From learning to speak single words to fluently forming complete complex sentences – children’s language development journey is remarkable. Among all the different linguistics skills children acquire, their pronunciation skills hold a special place. It is the cornerstone of all successful communications because it adequately conveys one’s message to the other. However, getting the pronunciation right each time is a bit of an issue for many kids. In fact, we have seen many parents finding themselves in awkward situations owing to the mispronunciation issues of their kids. So, what’s the solution? How to fix the problem of your child’s wrong pronunciation? Well, we will look into it in this blog post today.
We at Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, ranked among the best CBSE schools in Gurgaon, believe it’s natural for young learners to stumble over certain pronunciations. Still, if it becomes a common pattern in all their speeches, it becomes important that efforts are laid in the direction of helping them improve their pronunciation.
To make the journey easier, we have curated a list of the five best approaches that we believe would be pretty easy for parents to start implementing at home right away. If you’re ready to empower your child’s speech by improving his pronunciation, follow the below-shared strategies.
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Encourage Mimicking and Repetition
Children are the best natural imitators, so why not use this characteristic to improve their pronunciation? At Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, we encourage our students to mimic speech and repeat the exact words/phrases/complete sentences so they have a clear understanding of the right pronunciations. When you say a few words or phrases before asking your kids to repeat them, you give them an aural template to follow.
Since children spend most of their time at home with their parents, incorporating this technique into their daily life routine becomes crucial. You can start by enunciating simple, short, and clear words like ‘apple,’ ‘banana,’ etc. while giving them the said food. Then ask them to repeat these words slowly. With continuity, you will notice gradual improvement and enhanced clarity in their speech. You can then shift to phrases and complex sentences.
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Utilize Tongue Twisters
If you are searching for something fun yet effective, this exercise is for you! Tongue twisters are playful puzzle words and incredibly valuable tools for improving speech articulation. A quick view of all the popular tongue twisters will highlight they consist of a sequence of sounds that are relatively challenging to pronounce accurately and rapidly.
Studies have revealed that when kids are encouraged to conquer linguistic hurdles, their speech muscle control and tongue show significant signs of improvement. So, to help your kids build on their pronunciation skills, we recommend you to begin with easy and small tongue twisters that are age-appropriate. A good tongue twister to start with is, ‘She sells seashells by the seashores.’ It is one of the many tongue twisters that are effective, but you can definitely look for more.
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Leverage Technology for Faster Results
We at Delhi Public School Sushant Lok understand that parents also have busy schedules and plenty of tasks to finish daily. Hence, we recommend busy parents leverage technology to improve their kid’s pronunciation skills. There are many interactive and fun apps, like Speech Blubs, that are designed to enhance kids’ pronunciation.
Apps like these provide plenty of auditory and visual cues, transforming dull learning experiences into fun, engaging games. You can download apps like these and ask your little ones to spend at least ten to fifteen minutes practicing on these apps. Since these apps offer a vast range of activities to encourage speech imitation, practice, and refinement, kids learn faster.
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Engage in Rhyming Games
The best part about rhyming games is they offer dual benefits. They are perfect for learning purposes but are also fun, so children can view them as their playtime. When kids actively engage in activities where they identify and create rhyming words, their overall auditory sensitivity to different sound patterns is heightened.
You can begin by choosing pairs of easy-to-spell rhyming words and crafting sentences using the two. For example, the words ‘cat’ and ‘mat’ are rhyming words. You can ask your kids to create simple sentences using these two words, like ‘The cat sat on a mat.’ These exercises are simple, easy, and effective. They also sharpen kids’ ability to distinguish subtle sound differences, making kids more attuned to the nuances of pronunciation.
Conclusion
We at Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, one of the top CBSE schools in Gurgaon, firmly believe that a person’s pronunciation skills work as the key to influencing his/her success in personal as well as professional life. This is why we always encourage our pupils to work on their pronunciation.
Since kids, especially younger ones, spend most of their time at home with their parents, it becomes crucial for parents to take initiatives that improve their kid’s pronunciation skills. If you’re just starting, implement the tips discussed in this blog post for visible results.
However, do remember that changes will take time, so stick to consistent efforts. Your unwavering support and efforts will definitely help your kids improve their pronunciation skills.