Activity: Common Speaking Mistakes

An activity where students learn about the what a Speech and Language Therapist does and help them to decode some commonly mispronounced words.

Speech and language therapists is an NHS profession where the therapists provide life-changing treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing. They help people who, for physical or psychological reasons, have problems speaking and communicating. Patients range from children whose speech is slow to develop, to older people whose ability to speak has been impaired by illness or injury. It also includes treatment for those who have difficulty with eating or swallowing.

This activity focuses on the ‘communication’ side of Speech and Language Therapy, and it has identified commonly mispronounced words that children can say. In the activity students need to sound out the word based on their misspelling, and try to work out what the individual is trying to say.

I have used this activity to then ask students about words or phrases they couldn’t say when they were younger, or any common errors they remember from younger siblings. I then opened this up to a conversation about kindness and being patient when communicating with others.