Why Students Can Answer WH Questions but Still Struggle With Conversation Skills | Speech Therapy

A student can answer who, what, where, when, and why questions accurately during speech therapy and then struggle to keep a real conversation going.

You ask, “Where did the boy go?”

“The park.”

“Why did he go there?”

“To play.”

“Who did he go with?”

“His friend.”

Every answer is correct.

Then you put the structured activity away and ask, “What did you do this weekend?”

“Nothing.”

And the conversation ends.

If you're an SLP, you've probably seen this happen. A student may perform well on structured WH question activities in speech therapy but have difficulty using those same language skills during conversations with peers or adults.

Why?

Because answering WH questions and using conversation skills require different but related language abilities.

Why WH Questions Can Be Easier Than Conversation

WH questions provide students with a lot of structure.

When we ask a student a question such as:

“Where did she go?”

the word where immediately provides a clue about the type of information we're looking for.

The student knows:

Someone else has started the interaction.

The topic has already been established.

A response is expected.

The question tells them what type of information to provide.

Essentially, we've already done part of the conversational work for them.

Real conversations don't provide nearly as much structure.

When a peer says:

“I went to Cedar Point this weekend.”

there isn't a question telling the student what to say next.

The student has to decide.

Do I ask a question?

Make a comment?

Share something about myself?

Ask for more information?

Change the topic?

Simply acknowledge what the person said?

There can be many effective responses, and generating one independently requires much more flexibility than answering a direct question.

Conversation Skills Require Students to Generate the Next Step

Consider this exchange:

Peer: “I went to Cedar Point this weekend.”

Student: “Cool.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with saying cool. The student acknowledged what the other person said.

But now the conversation may stop.

To continue the interaction, the student could ask:

“What was your favorite ride?”

They could make a connection:

“I went there last summer!”

Or they could comment and ask for more information:

“That sounds fun. Was it crowded?”

During structured WH question practice, the SLP usually generates the question.

During a conversation, the student may need to generate the next conversational move independently.

That difference can help explain why a student who appears to have mastered WH questions may still need support with pragmatic language and conversation skills.

Conversation Is More Than Asking Questions

When teaching conversation skills in speech therapy, it can be tempting to give students a simple rule:

Ask a question to keep the conversation going.

Questions certainly help.

But conversations aren't interviews.

Consider this interaction:

Student: “What did you do this weekend?

”Peer: “I went swimming.

”Student: “Who did you go with?

”Peer: “My sister.

”Student: “Where did you go?

”Peer: “My grandma's pool.

”Student: “When did you go?”

The student's questions are relevant. They're also successfully using WH words.

But the interaction may still feel one sided.

Natural conversations typically include a combination of questions, comments, reactions, connections, and shared information.

Compare it with:

Peer: “I went swimming at my grandma's house.”

Student: “That sounds fun! My grandma has a pool too. Did you stay there all day?”

Now the student is doing several things at once. They are responding to what the peer said, making a related comment, sharing a personal connection, and asking a follow up question.

Those are important conversation maintenance skills that aren't necessarily captured by traditional WH question activities.

The Missing Conversation Skill May Be Making Connections

One skill I like to emphasize during social communication and pragmatic language therapy is finding connections.

When another person talks, their message gives us information we can use to decide where the conversation might go next.

For example:

“I got a new puppy.”

A student might respond:

“What kind?”

“What did you name it?”

“I have a dog too!”

“My cousin just got a puppy.”

“Is it sleeping through the night yet?”

All of these responses could keep the interaction going.

The goal isn't to teach students that there is one “correct” response.

Instead, we can help students recognize multiple possible ways to respond and connect to what another person says.

That flexibility is an important part of functional conversation.

WH Questions Are Still Important in Speech Therapy

This doesn't mean we should stop working on WH questions.

Understanding who, what, where, when, why, and how supports many important receptive and expressive language skills.

WH questions can help students understand spoken and written information, identify important details, organize information, recall events, tell stories, ask for information, and participate in conversations.

The key is recognizing that answering WH questions correctly doesn't automatically mean those skills will generalize to an unstructured conversation.

For some students, structured WH question practice is one step toward a larger communication goal.

How to Bridge WH Questions and Conversation Skills in Speech Therapy

Once a student is successful with structured questions, we can gradually remove some of the support.

Instead of:

“Where did he go?”

or

“What should you ask?”

try presenting a conversational statement:

“I went to the movies yesterday.”

Then ask:

“What are some things you could say next?”

If the student needs support, provide a few possibilities.

Ask: Is there something you want to know?

Comment: What could you say about what you heard?

Connect: Does this remind you of something you've experienced or know about?

React: How could you show the person you heard what they said?

Instead of looking for one correct answer, encourage the student to generate two or three different possibilities.

For example:

“What movie did you see?”

“I went to the movies last weekend too.”

“I've been wanting to see that new movie!”

Now the student is practicing flexible language rather than memorizing a conversation script.

Practice Conversation Skills Without Expecting One “Right” Response

This is especially important when working on pragmatic language and social communication skills.

There isn't one correct way to have a conversation.

Some people ask a lot of questions. Others tend to share related experiences. Some are naturally more talkative, while others communicate more briefly.

The goal shouldn't be to make every student's communication look the same.

Instead, we can help students build a toolbox of conversation strategies they can choose from.

They might ask a related question, make a comment, share a connection, add relevant information, react to what someone said, ask for clarification, follow an interesting part of the conversation, or introduce a related topic.

Then students can learn which strategies are useful and comfortable for them in different situations.

Take Conversation Practice Beyond the Speech Therapy Activity

Structured practice can be helpful, but eventually we want students to use their communication skills when the activity isn't telling them exactly what to do.

Instead of only measuring whether a student answered 8 out of 10 WH questions correctly, consider what happens when the structure is removed.

Can the student respond when a peer shares information?

Can they think of something related to say?

Can they ask a follow up question when they're interested?

Can they add enough information for someone else to respond?

Can they recognize when they don't understand and ask for clarification?

Can they maintain an interaction for another turn or two?

These skills can tell us much more about how a student is using language during functional, everyday communication.

Build Conversation Skills, Not Conversation Scripts

WH questions are valuable speech therapy targets.

But being able to answer who, what, where, when, and why doesn't necessarily mean a student knows what to do when nobody provides the next question.

That's where explicit instruction in conversation skills can help.

Rather than teaching one formula for having a “successful” conversation, we can help students recognize the many options available to them.

Ask. Comment. Connect. React. Add information. Follow the clue.

Then give them opportunities to practice choosing among those options in increasingly natural situations.

Because answering a question is one communication skill.

Figuring out what to say when no one gives you the next question is another.

Conversation Skills Activities for Speech Therapy

If you're working with students who do well with structured language activities but need more support applying those skills during conversations, Speech Your Heart Out offers interactive speech therapy resources designed to provide explicit instruction and practice with functional conversation skills.

Students can practice skills such as starting conversations, finding common interests, asking questions, making connections, responding to others, and keeping conversations going with structured support before moving toward more independent practice.

Try a Free Conversation Activity

Want to move beyond structured question and answer practice?

Grab my FREE Conversation Skills activity for structured, interactive practice you can use in speech therapy. It’s a simple way to start working on functional conversation skills while giving students the support they need to practice.

Get the FREE Conversation Skills Activity →