Oral Language Tips for Parents
These are the TOP Ten Tips for Parents/ Guardians for Developing Oral Language with your child as supplied by the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST)
Infants – 1st Class
- Listen to what your child is saying/trying to say and respond to contributions
- Make and maintain eye contact while talking with your child
- Explain the meaning of wordsTalk through activities
- Talk through everyday experiences
- Involve your child in discussions/plans
- Ask/ Answer questions
- Teach your child nursery rhymes/songs/poems/raps
- Develop your child’s receptive language by asking him/her to follow simple instructions
- Assist your child to express ideas in an orderly fluent way
- Read to your child each night
2nd – 4th Class
- Set aside 10 – 15 minutes to discuss the day’s happenings
- Encourage your child to express and justify opinions
- Involve your child in adult conversation when appropriate
- Talk about the child’s favourite T.V programme
- Play language games which focus on words i.e. Scrabble, Crosswords
- Encourage your child to talk about experiences with a wide range of people: peers, relations,other adults
- Listen carefully and clarify meaning: “Do you mean/or is this what you mean?”Encourage your child to give reasons for decisions
- Encourage your child to listen courteously to the opinions of others
- Talk about school topics and assignments
5th and 6th Class
- Encourage your child to develop a positive attitude to speaking/listening
- Discuss your child’s school work successes/concerns/interests
- Respect your child’s opinions and feelings
- Involve your child in adult conversation, when appropriate
- Help your child to extend his range of words in specialised subjects
- Encourage your child to listen and respond courteously to others
- Watch and discuss T.V. news/current affairs programmes together
- Assist your child to locate information in local library, internet
- Talk about school topics and assignments
- Play commercial games that focus on word building



Pupils in Ms. Dunne’s junior classroom participating in Aistear during the 2017/2018 school year.