How to Develop Child's Speech at the Age of 3-4. Tips for Parents. Methods, Techniques and Educational Games.

The child begins his acquaintance with the surrounding world due to his speech. Every year this acquaintance becomes more intense and filled. It is important that children`s speech development should take place promptly. It should be driven in accordance with the norms that can be traced at a certain age level.

The child needs help in order to master his speech fully. Each age stage has their own speech development norms and disorders you can check with. Some ways and methods of developing speech skills in early preschool age are also available to parents. These ways and methods are simple and effective. They are not difficult to master on their own.

In Kids Academy, there are a lot of early activities that help your toddler master their speech. Developed with the help of certiifed teachers, these activities allow students to reach the top of language skills even at an early age!

What can we advise parents who want to stimulate their child`s speech development?

1. Learn new words and practise them in the lexicon for several days. If a new object is only shown to the child and named a 3-year-old child will immediately forget its name. It is extremely important to use as many organs of perception as it is possible to practice a new notion. For example, “Look, it's a bell. It can ring. Listen to how it sounds. Now ring the bell. Let's ring quietly, and now loudly. Do you remember how it is named? Say ‘bell’. A new word will be etched in child's memory after such deliberate practice.

2. Communicate on various topics according to the age of the child. Sample topics: Weather (the sun ‑ warm weather; wind, rain, ‑ cold weather).Shopping at the supermarket. Toys. Clothes.
3. Introduce the child to new objects and phenomena and their characteristics. Tell the child what, how, and why happens. Ask about the past day, the story the child has heard, the cartoon the child has watched. Discuss the characters of fairy tales, the plot. Ask leading questions.
4. Say not only how the objects are named, but also name their parts (a car ‑ wheels, a steering wheel, roof, car body).
5. Pay attention to the way the words are pronounced. They should be pronounced correctly. Correct the child accurately.
6. Introduce prepositions and teach the child how to use them correctly.
7. Pay attention to the voice, intonation, timbre, expressiveness while reading a fairy tale.
8. Study and comment on the pictures in the books. Ask the questions based on the pictures.
9. Talk about everything you see while walking.
10. Read poems, guess riddles, sing songs.
11. Do not forget about fine motor skills. Play with small details (puzzles, an erector set, sand, clay, plasticine). Learn how to tie shoelaces, fasten buttons.
12. Play speech games! It is worth using a ball while playing question-answer games. You ask a question and throw the ball to the child. He/she responds and returns the ball to you.

Speech Games

‘Who speaks how?’

Object: to expand vocabulary.

Course of the game: the parent names an animal, the child answers how this or that animal makes a sound:

The bee buzzes.

The tiger roars.

The snake hisses.

The dog barks.

The wolf howls.

The duck quacks.

The cow moos.

Option 2. The parent asks, “Who is growling?”, “Who is mooing?”, “Who is barking?”, etc.

‘What lies where?’

Object: to expand vocabulary, to orient in space.

Course of the game: the parent names an object and offers the child to answer where it can be put.

- Mom brought bread and put it in ... (a bread box).

- Kate poured sugar... Where? (into a sugar bowl).

- Johan washed his hands and put the soap ...Where? (into a soap dish).

‘Is it edible or not?’

Object: to expand vocabulary, to practice speech attention.

Course of the game: the parent throws a ball to the child and names any word (the noun), the child should decide whether to catch it (means to eat it) or not to catch.

‘What do objects differ from one another?’

Object: to teach to distinguish objects according to their characteristics, to expand vocabulary.

Course of the game: the parent offers to examine two toys (at first different ones, then more and more similar). The child lists the differences.

- Name who they are and what they differ.

- These are bears. The first bear is big and black, and the other one is small and brown.

‘Describe the subject’

Object: to expand vocabulary, to develop logical thinking.

Course of the game: the parent offers the child to describe any object familiar to him. At first, the objects that are in front of the child's eyes (toys, furniture, clothes) are used. During the game, the parent teaches the child to give a detailed description of the object. First, name the class of the object, its parts, then its shape, colour, size, material, functions of the object. It is necessary to use objects and words that are accessible to the child`s understanding. It is necessary to demonstrate clearly everything that is being told, ask leading questions, and help the child with the answer (if any problems).

‘What (he), what (she), what (it)?’

Object: to expand vocabulary.

Course of the game: the parent offers the child to play with words.

- I'll name an object and you tell me what it is. What kind of apple is it? (Round, red, big, tasty, etc.)

At first, the objects that are in front of the child's eyes (toys, furniture, clothes) are used. An adult asks leading questions.

Option 2. The game can be organized in the form of a fairy tale.

For example, Tale about a Chair.

Once upon a time there was a chair. He was a very old chair. He stood near the table together with other chairs. One day a bunny was driving a children's car. He was driving so carelessly that he bumped into a leg of the chair. He was rubbing the bump on his head. The bunny grow hot over that.

“Who are you? Why are you fighting?”

“I'm furniture”, the chair replied. “I'm not fighting at all! It was you who had bumped into my leg”.

Тhe bunny exclaimed, “What a leg! You are a column! And you are even more than one!”

The chair replied, “Of course! I have got four of them”.

The bunny took an interest, “And why do you need so many legs if you don`t go?”

The chair sadly agreed, “Yes, unfortunately, I don't go”. “But I need to stand firmly on my feet so that people who sit on me don't fall”.

The bunny was amazed, “Look at that!” “Are you used for sitting?”

The chair explained, “Of course, that's what I'm used for”. “I`ve got a wide seat which is comfortable to sit on. And I`ve got a high back in order not to fall”.

The bunny admired, “That's how useful you are!” “And I thought you were like a table, only smaller. After all, Vanya always puts toys or books on you. Moreover, Vanya's mom climbs on top of you with her feet when she needs to get something from the top shelf. It turns out, you are the same as an armchair and a stool. They are also used for sitting on them!”

Do not forget to praise and encourage the child for any success and achievement!

In the next article we will highlight the features of children`s speech development at the age of 4-5.

Links and references:

1. Galliker, Mark Sprachpsychologie / Mark Galliker. ‑ Basel, Tübingen: Francke, 2013.
2. Werner Peukert, Kurt Sprachspiele für Kinder / Kurt Werner Peukert. ‑ Reinbek, 1975.
3. Kühne, Norbert Wie Kinder Sprache lernen. Norbert Kühne. ‑ Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 2003.
4. Ushakov, O.S. Children`s speech development at the age of 3-4 / O.S. Ushakov. – M.: Sphere Publishing House, 2017. – 192 p.
5. Belyanin, V.P. Psycholinguistics / V.P. Belyanin. ‑ M. : Flint, 2009. – 234 p.
6. Tseitlin, S.N. Language and child. Linguistics of children's speech / S.N. Tseitlin. ‑ Moscow: Vlados, 2000. – 240 p.
7. How to motivate children`s speech development at the age of 3-4. ‑ Mode of access: https: // www. defectologiya. pro/zhurnal/ kak_sposobstvovat_razvitiyu_rechi_u_detej_3_4_let. – Date of access: 10.05.2022.
8. Children`s speech development at the age of 3 – 4. ‑ Mode of access: http://www.ds23klgd.ru/info/roditelyam/rechevoe-razvitie-detey-3-4-let.php. – Date of access: 10.05.2022.