HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S COMMUNICATION SKILLS AT HOME

Developing effective and fluent communication is necessary for the success of a child in school and in practical life. The hallmark of human development is its ability to communicate. People interact with each other, express their needs and feelings, and traverse through life successfully. 

For children the ability to communicate effectively is the basis of their success in academics and professional life. 

In Pakistan, good communication skills are synonymous with good Spoken English Skills. Therefore, every parent focuses on developing English Communication Skills. 

To develop a confident and effective speaker, parents need not be dependent on costly schools and courses. They can themselves play a key role in developing English Communication of their children, at home. 

Tips to Develop Communication Skills at Home:

Active Listening: 

Active listening means to focus on what the other person is saying. Look at the speaker and show that you understand the person. It is very important that the parents: 

  • Eye – Contact: Bend down to the child’s eye-level, as it shows focus and interest
    • Look at the child while he speaks 
  • Show interest and understanding by frequent confirmations like, ‘ahem / yes / ok / then etc.’
  • No interruption: Do not interrupt while the child is expressing his thoughts 
  • Let them finish and then respond appropriately 
  • Reflective – Listening: repeating what the child says in English or using  better vocabulary. If a child says, ‘Park’ ; you respond, ‘Oh! You want to go to the park to play.’ 

General Discussion / Talk – Time:

Talk to your child while doing usual home – tasks, cooking, cleaning and organizing home or doing laundry. Discuss your daily routine.  

  • While cooking, name the ingredients and their quantities 
  • While organizing, name the colours and size of the objects and make them help you do sorting 
  • While doing laundry, let the children sort the clothes according to colours and name different objects. 
  • Describing Daily Routine: Talk about how you spend your day and ask them also about their daily activities. Add on to their vocabulary by using new words and expressions.  
  • Follow the ‘Plus-One’ Rule. Add one adjective or an adverb to the child’s description. If a child says, ‘car’, confirm it by saying, Big car’ or ‘Blue car’

Daily Reading / Storytime: 

Daily read a storybook or narrate a story everyday at bedtime. Make it a bedtime ritual.  Stories develop: 

  • Vocabulary and expression 
  • Grammar, usage and sentence structure 
  • Imagination and creativity 
  • Critical and analytical thinking 
  • While reading ask questions like, ‘What do you think will happen next? Why do you not like the Big Bad Wolf?’
  • Retell the story: Ask the children to retell the story in their own words
  • Picture Reading: Discuss the pictures. Be interactive. Make the children to look at the picture and describe what is happening.

Pretend – playing 

Do a role – play with children based on everyday situations like ordering a pizza or responding to a phone call or answering the door bell. Practicing such situations with parents enables the children to: 

  • Have confidence 
  • Can deal with untoward situation 
  • Act safely with strangers 

Playing Language Games:

Play games with your children which increase the use of language and develops their vocabulary. With very small children you can play games like:

  • ‘I Spy with My Eagle Eye —-‘ 
  • Word association or rhyming game. 

Let us share the words that end in ‘ – tion, / -sion’ 

  • Puppet Show- With slightly older children you can play interactive games like:
  • Charade – Guess the word from actions 
  • Conversation Catch – the person who holds the ball says a sentence then throws the ball to the next person, one who catches the ball, replies to the conversation. Thus, a playful dialogue is built.
  • Change – A common game where children stand in a circle, then clap and snap. At every snap they have to say out names of colours, animals, oceans or adjectives. Creative children increase the level of difficulty as they develop. 
  • Name-Place-Animal-Thing: Children write the names of persons, cities or countries, animals or birds and different objects, all starting with the same alphabet. It increases their vocabulary and knowledge. 
  • Board Games: Interactive board games like ‘Scrabbles’ develops the vocabulary and games like ‘Monopoly’ and ‘Chess’ teach analytical thinking, strategic planning and negotiation skills. 
  • Dress – up: Stories come to life when children are given the opportunity to dress up as any character of their favourite and deliver dialogues in style.

Questioning 

Questioning leads to discussion and critical thinking but it has to be done effectively. 

  • Open – Ended Questions: Instead of asking direct and closed questions (Did you enjoy school?) to which a child can reply in a single word, (‘yes or ‘no’) ask an open-ended question (What was the most interesting thing in the school today?)  
  • Leading Questions: Ask questions which lead a child to express his thoughts and feelings like – ‘Tell me about your drawing.’ 
  • Wait-Time:  Do not expect prompt response. After asking a question wait for 10 – 15 seconds, so that a child can process the question and form an appropriate reply.

Limit Screen-Time 

Too much screen – time dulls active thinking and children become oblivious of their environment. As screen – time cannot be eliminated entirely so make rules for it: 

  • No mobile use: Children should not be allowed to use small screens as these completely absorbs them and children are unable to process anything happening in their surroundings 
  • No-Screens at Family Meal Time: a lot of mothers think that children eat easily if they are watching cartoons, but this is not right. Use the meal time as a family conversation time. Talk to each other, discuss your daily routine and ask others. Even the adults should not use mobiles or tablets at meal time as it is a positive reminder for the children. 

Being a Role Model

Parents are the best role models. To develop the communication skills of children, the parents should: 

  • Speak clearly
  • Speak politely
  • Show respect to others
  • Use appropriate language

Expressing Emotions Positively 

  • Help the children identify their emotions 
  • This gives ‘emotional vocabulary’ to children 
  • They are able to express their feelings better
  • Children feel confident to face all challenges

Appreciating Effort 

  • Praise children on even small attempts to communicate in English, even if they make mistakes, as it it encourages them and motivates them to try more. 
  • Do not interrupt or check for corrections. 
  • Guide gently 
  • Do not expect that the child will speak perfectly in the beginning 
  • First focus on Fluency and latter accuracy will develop.

Creating Opportunities 

Provide children with situations and opportunities where they can meet other children and converse with them like:

  • Arrange Playdates with friends’ kids 
  • Visiting grandparents 
  • Visiting family and friends 
  • Accompanying on social events like weddings and other family gatherings.

Conclusion 

Regularity matters a lot. Daily short interactions are more beneficial than a long session. Role – modelling, interactive play and pre-planned routines play a significant role in developing the communication skills at home. 

 

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