How to teach ds the diff between sounds of "sh" and "s"

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 5:41 pm

Anyone can help me out? He's 5 and having a hard time in school with alef bais because when he says the sounds of the letters shin and sin, it sounds the same. It's not a huge issue but I don't want him to become frustrated with reading Hebrew.

amother

Magnolia

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 5:49 pm

Does he differentiate in english?

If not he could use a few sessions of speech therapy.

If he does in english but not in hebrew then a few sessions with a kriyah specialist.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 5:53 pm

amother Magnolia wrote:

Does he diffeecisre in english?

If not he could use a few sessions of speech therapy.

If he does in english but not in hebrew then a few sessions with a kriyah specialist.

I really would like to work with him myself.
I know he hears the difference because he'll tell me shin like shaina or sin like Sara (my 2 daughters). He always says it correctly which daughter's name it sounds like but when he says the name and sound of the letters, it sounds pretty much the same to me.

amother

Starflower

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 6:03 pm

Show him how you make your mouth when you do each and over dramatize it so it's obvious

amother

Garnet

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 6:15 pm

amother Starflower wrote:

Show him how you make your mouth when you do each and over dramatize it so it's obvious

This and let him use a mirror
Does he say Shaina or Saina
Does he say Sarah or Sharah

amother

Holly

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 6:23 pm

SLP here. The technique I use a lot with this type of sound error-is that I teach them to say the S sound with a smile, and the Sh sound with rounded/curled out lips aka 'duck lips'. It usually does the trick.

amother

Peru ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 6:26 pm

Google “minimal pairs sh and s”. Try to find free flashcards or worksheets showing those words (ex. sheet and seat, sell and shell). Make practice fun by making a game out of it. Only spend 5 or 10 minutes a night on this, and only praise him for good productions. (No negative feedback.)

amother

↑ Peru

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 6:28 pm

Holly, do you ever find the smile trick makes them produce a lateralized /s/? Wondering if it’s just me!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 7:05 pm

Thank you all so much for these ideas!
It's not exactly clear what sound he's producing, it's somewhere between the sh and s sounds, probably more to the s round maybe with some extra air coming out with the sound. Does that make any sense?

amother

Green

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 7:24 pm

Does he have an overbite, or something similar? Until we fixed that, my son could not physically do some sounds correctly.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 7:35 pm

amother Green wrote:

Does he have an overbite, or something similar? Until we fixed that, my son could not physically do some sounds correctly.

I don't think so. How would I know and how did you fix it?

amother

Viola ↓

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 7:41 pm

amother OP wrote:

He could have a lateral lisp

amother

Cognac

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 7:45 pm

amother Garnet wrote:

This and let him use a mirror
Does he say Shaina or Saina
Does he say Sarah or Sharah

does he say Shaina and Sarah? Then id call the letters shaina and Sarah for now. It’s mesorah to learn the names but it’s not necessary in order to learn to read.

amother

RosePink

Mon, Oct 16 2023, 11:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

What is that?

The air comes out the sides instead of straight ahead. For sh the lips need to be rounded and the air come out straight ahead

honey36

Tue, Oct 17 2023, 12:00 am

Actually the lip rounding helps a bit for the sh but really the essential difference between s and sh is that the tongue is a bit further back in the mouth for the sh.

First practice in mirror sticking tongue way out, then pulling it way back. When it goes back, try not to curl it back, rather kind of bunch it back- like when you do a "eee" sound it is bunched up in back. Then do the same thing but add the s sound. You'll see as tongue moves further back in mouth it will turn in to a sh.

Or, A lot of times kids with lateral sh I get them to practice saying "eeeeeshhh" many times because the "eee" will get that tongue up and back in the right position for sh. Add the lip rounding for the "final touch".

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Oct 17 2023, 12:35 am

amother Cognac wrote:

does he say Shaina and Sarah? Then id call the letters shaina and Sarah for now. It’s mesorah to learn the names but it’s not necessary in order to learn to read.

It's a general speech issue that he has. It's not just the names of the letters, it's that he's not producing the sounds correctly.

salt

Tue, Oct 17 2023, 5:08 am

Am I the only one who thinks it doesn't matter at age 5.

If he says the letters right in usual speech, it doesn't sound like such an acute problem.

amother

↑ Viola

Tue, Oct 17 2023, 9:17 am

amother OP wrote:

It's a general speech issue that he has. It's not just the names of the letters, it's that he's not producing the sounds correctly.

If he's not articulating it properly it can prevent him from differentiating between the letters and the sounds when it comes to reading. First step would be working on articulation. Make sure he can differentiate auditorally as well.