“BALL!” my son uttered gleefully, pointing at the little ball by his feet. He was 11 months old at the time and that was his first word.

It was one of the first words he recognised early on, being able to point to it when we named it.

His speech developed fairly quickly after that, with his vocabulary expanding at a rapid rate. Today, at three-and-a-half years old, he is a complete chatterbox and I can scarcely remember the days when he could only babble at us.

How do children develop speech and language? Obviously, it is inextricably tied to a child’s hearing. If a child cannot hear, he or she cannot learn to speak.

But how does the brain make the connection between what we hear and how we develop speech?

According to consultant developmental paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, the connection comes from a child’s phonological awareness.

Speech and language therapist Iffah Rashida Mazlan explains that phonological awareness is the way that children manipulate speech sounds in spoken language. It is how the brain works to organise sound patterns.

Toddlers and preschoolers, like my son, pick up phonological awareness from what they hear around them. If they have phonological awareness, says Dr Rajini, they should be able to detect rhymes and syllables, and know how to put the right emphasis on syllables when pronouncing words.

I tested this out when I sang ‘Wheels On The Bus’ with my son. It’s one of his favourite nursery rhymes and I had never given much thought to how he picks up the rhyming words. But I was pleasantly surprised to observe that he did instinctively emphasise ‘round’ and ‘town’.

As parents, we take most of this for granted. We assume that this is something all children develop naturally once they learn how to speak, and that the ability to read and write will just fall into place when they are in school.

However, speech and literacy is not just about talking. Many children are able to speak, but are they articulating well? Are they identifying speech sounds and using them accurately?

When a two-year-old says “wittle wabbit”, it seems funny and adorable. But if the child is still dropping ‘r’s or lisping a few years later, this should be a red flag for parents.

When I look back at my own childhood, my strongest memories are of my mother reading the Ladybird series to me, or of us singing Chinese nursery rhymes together. These kinds of activities nurture what Dr Rajini and Iffah call a “language-rich environment”, which nurtures phonological awareness.

The things that we do with our children today, whether it is reading stories aloud, singing nursery rhymes, reciting pantun or just talking to them, are not simply fun pastimes, but fundamental stepping stones towards language and literacy.

It sets the foundation for our children to express themselves, communicate with others and learn.

It is something I try to keep in mind now every time my inquisitive and chatty son asks “Why?”, even though he’s asking it for the hundredth time.

By having a conversation with him instead of brushing him off, I am giving him the gift of language.

Listen to the podcast 'Better Hearing and Speech Month':

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