7 Speech and sound awareness
Why it’s important
Speech means the sounds we use when we say words (our pronunciation) it is not the letters that we see written in a word. E.g. the word âbusâ has speech sounds âb-uh-sâ, âcircleâ has the speech sounds  âs-er-k-lâ. Speech also includes how we place emphasis on words, the rhythms we use and the speed that we talk at. Children develop speech sounds gradually over many years. Being understood by those around us is important for talking and interacting with others, learning and self-confidence.
How children develop speech and sound awareness skills
Each child follows an individual path in speech sound development based on their life experiences. Children learn speech sounds, and as part of that learning process will make different sounds, and sound swaps when compared with an adultâs speech.
Most children use listening and visual skills to follow lip patterns and match their own speech to the speech they hear. This is one reason why children develop clear speech best in language stimulating environments.
Babies engage in vocal play and experiment making different speech like sounds. Adults can help shape the experimental sounds babies make into speech by imitating and turn-taking. This helps them understand speech sound details.
Hearing talking, songs and rhymes, and reading even to very young babies helps develop their skills with both speech and sound awareness.
Phonological awareness
Phonological awareness is an awareness of all of the sounds of a language. It is the ability to hear and distinguish speech sounds, and know that there are single speech sounds, syllables and words.
Phonological awareness skills develop with age and are required for children to be able to make letters and sounds go together in words. These skills are a some of the foundations for reading and spelling.
Strategies and tips to help build speech and sound awareness skills
Avoid asking children to say something âproperlyâ
Concentrate on what your child says. Instead of correcting, give your child good speech models. For example, if your child says âI drawed a tatâ, accept it by saying âthatâs a nice catâ or âitâs a fluffy catâ, emphasising the word âcatâ. This shows youâre listening and giving the child the correct âspeech modelâ.
Stop and wait
Give your child space to have a go and see if they repeat it on their own. Many children will but itâs important they do not feel forced to repeat the word.
Ask your child to show you
If you have difficulties understanding what your child says, ask them to âshow youâ what theyâre talking about. Encourage them to point or gesture alongside what they say.
Make an effort to find out what the child says
Do not ignore them because you donât understand, or pretend to understand. Children need motivation to make them self-understood.
Build your childâs self-esteem
Repeat back the parts of their speech that you understand. This shows them that they have had some success and may encourage them to tell you more. Give praise for other things your child does well.
What to expect at each age milestone
Choose the age range below to find out how children develop their speech and sound awareness skills. Youâll also find suggested activities that will help your child/a child youâre teaching/caring for to develop their skills.
When to be concerned
Please note that what to expect does not mean every child should have these sounds or skills, or indeed need therapy. These are guidelines for you to consider. If you do have questions or concerns, speak with your childâs health visitor, family centre, or use the progress checker before calling us.
What to expect
Babies experiment with a variety of vocalizations including squeals, growls, yells, and the production of ‘raspberries.’
At around 6-10 months babies start babbling using the same sound, for example, ‘ba ba ba’, ‘ma ma ma’, ‘da da da’. They progress to a mix of different sounds and use adult-like intonation and it may sound as if they are trying to have conversations with you using babble sounds.
Activities that help develop their skills
Babbling
When you are sat face to face with the child, copy the childâs babble noises. Make sure to âtake turnsâ like you would in spoken conversations with adults. If your child is silent, then make sounds when they look at you, reach for something or smile. Good sounds to start off with could be âmuh muh muhâ or âba ba baâ or âda da daâ.
Play ‘boo’
Hide your face in your hands, uncover it and say âboo!â – waiting for a little while will encourage your child to copy you. You can also play âbooâ hiding behind a cloth/muslin, furniture, or play – house etc
Make appropriate noises during play
For example, with toy animals, cars and trains – Â make sounds like âbangâ âbrm brmâ âmoo.â
What to expect
Children start to say their first words but hese early words may not become clear for some time. Simple words and sounds usually consist of only a consonant and vowel, or with the consonant and vowel repeated, for example,’mama, dada, no, tea, wowwow, byebye.’
It’s common for children to miss consonants at the ends of words. Because of the limited range of speech sounds, many words may appear similar, for example, ‘da’ may be used for âthatâ, âdaddyâ, âcatâ and âcar.â
At this age, developing a childâs listening skills will help them to focus their attention on specific sounds so they develop speech sounds when they’re ready.
Activities that help develop their skills
Go games
Your child must wait until they hear âgoâ before they respond.
Create recordings of familiar sounds
Encourage your child to match the sound to the correct object/picture.
Musical instruments
Give your child 3 instruments and hide identical instruments behind a screen. See if your child can match the noise they hear to the instrument in front of them.
What to expect
At this age children lack consistency in their speech sounds. They begin to develop sounds that include the letters p, m, h, n, w and b.
Activities that help develop their skills
Make noises during play
In play with animal toys or pictures, encourage the use of animal noises, for example, ‘moo’, ‘baa’, ‘miaow.’
You can also make noises for vehicles, for example ‘brum, brum’ and ‘nee naw’ for a siren.
Download our animal noises activity sheet and encourage your child to match the animal picture on the sheet with the animal noise you make.
Encourage sounds during household activities
Ask the child to listen to noises made during certain activities and try to reproduce these. The could include:
- hoover (v-v-v)
- sink or bath plug (glug, glug, glug)
- quiet (shâŚshâŚsh)
- bouncy ball (b-b-b).
What to expect
Children learn a wide range of sounds at around age 3 which include m, n, h, p, ng, w, d, t, y, b, g, and k. Some children use these sounds before this age. It can vary as to which of these early sounds they learn first.
At around 3.5 years, children begin to use the speech sound âfâ.
What this may look like at age 3
Sound | Initial position | Middle position | Final position |
m | mine | hammer | arm |
n | no | honey | man |
h | hair | ||
p | pear | happy | cup |
ng | ring | ||
w | walk | flower | |
d | dog | ladder | mud |
t | tap | butter | sit |
y | yes | yoyo |
b | big | baby | club |
g | go | tiger | egg |
k | car | look | |
What this may look like at age 3.5 years
Sound | Initial position | Middle position | Final position |
f | fire | telephone | rough |
Awareness of sounds
At 3 years old, children can usually:
- recite familiar rhymes, for example, âJack and Jillâ
- produce rhyme by pattern, for example, give the word ‘bat’ as a rhyming word for ‘cat’
- recognise alliteration (words beginning with the same first sound), for example, ‘blue butterfly.’
Activities that help develop their skills
Share nursery rhymes and simple poems
Emphasise the rhyming words and use intonation and actions to keep the childâs interest.
Watch the video below for nursery rhyme ideas:
Play matching rhyme games
For example, âSlug in a Jug.â You can also find pictures of rhyming words online. You can also use the pictures in these games for other activities.
Recognising rhyme
Play a pairs game where the child has to find two pictures that rhyme. Start with a small number of pictures, for example 4 or 6 then build up.
Rhyming odd one out
Show the child 4 pictures (3 of them rhyme, the other doesn’t). Ask the child to identify which word does not rhyme, for example, cat/hat/big/sat.
Matching rhyme
Show the child 3 to 4 pictures. Ask them to identify which picture rhymes with the target word. For example, if this target word is hat, ask the child which one of word rhymes out of big/dog/cat/man.
What to expect
Age | Sound | Initial position | Middle position | Final position | Substitution used when making errors | Example |
4 years | l | lizard | yellow | ball | y | ‘light’ becomes ‘yight’ |
sh | ship | pushing | fish | t / s | ‘shop’ becomes ‘top’ | |
ch | chair | kitchen | catch | t / s | ‘chair’ becomes ‘tair’ | |
4.5 years | s | soap | racing | grass | t / d | ‘sun’ becomes ‘tun’ |
z | zebra | scissors | nose | d | ‘zip’ becomes ‘dip’ | |
j | jump | soldier | bridge | d | ‘jump’ becomes ‘dump’ | |
5 years | r | rabbit | orange | w | ‘rain’ becomes ‘wain’ |
Awareness of sounds
Childrenâs awareness of sounds within words develops at this age. These are crucial pre-literacy skills.
They’ll also:
- recognise that two words rhyme
- suggest their own rhyming words, for example, tell me a word that rhymes with âbagâ. These rhyming words may be nonsense words
- segment syllables and know that the word ‘happy’ has 2 parts
- count the number of syllables in words. 50% of 4 year olds can do this, 90% of 5 year olds can do it
- learn to count single sounds (phonemes) within words, for example, know that âcatâ contains 3 sounds, ‘c-a-t.’ Less than 50% of 5 year olds can do this)
Activities that help develop their skills
See the above activities for the 2 to 3 years age range. When playing rhyme games,  use pictures without the words underneath. This will encourage the child to think of the sounds in the words instead of relying on written word patterns.
Syllable clapping and posting
Use musical instruments to start with. Bang out one beat and ask the child how many you did. Repeat for 3, 2 and 4 beats then alternate to see if the child can tell you how many.
Syllable pictures
Place pictures face down on the table. Take it in turns to pick up a picture and clap or drum the number of syllables in the word, for example ‘butt-er-fly’. The child may then post the picture into a labelled box or bag corresponding to the number of claps.
The child may need support to get it right. You can clap along with them, or you can clap and they can count the number of claps. You can also use a syllable clapping board to help the child count the number of syllables in a word.
Counting single sounds
Use a different movement to count syllables, for example stamping for individual sounds so that the child does not get confused. Â Start with words with two sounds, for example, p-ea, b-ow, c-ar, and stamp these out. Give the child a small reward for each sound they identify, for example, a lego brick for a tower, or a stamp on a chart.
Remember the child identifies the number of sounds regardless of their spelling at this stage. Move on to words containing 3 sounds, for example, âsh-ar-kâ and 4 sounds, for example. âp-o-n-yâ.
What to expect
At age 6 children learn the ‘v’ sound but may produce this as âb’ or ‘dâ, for example, van becomes banâ. They are learn consonant blends but may replace these with a single consonant, for example, âaeroplaneâ becomes âaerobaneâ or , âsplashâ becomes âpashâ or âspashâ.
Age | Sound | Initial position | Middle position | Final position | Substitution used when making errors | Example |
6 years | v consonant blends, for example, 2 consonants together | Â van | seven | stove | v / d | ‘van’ becomes ‘ban’ |
splash | basket | ask | ||||
tree | library | |||||
blue | aeroplane |
Awareness of sounds
Children have most of their pre-literacy skills and can:
- match initial consonants in words, for example, recognise that âshipâ and âshopâ begin with the same first sound
- blend 2 to 3 phonemes to form words and can recognise that the sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ make the word âcatâ
- count single sounds (phonemes) within words.70% of 6 year olds can do this
- divide words by first consonant or blend, for example split âbroomâ into /br/Â Â /oom/
At around 7 years, children will begin to:
- segment 3 to 4 phonemes within words
- spell phonetically
- engage in âsound playâ
For example if you ask them to:
- delete syllables from words, for example âsay butterflyâ without saying âflyâ, they’ll be able to say âbutterâ
- delete sounds from words, for example, say âcatâ without saying the âtâ sound, they’ll be able to say âcaâ
- change the sounds in words, for example, âsay âtopâ. Now change the âtâ to a âhâ, they’ll be able to say âhop.â
Activities that help develop their skills
Match initial consonants
Read the child a list of 3 to 4 words and ask them to identify which word began with the target sound, for example âwhich word begins with /b/? hat, dog, ball, cup?
Show them pictures of objects that begin with two different initial sounds. See if the child can sort them into things that begin with âbâ and things that begin with âsâ. You could post the pictures into a âbâ box and a âsâ box.
Compound word pairs
You’ll need a set of pictures that make up a variety of compound words, for example:
- sun-glasses
- hair-brush
- tooth-brush
- lady-bird
- pan-cake.
Play a pairs game with the cards. Start with all of the cards face down on the table. Take it in turns to pick up 2 cards. Whoever can combine the words to form one longer word wins the pair. For example, sun + glasses can become ‘sunglasses’.
The child may need you to read out the words together from the pictures they chose to identify if they can go together.
Syllable deleting
Encourage the child to âplayâ with syllables in words, for example can you say âupstairsâ without the âup.â
Syllable adding
Encourages a childâs ability to manipulate syllables, for example, can you add âroomâ to âbed?â
Syllable reversing
Give the child a word with syllables in the wrong order, for example, boardcup. Then ask child what they think the word was before.
Syllable substituting
Say âupstairsâ then replace âupâ with âdownâ. Ask the child what new word they have?
What to expect
Age | Sound | Initial position | Middle position | Final position | Substitution used when making errors | Example |
8 years | th (voiced) | this | brother | with | v | ‘brother’ becomes ‘brover’ |
8.5 years | th (voiceless) | thumb | nothing | mouth | f / d | ‘thin’ becomes ‘fin’ |
Awareness of sounds
Children should now have well established phonological awareness skills. They’ll use these skills when spelling to help them âsound outâ new words. They may also play with the sounds in words and use ‘pig latin. This is when the first sound of a word moves to the end of the word and âayâ is added to it. For example âpigâ is changed to âig-pay.â
Activities that help develop their skills
Playing with sounds in words
Play games where you delete, add or substitute sounds in words. Give a small reward for each go. For example, the child can take turns at a game or add a piece to a lego model following each turn.
You can:
- delete initial sounds in words, for example, ‘can you say /fan/ without the /f/’
- delete final sounds in words, for example, ‘can you say /red/ without the /d/’
- substitute initial sounds in words, for example, ‘can you say /sent/ with a /w/ instead of a /s/’
- substitute final sounds in words, for example, ‘can you say /big/ with a /n/ instead of a /g/’
What to expect
9 years
Children usually correct most sound substitutions.
11 to 15+ years
Young people should now be able to produce all the speech sounds when talking, and their speech should be clear.
All ages in this range
Some substitutions, for example, âfâ for âthâ, are acceptable in regional accents and we do not consider these as speech defects or speech immaturities. They only become a problem if the child begins to substitute âfâ for âthâ when writing.
If you have concerns about your childâs speech sound production or phonological awareness, please see the activities for the earlier age ranges.
Speech activities for any age and target sound
Check the relevant age milestones for your child above to find out what to expect at. Learning the speech sounds of English is a gradual process, and there can be variation between children in the order they develop specific sounds.
Teach your child to listen. Practice with environmental sounds (everyday sounds we hear around us), or with sounds made by musical instruments.
If you have concerns about your childâs production of a particular speech sound, you can try the listening games below.
Listening games to practice with the child
Sound matching
Choose two sets of matching noisemakers. Start with 3 to 4 very different sounds, for example, a shaker, a drum, some bells and a whistle. Let the child play with the noisemakers and talk about them.
Then, place a screen between you. Take turns to make a noise while the other person finds the matching noisemaker. If the child find this too easy, add more noisemakers or try a sequence of 2 or 3 sounds. The child must play the matching noisemakers in the right order.
Gradually introduce noisemakers which are more similar, for example, 3 different shakers or three different drums
Sound lotto
You could use a commercially available sound lotto set. To start with, use very different sounds, for example, âsoundtracksâ which have sounds such as a running tap, a car starting or birds singing.
Next try more similar sounds. For example, Picture Sound Lotto has all the sounds belonging to a group on one board. The child has to use finer discrimination skills to choose between the different objects.
Milk bottles
Tapping milk bottles filled with varying levels of water are ideal for fine differentiation. Ask the child to identify matching sets. Start with just 3 bottles playing low, medium and high notes and gradually increase the number of bottles.
You could also use shakers using empty plastic bottles and filling them with sand or heavy pebbles.
Referral to speech and language therapy
If your child still has problems after trying the listening games, refer them to our Speech and Language therapy service.
Children learn by watching others speak and by listening to clear models of single sounds. They usually hear sounds articulated rapidly in words and sentences, so practicing listening to speech sounds on their own can help them to learn to produce those sounds.
Why it’s important
Some children find it difficult to hear the difference between speech sounds. These children particularly need support because unless they can differentiate between the speech sounds they will find it very difficult to articulate them in words.
What you can do to help
With your child, listen to speech sounds, associate the sounds with a letter or picture and talk about the characteristics of speech sounds. For example, whether the sound is long like âsâ or short like âtâ give you and the child a common language to talk about speech sounds. This helps the child to understand what they’re trying to do.
Listening activities and building confidence
They relieve the pressure on the child to articulate the sound they find difficult. They also help to develop the child’s confidence so they can experiment with the articulation when they feel comfortable.
The child must be able to hear the difference between the correct sound and his substituted sound when produced on their own. Play a game where you produce the target sound mixed up with the childâs substitution, for example, âkâ or âtâ. The child points to a written symbol or picture when they hear the sound you produce.
Targeted sound activities
Choose two speech sounds to work on. One of the sounds should be a sound the child can already produce and the other sound is the âtarget soundâ. Choose 2 sounds that look and sound very different. For example, âdâ and âpâ sound different when spoken but they’re visually similar when written down. It would be easier to focus on âdâ and âfâ which look and sound different.
Next, show the picture of the letter (large lower case letters on card or Jolly Phonics). Say âs âŚ.sammy snake says âŚ. s âŚ.â Emphasize the letter sound not the letter name.
More listening games
Encourage the child to listen to the sounds when you play the following games. Ask them to look at you as you say them so they can see how to make the sounds. They may start to copy and articulate the sound.
Towers
Use some bricks, around 12 to 18. Place the picture of the letters on the table.
Say the sound. The child puts the brick on the right sound picture. How tall can they make the towers?
Beanbag game
Use one cardboard box or container per letter. Stick a letter on each box.
You could also use beanbags, balls or socks tied in a knot. Say the sound. The child has to throw the beanbag into the matching box.
Hide and seek
Make 3 copies of each sound picture
Hide them around the room or out in the garden/playground
Say a sound and the child has to find the missing picture
The child must be able to hear the difference between speech sounds, for example âkâ and âtâ when spoken. If they say ‘cap’ as âtapâ, you need to find out if they can hear that the word starts with the âkâ sound.
How to find out if the child can hear speech sound differences
Can they point to the correct picture if you say âcapâ when presented with a picture of a ‘cap’ and a ‘tap’? Often listening activities where children hear lots of words beginning with the same sound will raise their awareness of which sounds appear at the beginning of words.
Listening activities (auditory input games)
The following games will help to determine if the child can hear words beginning with the sound they have difficulty with, not to say them. If they repeat the word it may be better to react only if they say it well or better than usual.
When you play the games, try to say the words as often as possible, for example:
âOh youâve got the castleâ (or comb/cat/cup etc)
âWhereâs the castle gone?â
âYou need the castle now, can you find the castle?â
Making the games
Find lots of pictures beginning with the target sound your child struggles with. You can look in magazines, catalogues, find picture cards from games, print pictures off the internet or copy pictures from books. Encourage the child to help you find the pictures and talk about them as you add them to a special picture box or file.
You can then play the following games with the pictures. Remember the aim is for child to hear lots of words beginning with their target sound. It’s not important for them to repeat the word at this stage.
Pairs
Copy the pictures twice onto card or coloured paper and cut them up. Use 5 to 8 pairs face down. Take it in turns to turn up 2 pictures at a time. When a player identifies a pair, they get another turn. The winner is the player with the most pairs.
Stepping stones
Stick individual pictures on larger pieces of paper cut to look like stones and spread them out on the floor. Tell the child which stone to jump onto.
Hiding game
Hide individual pictures round the room and encourage your child to find them.
Fishing
Use a magnet and attach pictures to the fish (using paper clips).
Shopping
Use objects instead of pictures if possible. All of the objects should begin with the target sound, for example, carrot, comb, cup, corn, cake cabbage, card. Tell your child to fetch 1 to 3 things from the shop, naming each one.
Colouring
Encourage your child to colour the pictures, again using the words as much as possible.
Snake and ladders
Photocopy the pictures, stick them into numbered squares, and draw snakes/ladders. Youâll need counters and a dice/spinner.
Three in a row (noughts and crosses, but with pictures)
Cut up the pictures and paste in a 3 by 3 square. Youâll also need two sets of 5 counters. Like noughts and crosses, the object is to make a âlineâ (diagonal, horizontal, vertical) of 3 counters. Take turns, naming each picture as each player places the counter.