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How Play Builds Language | Speech Therapy San Francisco
- Rachel Verducci
- Aug 11
- 11 min read
Play may look simple from the outside: stacking blocks, pretending to cook, racing toy cars, dressing up dolls, or taking turns in a game.
But beneath the fun, children are practicing some of the most important skills involved in communication.
Through play, children can learn new words, connect words with actions, take conversational turns, solve problems, express feelings, follow directions, tell stories, negotiate with others, and experiment with new ideas.
Developmentally appropriate play also creates opportunities to strengthen cognitive, social-emotional, language, and self-regulation skills (Yogman et al., 2018).
That does not mean a specific toy automatically teaches language or that every child will develop communication skills at the same pace. What matters most is the interaction surrounding the play: shared attention, responsiveness, modeling, encouragement, and meaningful back-and-forth communication.
For families seeking speech therapy in San Francisco, understanding how play supports language can make everyday routines feel more purposeful—and help parents recognize when their child may benefit from additional support.
At tuLIPS Speech Therapy, we use personalized, evidence-based approaches to help children strengthen communication through engaging activities connected to real life
Why Play Is Such a Powerful Setting for Language Development
Young children do not learn language by memorizing long vocabulary lists. They learn through repeated, meaningful interactions with the people and world around them.
Play naturally creates those interactions.
When a child pushes a toy car and a parent says, “The car is going fast,” the word fast is connected to something the child can see and experience. When a tower falls and everyone says, “Crash!” the sound, action, emotion, and word happen together.
These moments help language feel meaningful rather than abstract.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders explains that early speech and language skills develop most successfully in environments rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to communication (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders [NIDCD], 2022).
Research also suggests that responsive and encouraging caregiver behavior during play is associated with stronger receptive and expressive language skills in young children (Rivero et al., 2023).
The takeaway is encouraging: parents do not need expensive toys, complicated lesson plans, or hours of uninterrupted free time.
They need opportunities to connect.
What Language Skills Can Children Practice Through Play?
Different types of play create different communication opportunities.
Vocabulary
Children hear and practice words for:
Objects
Actions
Locations
Descriptions
Feelings
Sizes
Colors
Numbers
People
Social routines
A block can be tall, blue, heavy, under, beside, or falling. One simple object can support many different concepts.
Sentence Development
Play gives adults natural opportunities to model sentences that are slightly longer than what the child currently says.
If a child says:
“Car.”
An adult might respond:
“The blue car is going.”
If the child says:
“Baby sleep.”
The adult might expand:
“The baby is sleeping in the bed.”
These expansions validate the child’s message while providing a more developed language model.
Turn-Taking
Communication is a back-and-forth experience. Games, rolling a ball, building together, and pretend play can help children practice:
Waiting
Watching another person
Responding
Requesting a turn
Sharing ideas
Repairing misunderstandings
These foundational skills support both conversation and social interaction.
Following Directions
Play can make following directions more engaging and meaningful.
Examples include:
“Put the bear inside the house.”
“Give me the red block.”
“First feed the baby, then put her to bed.”
“Find the car and park it under the bridge.”
Directions can gradually become more complex as the child’s understanding grows.
Problem-Solving
When a block tower falls, a puzzle piece does not fit, or a toy becomes stuck, children have an opportunity to think, communicate, and ask for help.
Adults can model phrases such as:
“It doesn’t fit.”
“Let’s try another way.”
“We need help.”
“What could we do?”
“Turn it around.”
Problem-solving language supports flexible thinking and self-advocacy.
Storytelling and Narrative Skills
Pretend play allows children to create characters, settings, problems, feelings, and solutions.
A toy animal may get lost. A doll may visit the doctor. A superhero may rescue someone. These play sequences introduce the building blocks of storytelling:
Who was involved?
Where did it happen?
What happened first?
What was the problem?
How did it end?
Narrative skills later support conversation, reading comprehension, academic writing, and the ability to explain personal experiences.
Social Communication
Playing with other people gives children opportunities to practice:
Entering a play activity
Sharing
Negotiating
Taking another person’s perspective
Asking questions
Reading facial expressions
Adapting to another person’s idea
Expressing disagreement appropriately
These skills can be especially important for children who have difficulty navigating peer interactions.
The Interaction Matters More Than the Toy
Parents often ask which toys are best for language development.
The most useful answer is usually: the toy your child is interested in and that encourages interaction.
A simple set of blocks can support vocabulary, following directions, pretend play, turn-taking, requesting, problem-solving, and storytelling. A cardboard box can become a house, bus, store, spaceship, or animal shelter.
The goal is not to purchase a “language-building” product. The goal is to use play as a shared communication experience.
Research on pretend play and development should also be interpreted carefully. Pretend play is associated with several positive developmental skills, but research does not prove that pretend play alone directly causes every language or cognitive outcome. It is likely one of several valuable routes through which children interact, practice, and learn (Lillard et al., 2013).
The strongest opportunities often emerge when an adult notices what the child is doing, joins their focus, responds meaningfully, and adds language without taking control of the entire activity.
Seven Evidence-Informed Ways to Build Language During Play
1. Follow Your Child’s Lead
Watch what your child chooses and how they use it.
If your child is lining up animals, join that activity instead of immediately redirecting them to a different game. You might name the animals, describe their movements, or add one simple idea.
For example:
“The elephant is first.”
“The tiger is behind the lion.”
“They are walking to the water.”
“Who comes next?”
Following the child’s interest increases the likelihood that they will remain engaged and notice the language being modeled.
2. Comment More and Quiz Less
Adults sometimes turn play into a series of test questions:
“What color is this?”
“What is that?”
“How many are there?”
“What sound does it make?”
Questions can be helpful, but too many may create pressure or make the interaction feel like a performance.
Balance questions with comments:
“That is a huge truck.”
“The puppy looks hungry.”
“You built the tower so high.”
“I wonder where the train is going.”
Comments give children language models without requiring an immediate correct answer.
3. Expand What Your Child Says
Repeat your child’s message and add one or two words.
Child:
“Ball.”
Adult:
“Big ball.”
Child:
“Dog run.”
Adult:
“The dog is running.”
Child:
“She sad.”
Adult:
“She feels sad because her toy broke.”
Expansion provides a natural model without directly criticizing the child’s grammar or speech.
4. Pause and Wait
Children may need time to process language, organize an answer, find a word, or decide how they want to communicate.
After making a comment, offering a choice, or asking a question, pause for several seconds.
You might say:
“The car needs to go…”
Then wait.
The child may say up, point to the ramp, use a gesture, select a symbol on an AAC device, or show you another way.
A pause creates space for communication.
5. Create Opportunities to Request and Problem-Solve
Rather than anticipating every need immediately, create gentle opportunities for your child to communicate.
Examples include:
Put a favorite toy in a clear container they need help opening.
Offer only part of a toy set.
Give two choices.
Pause during a familiar routine.
Hold a bubble wand without immediately blowing.
Place a desired item slightly out of reach while remaining available to help.
The purpose is not to frustrate the child. It is to create a meaningful reason to communicate through words, gestures, signs, pictures, eye gaze, or AAC.
Honor all communication attempts.
6. Add New Words to Familiar Play
Children benefit from hearing words in meaningful contexts. Parents naturally introduce new words during ongoing interaction and play, even before children can repeat or independently use them (Adamson et al., 2015).
During block play, add words such as:
Balance
Sturdy
Collapse
Edge
Beneath
Narrow
Enormous
During pretend cooking, add:
Stir
Slice
Ingredients
Spicy
Melt
Pour
Recipe
Use the word, explain it simply, and connect it to what is happening.
“The tower collapsed—that means it fell all the way down.”
7. Repeat Favorite Activities
Parents sometimes worry that repeating the same book, game, song, or pretend routine is not challenging enough.
Repetition is valuable.
Familiar routines allow children to anticipate what happens next, understand language more deeply, participate with greater independence, and eventually use new words themselves.
A familiar play routine may progress from watching, to gesturing, to filling in a word, to creating an entirely new version of the story.
Play Ideas by Age
Babies
Language-building play may include:
Peekaboo
Songs with gestures
Imitating sounds
Rolling a ball
Looking at simple books
Naming body parts
Copying facial expressions
Back-and-forth vocal play
Respond when your baby looks, reaches, smiles, points, or makes a sound. These early exchanges are the beginning of conversation.
Toddlers
Helpful activities include:
Toy animals
Cars and ramps
Dolls and pretend food
Bubbles
Blocks
Shape sorters
Water play
Songs and movement games
Simple puzzles
Use short phrases, repeat important words, and connect language to the child’s actions.
Preschoolers
Preschool play can support more complex language through:
Pretend stores and restaurants
Doctor or veterinarian play
Puppets
Dress-up
Board games
Building challenges
Treasure hunts
Story reenactment
Art activities
Encourage children to explain, predict, describe, and solve problems.
School-Age Children
Older children can build communication through:
Cooperative games
Lego or building projects
Role-playing
Cooking
Crafts
Scavenger hunts
Storytelling games
Card games
Strategy games
Acting out social situations
Focus on flexible thinking, sequencing, explaining rules, perspective-taking, and self-advocacy.
Supporting Language in Multilingual Homes
Families do not need to limit play to English.
Parents and caregivers should use the languages in which they feel most comfortable and connected. ASHA encourages families to talk, sing, play, read, and listen together in all languages used at home (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association [ASHA], n.d.-a).
Playing in a home language can:
Strengthen family relationships
Preserve cultural connection
Provide rich and natural language models
Support storytelling and emotional expression
Give children meaningful vocabulary for daily life
Using more than one language does not cause a speech or language disorder. A child with a true communication disorder may show difficulty across their languages, although the difficulty may look different in each one.
A culturally responsive speech-language evaluation should consider the child’s entire language background rather than comparing a multilingual child only with monolingual expectations.
What Does Play-Based Speech Therapy Look Like?
Play-based speech therapy is purposeful, even when it looks fun and natural.
A speech-language pathologist may select activities based on specific communication goals, such as:
Producing a particular speech sound
Expanding sentence length
Learning action words
Following multi-step directions
Answering questions
Initiating communication
Taking conversational turns
Using AAC
Understanding emotions
Practicing social problem-solving
Organizing and retelling a story
The therapist observes how the child communicates, adjusts the level of support, models strategies, and creates repeated opportunities to practice a skill.
For example, a toy farm activity could target:
Animal names and sounds
Early verbs such as eat, run, and sleep
Location words such as inside, behind, and under
Two-word phrases
Speech sounds
Turn-taking
Answering who, what, and where questions
Story sequencing
The activity is playful, but the clinical goals are intentional.
When Everyday Play May Not Be Enough
Play supports development, but it is not a substitute for a professional evaluation when concerns are present.
Children develop at different rates, and developmental checklists are not diagnostic tools. However, families may want to consult a speech-language pathologist if a child:
Is not meeting several communication milestones for their age
Rarely attempts to communicate
Has difficulty understanding everyday language
Becomes frequently frustrated when communicating
Is difficult for familiar or unfamiliar people to understand
Loses speech, language, play, or social skills they previously used
Has persistent stuttering or visible tension when speaking
Has difficulty participating in play with others
Has trouble using language across daily settings
Has a history of hearing concerns or frequent ear infections
Relies on memorized language but struggles to create new messages
NIDCD recommends discussing concerns with a child’s healthcare provider. A comprehensive speech-language evaluation may also include hearing screening because hearing differences can affect speech and language development (NIDCD, 2022).
Parents do not need to wait until a child is significantly behind before asking questions.
Valuable Parent Resources
ASHA Communication Milestones
ASHA provides age-based communication milestone checklists from birth through age five. These can help families understand general developmental patterns while remembering that children develop individually (ASHA, n.d.-b).
NIDCD Speech and Language Developmental Milestones
NIDCD offers information about early speech and language development, common milestones, hearing considerations, and when to seek professional guidance (NIDCD, 2022).
Everyday Language Activities
ASHA’s family resources include practical suggestions involving songs, books, pretend play, games, daily routines, storytelling, and opportunities for children to respond (ASHA, n.d.-a).
Professional Speech-Language Evaluation
When parents have concerns, an evaluation with a qualified speech-language pathologist can help distinguish developmental variation from a communication disorder and identify individualized next steps.
Play-Based Speech Therapy in San Francisco
San Francisco families have language-learning opportunities everywhere: building a story during a Muni ride, describing produce at the market, spotting animals at the park, retelling a neighborhood adventure, or playing restaurant after trying a new meal.
Communication practice does not have to remain inside a therapy room. The most meaningful goals often connect directly to daily life.
At tuLIPS Speech Therapy, we provide personalized support for children and families in San Francisco, Piedmont, and surrounding Bay Area communities. Therapy may address speech sounds, language development, social communication, fluency, AAC, and other communication needs through approaches tailored to the individual child.
In-person and virtual options are available.
Start the Conversation Today
Play is more than entertainment.
It is a space where children experiment, connect, problem-solve, imagine, and communicate.
Parents do not need to direct every activity or transform playtime into formal instruction. By following a child’s lead, adding meaningful language, pausing for responses, and celebrating communication attempts, families can make everyday play even more valuable.
And when communication feels difficult, families do not have to navigate it alone.
If you are wondering whether your child may benefit from play-based speech therapy in San Francisco, contact tuLIPS Speech Therapy to discuss your concerns and learn about the next steps.
Because every playful moment can become an opportunity for connection—and every voice deserves to feel heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does play really help children learn language?
Play creates meaningful opportunities to hear and use language, share attention, take turns, solve problems, and interact with others. The quality of the interaction around play is especially important (Rivero et al., 2023; Yogman et al., 2018).
What toys are best for speech development?
There is no single best toy. Open-ended toys and familiar household objects can be useful when they encourage shared interaction, imagination, turn-taking, and conversation. Follow your child’s interests whenever possible.
Should I correct my child while we play?
Constant correction can interrupt connection and create pressure. Instead, model the correct form naturally. If your child says, “Him running,” you might respond, “Yes, he is running fast!”
What if my child does not use spoken words?
Communication includes gestures, facial expressions, signs, pictures, eye gaze, vocalizations, and AAC. Respond to and honor all intentional communication. A speech-language pathologist can help identify supports that fit your child.
Can multilingual families play in more than one language?
Yes. Families should communicate and play in the languages that feel natural and meaningful to them. Multilingual exposure does not cause a speech or language disorder (ASHA, n.d.-a).
When should I contact a speech-language pathologist?
Consider reaching out if your child is missing several age-related milestones, is frequently frustrated, is difficult to understand, has trouble understanding language, loses previously acquired skills, or if you simply feel concerned. Parent concerns are worth discussing.
Works Cited — APA 7th Edition
Adamson, L. B., Bakeman, R., & Brandon, B. (2015). How parents introduce new words to young children: The influence of development and developmental disorders. Infant Behavior and Development, 39, 148–158. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2015.02.008
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.-a). Tips for your child’s speech and language development.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.-b). Communication milestones: Age ranges.
Lillard, A. S., Lerner, M. D., Hopkins, E. J., Dore, R. A., Smith, E. D., & Palmquist, C. M. (2013). The impact of pretend play on children’s development: A review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 1–34. doi:10.1037/a0029321
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2022, October 13). Speech and language developmental milestones.
Rivero, M., Vilaseca, R., Cantero, M.-J., Valls-Vidal, C., & Leiva, D. (2023). Relations between positive parenting behavior during play and child language development at early ages. Children, 10(3), 505. doi:10.3390/children10030505
Yogman, M., Garner, A., Hutchinson, J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2018). The power of play: A pediatric role in enhancing development in young children. Pediatrics, 142(3), e20182058. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-2058
The key source materials confirm that everyday talking, singing, reading, play, responsive interaction, and sufficient wait time can support communication development; they also emphasize that milestone checklists guide—not diagnose—and that parents should seek an evaluation when they are concerned.
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