How Speech Pathology Experts Use Nursery Rhymes To Develop A Child’s Language Skills
Nursery rhymes are as much a part of our childhood, as believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth
Fairy, and although they are usually simply regarded as fun songs that children sing, nursery rhymes can also play a role in speech pathology and the treatment of children with communication and language difficulties.
It is fair to say that nursery rhymes have been around for as long as children and singing so we are essentially looking at close to forever.
Regardless of what country or culture a child is born into, it is almost certain that during their childhood they will be learning and singing nursery rhymes.
Nursery rhymes are easy to learn, they are simple, they are fun, and they have been used by many a parent to soothe and calm their child during nappy changes, or when the child has been upset by something.
Nursery rhymes are also easily recognised and that is why you will hear them being sung every day whether that be in children’s TV shows, in animated movies, or in preschool and school classrooms.
As we have already alluded to, nursery rhymes can also be used by speech pathologists, and in turn, a child’s parents, to help a child’s speech, language, and literacy skills and development.
Read on and you will discover, how and why that is so.
How Nursery Rhymes Help Children’s Speech and Language Development
Below, we have outlined five characteristics of nursery rhymes that aid speech pathology and the development of children’s speech and language skills.
Nursery Rhymes Help Because They…
…Include Actions
There are few nursery rhymes that do not include actions or verbs and it is by saying and then doing or saying and understanding them that children learn these actions and what they mean. Examples include:
Hey Diddle Diddle: The cow jumped over the moon / The little dog laughed / The dish ran away
Itsy Bitsy Spider: Crawled up the water spout / Down came the rain / Washed the spider out
…Are Repetitive
You have got to love a child dearly who sings a repetitive nursery rhyme over and over and over and over again.
Bear in mind the repetitiveness of some nursery rhymes is what helps that child to learn words, their meaning, and how to say them properly.
Prime examples of nursery rhymes with lots of repetitiveness include:
Muffin Man: “Muffin” and “Man” are repeated at least eight times in just six lines
This Little Piggy: The words “This”, “Little”, and “Piggy” are repeated in every line
…Teach Speech Sounds
No matter what nursery rhyme a child is being taught, they are learning sounds, and that can start from a very early age.
Some of the most basic speech sounds a child will need are often learnt via nursery rhymes. The best example is:
Old McDonald Had A Farm: Includes a smorgasbord of different sounds that include “oo”, “aa”, “ee” “oh” and so on.
…Promote Social Skills
Developing a child’s social skills is key to speech pathology producing optimal results and by learning and singing nursery rhymes, children are taught them.
This can either be by them learning and singing them with other children where each child waits their turn to sing specific lines, or by them choosing what to sing about in certain songs like “Wheels On The Bus”.
…Teach Numeracy and Literacy
You should easily be able to think of several nursery rhymes that use specific numbers or counting within them and are thus ideal for teaching numeracy.
Prime examples include “ Three Blind Mice”, “Ten Green Bottles”, “Ten Little Ducks”, and “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”.
As for literacy, simply getting the child to read the words from nursery rhyme books as they sing them can boost their reading skills enormously.