5 evidence-based tips to help young children with language difficulties learn tricky grammar patterns
The big picture:
Lots of children, 4-8 years of age, with language and learning disorders, delays or difficulties have problems with -ed (e.g. “He kicked”), -s (e.g. “She kicks”), -ing (e.g. “They are kicking”), and do/does questions (e.g. “Does she kick?”; “Do they kick?”).
Why it matters:
Grammar difficulties like these can hamper a child’s listening and speaking abilities, social interactions with friends and family, academic success with spoken and written work, and confidence.
How to help:
Use statistical learning and explicit learning principles:
- Tell children and families what you are working on together, and why.
- Use a large number of verbs.
- Include verbs that are easy (common, easy to say) and difficult (uncommon, hard to say) to push the child slightly out of their comfort zone.
- Practice what you are working on using different kinds of sentences (some with the target at the end, others with the target in the middle).
- Get the child to listen to lots of examples of what you are working on (also called ‘auditory bombardment’).
Go deeper:
Need a practical resource?
Watch out for our new Banter Booster Premium in February 2025 for a fully-scripted grammar workout based on this research. You can read more about the Banter Booster Premium here.
Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.
Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language
Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.
