High School Language Skills

High school students use language all day: to follow instruction, understand course material, share ideas, work with classmates, and ask for help. As academic and social demands grow, communication can become more complex.

Students develop at different rates and bring different strengths to school. For SLPs and educators, the useful question is how a student’s language skills affect their participation and access to learning—not whether they match a single checklist.

Key High School Language Skills

Receptive and academic language

Students may need to understand lectures, multi-step directions, subject-specific vocabulary, and complex sentences. They also interpret implied meanings, figurative language, and information in readings across subjects.

A student might understand a concept when it is explained one-to-one but have difficulty following it during a fast-paced class discussion or while taking notes.

Expressive language and discourse

High school students often explain their reasoning, summarize information, present ideas, and support opinions with details or evidence. They also organize longer spoken and written responses and adjust their language for different audiences and purposes.

A student may know an answer but find it hard to organize the explanation, choose precise words, or connect ideas clearly.

Social communication and self-advocacy

Group projects, discussions, friendships, and changing classroom expectations call for flexible communication. Students may need to share the floor, clarify misunderstandings, consider different perspectives, and work through disagreements.

Self-advocacy is part of this skill set, too. Students benefit from being able to ask for clarification, request more time to process, or explain which supports help them participate.

When a Student May Need More Support

Consider whether communication challenges are persistent and affect the student’s learning, relationships, or independence. For example, a student may:

• Have difficulty following lectures or group discussions, even with effort.
• Miss implied meanings or key information in spoken or written material.
• Find it hard to organize ideas when speaking, writing, or retelling.
• Struggle to ask questions, clarify directions, or contribute to group work.
• Avoid communication tasks or become frustrated by them.

These examples are not a diagnostic checklist. They are reasons to look more closely at the student’s experience and the demands of their school day. Language differences, dialects, and multilingual development should also be considered during assessment; ASHA’s guidance on spoken language disorders discusses culturally and linguistically relevant assessment.

Practical Ways to Support Teen Language Skills

Start with a real classroom task: a reading assignment, group project, discussion, or presentation. Then identify the language demands that are making participation harder.

• Preview essential vocabulary and connect new words to examples from class.
• Make directions available in writing and break longer instructions into steps.
• Use outlines, note-taking supports, or graphic organizers to help students arrange ideas.
• Teach useful clarification and self-advocacy phrases, such as “Could you repeat the last part?” or “Can I see the directions?”
• Give students time to think and plan before they respond.
• Choose age-respectful materials that connect to the student’s classes, interests, and goals.

Build on what the student already does well, and adjust support as their independence grows. ASHA recommends that language intervention connect with everyday communication and academic content, with goals selected for each student’s needs. You can read more in ASHA’s Practice Portal guidance. asha.org

For a ready-to-use discussion activity, try the free 100 Problem-Solving Scenarios. Students can identify a problem, brainstorm options, predict outcomes, and explain their reasoning. Choose or adapt scenarios to fit the teen’s age and experiences.

When to Consider an SLP Evaluation

If communication difficulties continue to affect a student’s academic participation, relationships, or independence, consider discussing your concerns with the school team or a speech-language pathologist. An evaluation can look at the student’s strengths and needs across relevant settings and tasks, including spoken language, reading, writing, and social communication.

For SLPs documenting school-age language evaluations, see School-Age Language Assessment Report Templates on TPT.

Receptive and Academic Language

High school students may need to understand lectures, multi-step directions, subject-specific vocabulary, complex sentences, and implied meanings in class discussions and reading. For extra practice with nonliteral language, explore free Idioms and Figurative Language activity.

Expressive Language and Discourse

Students often explain their reasoning, summarize information, present ideas, and support opinions with details or evidence. These free 100 Compare and Contrast Prompts can help students practice organizing their thoughts and explaining similarities and differences.