Narration is Key When Teaching Language

By: Hannah O’Driscoll, MSc. CCC-SLP

Do you want your baby to say their first word? Or do you want to get your toddler beyond those first words? If so, you have to model words and the correct use of language first. There are two ways to do this:

1. Talk about what you see, and what you’re doing. (e.g., “Mummy is making coffee”. “Milk in”. “Stir, stir, stir”, “Hot coffee”. “Yummy coffee”

2. Talk about what your child sees or what they’re doing! (e.g., “Xxx is having a bath!” “Splash, splash, splash”. “Duck is swimming”. “Water on”. “You’re making bubbles!”

You essentially need to become a narrator! But remember, always keep your sentences short.

Hannah O’Driscoll (MSc. CCC-SLP) is a speech and language therapist and early language expert. Hannah has spent most of her career working in early intervention, and has helped hundreds of parents help their children reach and exceed their language milestones.

Hannah has recently launched Daisy Plays, a platform of self-paced online courses for parents of babies and toddlers. The courses share simple, research-backed strategies, tools, tips, tricks and techniques to support and empower parents with professional knowledge that will make an impactful difference on their child’s communication abilities in those early years.

Hannah really believes all parents have the ability to create really meaningful interactions and language learning opportunities with their child when given the right support and direction. Her passion is driven by the ample amount of research suggesting that early language skills ensures better social, academic and literacy success, and reduces temper tantrums associated with the frustration of not being to express needs and wants.

Hannah is a mom, and knows how busy a parents day is. Therefore, her online courses focus solely on creating language learning opportunities and intentionally building a child’s communication skills through everyday routines and playtime!