Speech and language therapy

How to slow
your child’s Information
for you
speech down

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 Here are some activities to practise
talking slowly. These are activities that
you can practise in your own time – you
don’t need to do these when talking to
other people during the day!

• Tongue Twisters: say a tongue

twister as quickly as you can – can
someone else understand what
you’ve said? Try saying the tongue
twister as slowly as you can – the
words are a lot clearer! How quickly
can you say the tongue twister and
still say all the words clearly?

Here are a few tongue twisters to try

and a few tongue twister websites:

• A good cook could cook as many cookies as a good

cook who could
• cook cookies
• Bubble bobble bubble bobble bubble bobble
• An ape hates grape cakes
• A proper copper coffee pot

• http://www.indianchild.com/tongue_twisters.htm

• http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/

tongue-twisters
• http://www.funenglishgames.com/funstuff/

tonguetwisters.html
2
Jumping: if you jump each time you say a word, you
have to speak a lot more slowly (unless you’re a very
fast jumper!) Try saying sentences, jumping on each
word (either jump on the spot or jump across the
room). You can pick a sentence from a book, use a
tongue twister, choose a line from a song or make up
a sentence yourself. If you are able to say each word
with clear speech sounds, try making it a little faster by
just taking a step each time you say a word.

Tapping the table: this is the same as the jumping

activity (but much less tiring!) Tap the table-top
or clap your hands each time you say a word in a
sentence. Try to tap or clap a steady, regular beat,
saying the words clearly at the same time. You can
speed up the beat but make sure you’re still able to say
each word with clear speech sounds.

Against the clock: most people talk more quickly

when they are excited or in a hurry and this can make
their speech less clear. You can practise saying sounds
clearly in this way by using a timer (an egg timer, a
stopwatch, a timer on a mobile phone or a watch with
a second hand). Try to talk about something (like
what you did at school or what TV programmes you
like) before the time runs out (try 20 seconds and see
how you get on – you can give yourself more or less
time if you need to). Even though you are trying to
say something before the time runs out you are also
trying to speak slowly with clear speech sounds. In
this activity it doesn’t matter if you don’t have time
to finish what you’re saying, as long as your speech
sounds are clear.
3
All of our publications are available in different languages, larger print,
braille (English only), audio tape or another format of your choice.

Tha gach sgrìobhainn againn rim faotainn ann an diofar chànanan, clò
nas motha, Braille (Beurla a-mhàin), teip claistinn no riochd eile a tha
sibh airson a thaghadh.

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Last reviewed: June 2016

Leaflet reference: SLT16-013-CC/PIL16-0118