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How to help your baby or toddler learn to talk, plus advice on speech and language problems and bilingual children.

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We have created a series of bilingual quick tips, in 19 different languages, for parents and early years practitioners to help children develop good talking and listening skills.

If the language you need isn't listed below, we have created a blank template for each topic so that you can adapt it to the desired language. Please do send any new translations of the quick tips to talktoyourbaby@literacytrust.org.uk so that we can share them more widely with families, nurseries and schools.

If you are working with multilingual families, our Time Together booklet has been translated in to 22 different languages and is packed with fun and simple activities that support language development.

Don't forget - we have lots more free early years resources created by literacy and communication experts.

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Bilingual quick tips | National Literacy Trust

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Our bilingual quick tips cover topics including playing with your baby, sharing books with your baby and talking to your baby in your own language.

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Early communication and language learning - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A collection of articles and films centred around babies’ early communication skills, their attempts to communicate and building them up to their first words.

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Early communication and language learning - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A collection of articles and films centred around babies’ early communication skills, their attempts to communicate and building them up to their first words.

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by Karen Mace Head of Assessment, Education and Training, British Dyslexia Association

Multisensory simply means using more than one of a child's senses at a time. Because of the way the dyslexic brain works, learning this way is far more effective.
For example, if your child just reads a book they are using one sense - sight. But if they read along with an audiobook, they are using two senses - sight and hearing. This would be multisensory learning and would mean your dyslexic child absorbs and retains the information in the book far better.

An activity should include at least two senses -seeing something (visual), hearing something related to what is seen (auditory), some form of related movement of muscles, for example speaking or writing (kinaesthetic), and touching or feeling something (tactile).

Here is an example of how you might apply multisensory learning if your child needs to do some alphabet work...

1. Lay out an alphabet arc by putting the letters of the alphabet into an arc shape

2. Sing the alphabet song while touching each of the letters in turn

3. Discover the letter being introduced by taking items out of a bag that begin with the same letter

4. The learner feels the objects, names them and pulls them out to check if they are right

5. Identify the target sound and letter name

6. Demonstrate how to form the letters on a whiteboard

7. The learner explores forming the letter in sand, shaving foam, wiki sticks or similar

Multisensory learning is useful for children of any age. For an older child, multisensory teaching can be as simple as, instead of getting them to read a book about Ancient Egypt, do a virtual tour of the British Museum and discuss the topic with them as you take a virtual walk through their Ancient Egypt galleries. At the moment, lots of galleries and museums are offering free virtual tours on their websites. There is lots of information out there on multisensory teaching.

Nowadays, there are so many free programs our computers, tablets and smartphones that can make a huge difference to young people with dyslexia.
In particular, the ones to look out for are text to speech programs, which read out written words on the device; speech to text, which allows your child to dictate their work to a device; and advanced spelling and grammar checkers. All the big technology companies have these features now and you will find lots of information out there about how to use them to support dyslexic learning.

Learning to touch type is one of the big skills that we find helps young people with dyslexia in education and on into the workplace. There are many free options available including the BBC's Dance Mat Typing.

Whilst they might not necessarily enjoy reading books, young people with dyslexia often take to listening to audiobooks and find a love of literature that way. Many audiobook companies even offer free children's books. This would be a fabulous activity to do as a break from other learning, or at the end of the day.

Karen Mace is Head of Assessment, Education and Training at the British Dyslexia Association. She has 25 years teaching experience in primary schools - both in the UK and abroad - including four years as a deputy headteacher and seven years as a SENCO.
If you're looking for more on dyslexia and how to support your child, the British Dyslexia Association website is full of practical information and includes the latest information on the support available for parents.

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Five ways to support your child with dyslexia at home

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Karen Mace from the British Dyslexia Association provides tips on home schooling your child if he or she has dyslexia.

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Schoolboy Realises Dyslexia is a Superpower and Not a Disability | Educating | Our Stories

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Key talking tips by age - BBC Tiny Happy People

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A set of key language learning techniques for parents to try and build into their everyday chat and play with children, arranged by age.

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Speech and Language Activities - Nursery rhymes - Twinkle Twinkle

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12 of the best books for dyslexic readers

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Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language.Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they're combined will help children decode words as they read.

Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.

Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelled as c, k, ck or ch.

Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. For example, when a child is taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, they can start to build up the words: "tap", "taps", "pat", "pats" and "sat".

How is phonics taught?

Introducing young children to the joy and wonder of books requires a systematic teaching of phonics.

Synthetic phonics

The most widely used approach associated with the teaching of reading in which phonemes (sounds) associated with particular graphemes (letters) are pronounced in isolation and blended together (synthesised). For example, children are taught to take a single-syllable word such as cat apart into its three letters, pronounce a phoneme for each letter in turn /k, æ, t/, and blend the phonemes together to form a word.

Analytical phonics

A popular approach in Scotland, this method is associated with the teaching of reading in which the phonemes associated with particular graphemes are not pronounced in isolation. Children identify (analyse) the common phoneme in a set of words in which each word contains the phoneme under study. For example, teacher and pupils discuss how the following words are alike: pat, park, push and pen.

Analogy phonics

A type of analytic phonics in which children analyse phonic elements according to the phonograms in the word. A phonogram, known in linguistics as a rime, is composed of the vowel and all the sounds that follow it, such as -ake in the word cake. Children use these phonograms to learn about "word families" for example cake, make, bake, fake.

Embedded phonics

An approach to the teaching of reading in which phonics forms one part of a whole language programme. Embedded phonics differs from other methods in that the instruction is always in the context of literature rather than in separate lessons, and the skills to be taught are identified opportunistically rather than systematically.

Understanding phonics at home

If you are a parent and need support to understand more about phonics to help your child with their learning, you can find out more on our Words for Life website.

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What is phonics? | National Literacy Trust

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How phonics is taught including: synthetic phonics, analytical phonics, analogy phonics and embedded phonics

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The importance of literacy

However, understanding the significance of literacy goes far beyond its definition.

Literacy is essential. Without literacy, it's hard to live the life you want. From your earliest years, literacy skills help you develop and communicate. But when you have a tough start in life, it's easy to fall behind.

At school, having the literacy skills to read, write, speak and listen are vital for success. If you find these things hard, then you struggle to learn. It affects your confidence and self-esteem.

As an adult, without these same literacy skills, you can't get the jobs you want, and navigating every day life can be difficult - from using the internet, to filling out forms or making sense of instructions on medicines or road signs. If you have children, it's hard to support their learning, and so the cycle continues.

Low levels of literacy undermine the UK's economic competitiveness, costing the taxpayer £2.5 billion every year ( KPMG, 2009). A third of businesses are not satisfied with young people's literacy skills when they enter the workforce and a similar number have organised remedial training for young recruits to improve their basic skills, including literacy and communication.

Adult literacy rate

16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills.' Adults with poor literacy skills will be locked out of the job market and, as a parent, they won't be able to support their child's learning.

Find out more.

But that's not the end of the story...

We believe that together, we can break the cycle. We believe that literacy is for everyone so we continue to work in schools and with communities to bring real change through our inspiring and evidence-based programmes, resources and activities.

Read our story

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What is Literacy? | National Literacy Trust | National Literacy Trust

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Discover literacy information and statistics for the UK from the National Literacy Trust.

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High quality teaching: The 'five-a- day' principle

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NHS England Workforce, Training and Education

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My experience with dyslexia - Richard Purcell

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High quality interactions in the Early Years - The ShREC approach

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Improving reading comprehension - The reading house model

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How many nursery rhymes do you know by heart? Chances are the lyrics of at least one is etched into your memory... probably more if you've been to a baby class recently!
Some of our favourite rhymes date as far back as the 17th century, and a lot of the lyrics are still the same as they were back then.

So why are these nursery rhymes so popular? And why should we still sing them to our children?

We chatted to Clare Wood, Professor of Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, and a Trustee of the National Literacy Trust, to get some answers.

1. They introduce kids to new words

"Nursery rhymes introduce children to new words and ideas that they might not encounter elsewhere at this stage of their development," says Clare.

Your child usually picks up language from the world around them, so singing nursery rhymes is a great way to introduce words they might not hear during an ordinary day.

"Vocabulary development not only helps children on their journey to understanding and using spoken language, but it is also the foundation for later emerging reading skills."

2. They help children recognise the sounds in words

As children approach pre-school age, they'll begin to build their understanding of the different sounds that make up words and spot similarities and differences between them.

"The rhymes and repetition of sounds in nursery rhymes help children to understand this phonological awareness ," Clare explains. "And this is an important skill for them to have before they start school."

Try singing Hickory Dickory Dock with your little one and asking them to find a word that rhymes with the number in each verse.

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7 benefits of nursery rhymes for babies and toddlers

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Why do we sing traditional nursery rhymes? Whether you're singing nursery rhymes with actions, at bedtime, with your toddler or your baby, one thing is for certain - you're helping their development in loads of ways. Find out more about the benefits of famous nursery rhymes on this page...

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Today, the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) launched research that shows an increased number of four- and five-year-olds need help with language. 76% of primary schools surveyed by EEF said pupils starting school in September 2020 needed more support with communication than in previous years. The data shows the clear and urgent need to combat the pandemic's severe impact on children's learning and literacy.

The National Literacy Trust has worked for many years to support children in their early years. We know that children who struggle with language at age five face literacy struggles that can have lifelong impacts. Children who have language difficulties at this age are five times more likely to fail to reach the expected standard in English aged 11 (23% vs 4%), and more than twice as likely to be unemployed at 34.

It is important this is addressed - and we welcome the government's investment of £18m in early-years catch-up, including extra help for those in Reception year.

Judith Parke, Head of the Home Learning Environment says, " We're passionate about supporting children in the earliest years. Speech and language development is key to children's ability to engage in education, make friends and lead a happy and full life. We already know that children from disadvantaged backgrounds start school with poorer speech and language. That gap widens throughout their education.
"Helping families create positive home learning environments is key early speech and language development. The DfE has invested in this through the Hungry Little Minds campaign to date and we hope continued support for the home learning environment will form a key part of the recovery plan."
Kirsty Cunnington, Programme Manager focused on the early years says, " Children have missed out on certain experiences during lockdown, play dates, family social gatherings, trips to the library, the seaside perhaps - all occasions where exposure to new situations helps children hear and learn new words, experience back and forth chatting with different adults or older children, building social skills and confidence as they go. Now we are emerging from lockdown, children need these experiences more than ever and being back at school or nursery is key.
"Bringing parents and children back together in small groups with teachers and practitioners as we do in Early Words Together gives everyone the opportunity to re-socialise, find support, and importantly explore experiences that develop young children's language with trained practitioners who can give tips and advice, model activities, and facilitate trips, whether that be to sign up at the library when it reopens, or simply to explore the local environment. Our Early Words Together Outdoors programme, based on forest school principles, includes the benefits of being outdoors, where children's communication and language is prompted by new and sensory experiences. Spending time in nature also leads to improvements in mental health and well-being for both children and parents."
Please find the full BBC article on EEF's research here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-56889035.

You can read more about the National Literacy Trust's work with the early years here: https://literacytrust.org.uk/early-years/.

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Lockdown's impact on children in their early years - the National Literacy Trust's response | National Literacy Trust

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Today, the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) launched research that shows an increased number of four- and five-year-olds need help with language. 76% of primary schools surveyed by EEF said pupils starting school in September 2020 needed more support with communication than in previous years.

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Parents are the best toy - JustOneNorfolk.nhs.uk

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EEF blog: The ‘Reading Comprehension House’ and foundations… | EEF (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)

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Top Tips to Enjoy Reading with your Child

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5 Creative Ways to Engage Reluctant Writers - Now Press Play

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Read More

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5 Creative Ways to Engage Reluctant Writers - Now Press Play

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Effective ways to bring literacy to life and inspire even the most reluctant writers to produce their best work.

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Touch typing games that take learners from the home keys to mastery of the whole keyboard and typing sentences. These activities have a range of accessibility options

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Learn how to touch type with the BBC Dance Mat Typing game. It's a fun introduction to touch typing game for kids and covers levels 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Why is storytelling important to children?

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Former CBeebies presenter and dad Alex Winters went on a mission to find out just what’s so important about stories.

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School Radio offers a number of teaching resources to support the primary English curriculum at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and a new abridgement of the original text of 'Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. Programmes target the key learning objectives of the curriculum and all resources for English also have this purpose in common: to exploit the magic of audio and stimulate the imagination of the listener.

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Promotions of the English brands on the English brand index page

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For the most part, choices are evenly split between the genders - however, The Famous Five is a more popular recommendation among women (22%) than men (15%), while The Lord of the Rings is more likely to be recommended by men (20%) than women (9%).

Waterstone Children's Laureate Chris Riddell has created a drawing featuring the words 'It's not a book. It's a doorway' to capture the campaign and how powerful reading is for expanding imaginations.

Throughout the summer and autumn of 2016 the BBC is partnering with some of the UK's leading literacy and literary organisations for #LovetoRead including Society of Chief Librarians, The Reading Agency, The Scottish Library and Information Council, National Literacy Trust, Book Trust, Scottish Book Trust, The Publishers Association and the Booksellers Association.

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JK Rowling classic is the book most adults think every kid should read.

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Do you remember your favourite books as a child - you know, the ones you read time and time again and knew practically every word of? Maybe you were lucky enough to regularly read stories with your family and had someone to read you a bedtime story before you drifted off to sleep? You won't have known at the time, but those experiences were building vital building blocks for your future.

Reading, being read to, and sharing books in the home helps to build a child's vocabulary and understanding of the world. Research shows children who start school with good vocabulary and communication skills make friends more easily, have fewer behavioural issues and are more likely to do well academically. A strong, early foundation in language has even been linked to better mental health as children get older.

Reading with your child, or encouraging your child to read independently for just ten minutes each day can make all the difference. Here are some tips to help children of all ages to enjoy reading and to get reading more often.

Your child doesn't have to read an entire book in one go! Any time spent sharing or talking about a book is beneficial, even if it's just a couple of minutes at a time. If they have to close the book early because it's time for tea, or they're just losing interest, that's okay. Reading can take a lot of mental energy and taking breaks gives children a chance to slowly build the mental stamina they need, so that soon they will be able to read for longer stretches of time.

National Literacy Trust research has found that, when used appropriately and with an adult, technology can provide an important route into reading for many children, including those in the early years, and boys. Feel free, at times, to use your mobile phones, tablets, computers, laptops and other devices to engage your child in reading and activities that can help them build their vocabulary. This can include a multitude of activities, such as:

* Telling a story using pictures on your phone

* Video calling friends and relatives to engage children in conversation

* Using YouTube to find the lyrics to nursery rhymes

* Using apps to read e-books or listen to audiobooks (many organisations are providing them for free during school closures)

These activities, or similar ones, can be used with children of all ages. Young children will learn best when doing these activities alongside you, and you can help your older child by showing them how to use the technology appropriately. All children benefit from seeing and hearing their parents and carers do things. This helps them understand how to do it themselves. Technology is also most effective when it is linked to other things your child is learning, and when it is balanced with other learning activities.

Research shows that children who engage regularly in conversational turn-taking with an adult learn faster when they're older. Taking every opportunity to chat with your child will help them build the language and vocabulary skills they need for school. Let your child pick the topic they want to talk about, listen to them, ask questions and share your ideas. You can use daily activities to spark conversation with your child, such as getting dressed or making a meal. You'll learn a lot about your child's interests!

Pictures are a great support for young and struggling readers. They are enjoyable to look at, capture children's attention and help them make sense of what they are reading. If your child is unsure about reading all the words in the book, they can start by telling a story using the pictures. Ask your child to describe the pictures they see, ask questions about what the characters are doing and why they might be doing it, and see if they can guess what might happen next. By the end of the book, you may find they have created a whole new and exciting tale!

Tara Parker is Senior Programme Manager for Early Years at the National Literacy Trust, where she supports families to engage in their young child's communication and language development.

For further information check out the rest of Starting Primary School which has lots of ways to help prepare children for different aspects of school life - both practically and emotionally.

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Top tips to support your child's reading at home

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Language development expert, Tara Parker, suggests some top tips to help you make the most of your child's reading time.

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Phonics - letter sounds - Early years English - BBC Bitesize

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Early years English Phonics - letter sounds learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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10 Dyslexia Myths | Understanding Dyslexia

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Understanding Dyslexia | 5 Facts About Dyslexia

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What is Phonics? | Understanding Phonics

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Building self-esteem at home from early childhood can be the key to success in an individual's life. If you have a dyslexic learner at home, your responsibility is doubled because the difficulties children face in school systems and society are enough to ruin your child's self-esteem.

Help your child build a positive self-image. The child's home educational/care plan must be used to build on their strengths, not focus only on their challenges. For example, if you are trying to teach your child how many sides a shape has from a book, think of other ways to help them make the shape like using straws and laying them on the table. Remember that because your child has dyslexia, they may want to avoid looking at the book but enjoy using their hands to learn in a multi-sensory way.

If it is a school holiday and there are expectations of holiday assignments to be done, you must plan the day beforehand. Structure the work over a series of days and share the plan with your child in advance. Decide together how the day will be spent to make them feel more confident. A well-defined and organized plan gives clarity to expectations. It can help both students and parents to be more productive.

For example, if the assignment is about fractions, weights, and measures, you might start by going for a walk or cycling for half an hour and talk about the assignment and work up a good hunger. When you return home, prepare lunch together. Use this as an opportunity to work on measurements by baking a cookie recipe, or fractions by dividing a pizza. Finish the assignments within the mutually decided time frame. Please remember that learning doesn't always have to be formal. ​​​​​​​

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Read about the importance of building self-esteem at home from early childhood, which can be the key to success for an individual's life.

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Overlapping Difficulties: Understanding the Individual - Webinar

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Support with Writing

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How do you incorporate metacognition and self regulation into your teaching practice

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Applying the seven-step model to support independent learning: Secondary schools

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Using worked examples to support pupils' mathematical problem-solving

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Using a 'Think Aloud' to support pupils' problem-solving

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Reading fluency in the primary classroom

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Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Yes. Speech, language and communication skills and literacy (being able to read and write) are closely linked. Generally, having strong speech, language and communication skills supports with learning to read and write. There are exceptions to this though.

So, how are they linked?

When children are learning to read and write it helps if they have strong skills in these areas:

Good attention and listening skills . Children learn words by paying attention to, and hearing, the words other people say.

A good vocabulary . If children understand and can say lots of words, this helps them to read and write those words too.

Knowing about different sounds in words . When children learn to read and write, it helps if they can think about the sounds that make up words. For example, a child will more easily be able to spell the word 'cat' if they know that the sounds that make up that word are 'c', 'a', 't'.

Being able to listen to and understand stories . When children are learning to read and write, it helps if they have experienced lots of books and stories before. This helps them to know things like what order to turn the pages in and how to read the words from left to right.

My child has challenges talking and understanding words. Does this mean they won't be able to read well?

Not necessarily. We know that speech, language and communication skills and literacy are closely linked, but children with speech and language challenges can still learn to read and write. Some children may learn to read or write in a different way, such as by memorising whole written words. Your child's speech and language therapist can help guide you with this.

How can I help my child?

There are lots of things you can do to help your child learning to read. Try these tips:

Share stories with your child. Make a book part of your bedtime routine - share a story, snuggle up and get chatting. See our information on sharing books with your child.

Help your child to learn new words. Talk about what different words mean and tell your child the name for anything they don't know. See our information on teaching children new words.

Why not make your own books? Take pictures when you're out or doing something at home and make it into a story together. You can talk about what you did and what happened. Children start to tell stories about what they've done and what they know about and you can help them with this.

Tell stories together. Talk about your day and what you did, or use your imagination. We tell stories all the time, both real and made up, and these stories can help your child become a reader and a writer of stories.

If you are concerned about your child's talking or understanding, you can arrange to talk to a speech and language therapist through our advice line.

Useful resources:

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Speech, language and communication skills and literacy - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Speech, language and communication skills and literacy - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives

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Twinkl Early Years | Activity Ideas, News and CPD