Reading Rockets offers reading comprehension and language arts teaching strategies for kids, and is a free web site for parents and educators
star1 star2 star3
You are here: > Articles from A-Z > Speech, language, and hearing
Articles from A-Z

Speech, Language, and Hearing

Before children learn to read, they learn the sounds of their language by listening and speaking. These skills provide the foundation for later literacy. A child with hearing impairment or articulation problems has trouble processing or expressing language, and is likely to have difficulty learning to read and write. In fact, speech problems are often the first sign of a learning disability.

This section contains 13 articles.

Display: | Summaries | Titles only |

Healthy Hearing

Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association offers these age-appropriate ways that parents can engage their young children in ways that will help children develop speech and language abilities.

Second Language Acquisition

Anyone at any age can learn a second language after a first language is already established, but it takes a lot of practice. Second language acquisition often happens when a child who speaks a language other than English goes to school for the first time. This American Speech-Language-Hearing Association brief looks at the best way to teach a second language and how speech professionals can help.

Musical Training Helps Language Processing, Studies Show

In what will be music to the ears of arts advocates, researchers for the first time have shown that mastering a musical instrument improves the way the human brain processes parts of spoken language.

Effects of Hearing Loss on Development

It is well recognized that hearing is critical to speech and language development, communication, and learning. Children with listening difficulties due to hearing loss or auditory processing problems continue to be an underidentified and underserved population.

How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?

Every child is unique and has an individual rate of development. This chart represents, on average, the age by which most children will accomplish skills in hearing, understanding, and talking.

Helping Children With Communication Disorders in the Schools

The following are frequently asked questions on how to help children with communication disorders, particularly in regards to speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

What's 'Normal,' What's Not: Acquiring English as a Second Language

How can you tell when a student has a language-learning disability and when he or she is merely in the normal process of acquiring a second language?

Speech Sounds: Assessment Tip

Hearing the difference between similar sounding words such as grow and glow is easy for most children, but not for all children.

Speech Sounds: Watch & Learn

The following are four short video clips that offer you the chance to watch and learn effective speech sound activities. The video clips are from Reading Rockets' PBS television series Launching Young Readers.

Speech Sounds: Suggested Activities

Children must understand how speech sounds work to be ready for instruction in reading and writing. There are many activities that you can do with your students to help them increase their knowledge of speech sounds and their relationship to letters.

Early Identification of Speech-Language Delays and Disorders

If your child hasn't started speaking by age one and or you are concerned about their speech and language skills, there may be a concern. Early identification is key. They need to receive treatment before school begins so they won't miss out on essential pre-reading skills. Learn what the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has to say about early identification, evaluation, and speech-language treatments.

Young Children's Oral Language Development

The development of oral language is one of the child's most natural – and impressive – accomplishments.

Free newsletters

Join Reading Rockets on Facebook!

"As both a public youth services librarian and a parent of a child with dyslexia, I find your website very useful!"
~ Lee P.

Colorin Colorado
Stay in the loop with our Rocket Blasts service. Receive reading news headlines in your inbox daily (or weekly) by 9:15 a.m. Sign up now.