This blog explores how multimodal communication can support teaching English. It is especially helpful for learners who may be developing language in different ways. Let’s take a closer look at the What? Why? When? Where? How?
❓What is Multimodal Communication (MMC)?
Multimodal communication means using more than one method or mode to share a message. It falls under the umbrella of AAC — Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
These modes can include:
📸 Photographs or images
✋ Makaton or simplified sign language
🗣 Spoken language
🧍 Body language and facial expressions
📱 Speech-generating devices (SGDs) or apps
📝 Writing or typing
🧃 Real objects (e.g. a juice carton to represent “drink”)
By mixing and matching these modes, we make communication more accessible. It becomes more engaging and inclusive. This is especially true for children who find spoken English difficult to understand or use.
❓Why Use Multimodal Techniques?
Much like how we might use multimodal communication gestures when traveling in a foreign country, and can’t speak the native language,
Multimodal communication helps to support:
- Children with delayed or different language development
- Non-speaking or minimally verbal children
- Learners with unclear or inconsistent speech
- Those with sensory, cognitive, or motor differences
- Children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL)
These techniques help avoid communication breakdowns and build:
💬 Meaning
🧠 Memory
👂 Understanding
🖐️ Participation
💪 Confidence
❓When Should We Use These Techniques?
Every day, and as often as possible.
Multimodal communication becomes more effective when:
- It’s used consistently across different places — home, school, and community
- It’s paired with real-life situations (e.g. signing wait at a zebra crossing)
- It’s modelled with patience, rather than taught as a formal lesson
Multimodal communication is about natural connection, not just teaching.
❓Where Can We Use Multimodal Communication?
Anywhere! But the method you choose might change based on the setting.
For example:
🏫 In school: visuals, signs, speech, writing
🏊 In the swimming pool: facial expressions and gestures
🛝 In the park: key words, pointing, body language
🧩 Be flexible. If one mode isn’t available, use another. All forms of communication modelling count.
❓How Do We Use Multimodal Communication?
There’s no “one-size-fits-all.” Every child communicates in their own way.
What matters is that we:
✔️ Adapt to the child’s needs
🕓 Slow down and allow time to process
🔁 Repeat key messages using different modes
💡 Model communication naturally, rather than instructing
🔄 Focus on connection over correction — understanding comes first
❓What is Makaton?
Makaton is a simplified signing system that removes complex grammar and supports spoken language. It focuses on key words.
You:
- Say the word
- Sign the word
- Use gestures to show the meaning
It’s a powerful tool for learners who are developing communication alongside or instead of spoken English.
❓Why Focus on Makaton Key Words?
Key words lay a strong foundation for:
🛑 Safety – stop, wait, no
🧃 Choice – want, like, more, finished
🧍 Social interaction – hello, help, look, me/you
When used naturally in conversation (not just commands), these words help children to:
- Make choices
- Express needs
- Connect socially
- Learn English in context
❓How Does Makaton Support English as a Second Language?
Makaton creates a bridge between a child’s home language and English.
It offers:
👁️ Visual cues for abstract English words
📣 Sound–meaning connections
🖐️ Gestural prompts that aid memory
💬 Early ways to communicate, even before fluent speech develops
In group settings, Makaton is inclusive — it helps everyone use the same universal signs to support understanding.
💬 My Personal Experience
Everyone communicates differently, and there is no right or wrong way to communicate with our kids. How we do it depends on what we want to say, how we naturally speak, and how we can adapt our message to support differences in processing, cognition, apraxia, and language development.
Key words are important because they help lay the foundation for basic safety, communication, and self-advocacy. My core keywords are:
Stop, Go, Wait, Want, Like, Do, Not
When these words are taught naturally as part of everyday conversation — rather than just used for giving directions — they become meaningful and usable in real-life situations. This creates a structure of understanding and builds the child’s ability to express themselves independently.
Using songs and storytelling to model the functions of language through Makaton (or other multimodal methods) reinforces the connection between sign and sound. Melody, imagery, movement, and expression add deeper meaning to the key words and make learning more engaging.
Music and stories are brilliant for:
🗣 Learning how language is used (asking, greeting, commenting)
🎵 Practising rhythm, tone, and pronunciation
🧠 Boosting memory and vocabulary
💖 Encouraging creativity, connection, and expression
What songs or stories would you like to learn? Please comment!
I am James' mum 