If your child isn’t talking by the age of 2, they’re not alone. Around 10% of children in America experience delayed speech development. You can do many things to help develop your child’s communication skills like engaging in language learning games with them. Read on to learn more about fun language learning games for kids.
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What is a Language Learning Game?
Language learning games are great for children who are experiencing delays in their speech development. They can also help you and your child learn a new language.
“Which language games will help my kid the fastest?” 👇
Goally’s tablet has some of the top language learning games & apps that help kids learn their first 50 words, practice finger dexterity & fine motor skills, AND communicate with AAC.
These games aim to:
- Teach your child new vocabulary
- Encourage them to learn and use new words
- Use language in a context that they understand
- Boost your child’s confidence when speaking
Most importantly, these games should be fun! Whether you’re learning a language or supporting a child with delayed speech, these games can make a huge difference.
Fun Language Learning Games For Kids: Tips
The approach you take when playing language learning games with your child is incredibly important. This will affect how much they enjoy the games and the progress they make when playing them. To make your language learning games as fun and engaging as possible, you should:
- Use colorful and exciting props
- Try using characters they like or are familiar with
- Make sure you’re excited and enthusiastic when playing the games
- Explain the game carefully and make sure they understand how to play
- Give them a chance to lead the game so it feels like a shared experience
- Focus on celebrating their successes in each game
- Give rewards or prizes after they’ve played a game for positive reinforcement
- Use word and picture cards with younger children who aren’t able to read yet
It’s also important you create games that are suitable for your child’s developmental age. Creating a game that’s too complicated or challenging could frustrate them. Alternatively, if a game isn’t challenging enough, your child will get bored very quickly. Think carefully about the games you play with your child. It can help to look at their interests and the things they enjoy. Keeping these things in mind will help you choose a more personalized game for your kiddo.
Read more: Communication Games for Kids
Matching Games
Matching games are great for all ages and help your child learn new vocabulary. Create a series of picture cards and correlating word cards. You can use the picture cards by themselves to teach your child new words. Once they become familiar with spoken words, you can ask your child to match each picture card with its corresponding word card. Try creating different packs of cards around different themes. For example, you could create “family,” “home,” and “school” packs.
Pictionary
If your child enjoys drawing then Pictionary is a great game to play with them. Take turns drawing different objects based on a theme, such as “things you would find at home” or “hobbies.” The person who is not drawing has to guess what the picture is of. This game doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on language, so it is a brilliant way to learn vocab without the pressure. It can also throw out some hilarious answers, so you are sure to have fun playing.
Heads Up
Heads Up encourages your child to get descriptive without focusing on reading or writing. Each player takes a turn putting a picture or word card on a band on their forehead. The person wearing the card should not look at it or be able to see what it says. The other players have to describe the word or picture without naming it.
This carries on until the wearer has correctly guessed what is on the card. You can do this in English but can also use it when learning a new language. In that case, the word on your head should be in the new language, so the describer has to translate it. Then they can describe the word in English or the new language for an extra challenge!
Read more: 39 Best Board, Tabletop & Card Games for Children with Autism (All Ages!) in 2022
Two-Word Charades
By the age of 2, pediatricians expect children to be using a combination of single and two-word phrases. Two-word charades encourage your child to put together the words they already know. Write out several two-word phrases and put them into a hat. These should be fairly easy to act out, so descriptive phrases work well.
For example, you could put “small cat” and “happy mummy.” You then take turns picking out phrases from the hat. You act these out until the people you are playing with can guess the phrase. If your child isn’t at reading age yet, you can still enjoy this game. Simply team them up with a reading adult and they can whisper the phrase to act it out together.
Goally’s Word Lab App
Word Lab is a fun language learning game for kids where they can practice core words on their own. You can change the words through the parent app so it can be adjusted for kids of all ages, and it grows with them! The interactive gamified practices model how to pronounce words and use repetition to ensure kids get the hang of it.  Â
The Boat is Sinking
The boat is sinking is an imaginative game to play with children of all ages. Start by collecting objects from around your house and label them. Then put them around the lounge or playroom in your home. This is your “ship.” You and your child can build a “life raft” in the middle of the room. Put some music on and have a dance around for a few minutes.
Then pause the music and announce, “THE SHIP IS SINKING.” When this happens, you and your child have to pick which objects to save on the life raft. During this game, you can encourage your child to name objects they want to save. They’ll learn new vocabulary when you bring new objects into the space.Â
Goally | Teach Kids AAC & Core Words
Is your child facing challenges in expressing themselves or communicating effectively? Goally’s language apps support their journey in building essential communication skills! All of these apps are included our skill-building tablet made for kids.
The Word Lab and AAC Talker apps provide a simple, engaging platform for your child to learn core words and become a functional communicator right from the start. Customize the experience with a voice that suits them, and watch as their confidence grows in expressing their thoughts and needs!
But we don’t stop there. Our Balloon App helps build the skills needed to use AAC by engaging your child with fun, interactive “pop the balloons” exercises. It’s a game-changer for kids who need that extra boost in communication.
Practicing language games for kids every day can have a huge impact on their speech development. This helps them to understand the world around them and be able to tell you what they need. It’s also a lot of fun!Â
This post was originally published on 11/07/2023. It was updated on 06/27/2023.
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We help parents teach their kids life skills, like doing bedtime and morning independently. Backed by science, we incorporate evidence-based practices and expert-informed designs in all of our apps and content.
