commtap; Using visual timetables: https://en.commtap.org/additional-resource/using-visual-timetables
• Thinking Talking: Word Aware: A whole-school approach for teaching vocabulary across the day and across the curriculum: http://thinkingtalking.co.uk/word-aware/
• National Literacy Trust: Words for Life: Aims to provide activities and ideas to support literacy and language development at home: https://wordsforlife.org.uk/ 

Further information and resources

• Nuffield Foundation: Can infant vocabulary measures predict later reading skills? 2015: https://tinyurl.com/4xj9ku4a
• Speech and Language UK: Scale of the issue: The prevalence of speech, language, and communication needs, accessed 2023a: https://tinyurl.com/4rxt4ue7
• Speech and Language UK: Listening to unheard children: A shocking rise in speech and language challenges, 2023b: https://tinyurl.com/24z3p4ce

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