Expressive language skills

Expressive Language refers to the ability to express thoughts, needs, feelings, and ideas, use correct word order, grammar, plurals, tenses, etc. 
Presenting barriers and challenges

• Reduced participation in class discussions.
• Slower to respond so some children may answer for them.
• Word finding difficulties of vocabulary that has been learnt.
• Confusion of word order or muddle tenses e.g. the girl is falling down and broked her glasses.
• Difficulty with multisyllabic words, e.g. ‘puter’ for ‘computer’.
• Repeats phrases as language gets more difficult to organise and meaning can be lost as sentences become longer.
• Omit words such as ‘is’, ‘the’, ‘to’, e.g. car going.
• May not mark plurals or possessives and uses the wrong pronouns e.g. me get us coats

Best practice strategies and provision

• Allow extra time to respond without interruption—this builds confidence and reduces pressure.
• Create opportunities to communicate. Wait before anticipating needs to encourage independent communication.
• Offer alternative communication methods. Provide symbols, writing, or gestures—even for verbal learners—to increase confidence and accessibility.
• Use visual aids Support understanding with photos, picture books, and objects to reinforce spoken language.
• Use a home-school diary Share familiar topics (e.g. weekend activities) to prompt meaningful conversations.
• Model correct language Repeat learner’s phrases using accurate vocabulary and grammar without expecting them to copy—this supports natural language development.
• Explain word endings (older learners) Teach grammar rules (e.g. plurals) to build understanding of language structure.
• Provide alternative assessment methods Use multiple choice, drawing, building, or practical tasks to allow learners to show understanding in different ways.
• Use sentence closure techniques Prompt specific vocabulary (e.g. “one pencil, two…”) to support word retrieval and grammar.
• Offer two choices Give options (e.g. “sand or bricks?”) to support vocabulary use and reduce pressure from open-ended questions.
• Model language at the learner’s level For younger learners, name objects and actions; for older learners, model connectives like “because” or “so”.
• Expand learner’s sentences Add detail to their speech (e.g. “kick ball” → “the boy is kicking the ball”) to support vocabulary and sentence structure growth.