Speech Detectives Demonstration
Channel: The Language Scientists
Date: 03/08/2022

What happens when the Language Scientists visit a classroom? Watch this video for a sneak preview! 

Kathleen demonstrates our Speech Detectives activity, which introduces students in grades 3-12 to the concept of phonological patterns. Students observe how her assistant, Billy, pronounces certain words, make hypotheses, test their hypotheses, and reason about evidence. This activity often leads to great conversations with students about accents and dialects, and students take away an understanding that there are patterns in language, even when people talk differently than you! When we visit classrooms using this activity, the visit usually lasts 30-60 minutes, to allow time for introducing the speaker, moving more slowly through the activity, answering questions, and discussing careers in language science. 

Questions? Comments? Want to invite us to your school? Leave us a comment, or email us at info@thelanguagescientists.org. We hope you'll consider following us on instagram (@ thelanguagescientists). 

Clipart credit: Illustrate Your Voice