“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
Speaking is a practical skill that needs practice. For some, it might come naturally, but still, we can all keep improving. Learning the art of verbal communication is crucial for kids and the best way to make them learn is to make things fun and interesting for them.
Here are some interesting and simple activities to help your child improve their verbal communication skills. These mostly focus on the 5Cs of communication.
1. Picture Fun: Find an image to show the child, then ask him/her to use his observation skills to explain the pictures. You can also give them some words that they must include. This not only helps them to improve their vocabulary but also addresses clarity and cohesiveness among the 5Cs.
2. This or That/Would You Rather: These games not only help in critical thinking but also improve reasoning skills. These activities are helpful for teaching completeness and clarity.
3. Mystery Box: Put an object in a box or some chits that the kids can pick and they have to explain what it is with some hints without disclosing the actual name. This can be either done verbally or if it is an expression, it can be turned into a dumb charade. It is a great way to improve body gestures and expressions.
4. Start with it: You can also play with different prompts like stories or complete sentences like I would love to help, I am happy because, or others. This helps them to explore their creativity, imagination, and completeness of speech.
5. Disappearing Text: Invite your kid’s friend over to your home. Write a sentence on the whiteboard and erase every word one by one. It will be fun to see who remembers what was initially written on the whiteboard until the end. You can catch pronunciation errors during this game. Disappearing text is one of its one-of-a-kind sessions for English practice for kids.
These are mostly fun activities for smaller children to understand and improve their communication skills like body language, vocabulary, articulation, etc.
One of the most important aspects of speaking is confidence and letting go of the stage fear. Since these activities can be done at home or in a classroom, they perform in front of the teacher and their friends, and in the process, they become more confident.
Educators must encourage every child to participate, while parents can take time to engage their children in these activities at home.
Verbal communication might be a challenge for many, but with continuous practice and the right support, it becomes much easier when it can be made exciting for the child to learn.
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