Australian Made Colour Coded Digital Download + Physical Kit

Alien Talk: Structured Sentence Building for School-Aged Children

A systematic colour-coded program that uses fun alien characters to teach about grammar, sentence structure and morphology all while expanding vocabularies!

Get Alien Talk Read the manual
Alien-themed sentence-building educational graphic.

Meet the aliens

Each colourful alien is only interested in a specific semantic element of a sentence. Together, they help children learn how to build and comprehend clear, complete messages.

O

Orange — Who?

Identifies who is doing the action in the sentence. Helps children name or identify the subject clearly using a richer vocabulary and correct morphemes (eg. -er, -ist).

Y

Yellow — What doing?

The action word or verb. This is the most important part of every sentence. Children learn that every sentence needs a "doing" word to make sense. Verbs are explored and vocabs extended (eg. ways to express the concept TO LAUGH).

G

Green — What? Who?

What or who the action is being done to. This is the object of the sentence. Helps children add detail and complete the picture for the listener when needed and to identify it in comprehension tasks.

B

Blue — Describe it!

Describing words make messages more interesting and specific. Adjectives provide the details that help the listener visualise clearly and these can hang out with the Orange or the Green Words.

R

Red — Where?

Where the action takes place. Helps children add or identify these phrases to highlight the location (eg. "in the backyard" or "at school"). Important for setting the scene of a story!

P

Pink — How?

How the action is done - quickly, carefully, loudly. Adds richness and precision to a child's spoken and written sentences. Activities even explore how blue words can be made into pink words (eg. sleepy → sleepily).

P

Purple — When?

Time words and phrases like "yesterday" or "after lunch". Also revisits how yellow words are affected by the purple ones (verb tense) so children learn to place actions in time.

B

Brown — Why?

An extension alien for students ready to build more complex sentences by adding reasons and explanations.

Who uses Alien Talk?

Originally designed for use in language sessions by speech pathologists, Alien Talk has been widely adopted across classrooms, clinics and homes throughout Australia and overseas. It is also greatly loved by EAL teachers.

Speech Pathologists

Love Alien Talk for its versatility. It provides the structure and resources for countless sessions (targeting grammar, vocab, expressive, receptive, verbal and/or written language). The systematic progression through sentence components supports targeted therapy goals.

Teachers

Adopt Alien Talk for whole-class grammar programming but also love its links to morphology which also helps spelling and reading. The colourful aliens map directly to the Grammar Knowledge strand of the Australian Curriculum, supporting both oral and written language.

Parents and Tutors

Can support a child's language development at home with engaging, colour-coded activities. The visual approach makes abstract grammar concepts concrete and approachable. Home practice kits are available but should be directed by a teacher or speech pathologist.

A multi-modal system for learning

Alien Talk uses multiple visual cue systems (colour-coding, character features and Auslan sign language), and a comprehensive 10-part program with explicit, systematic teaching progressions. It covers verbal expression, verbal comprehension, written expression and reading comprehension.

What's included

Instant digital download plus a physical kit posted to you. Use the program on a tablet, laptop, interactive whiteboard, or Smart TV - or print the resources out.

  • Digital download of the full program via your account
  • A USB stick with all printable and viewable resources
  • A set of colourful alien cards (1 or 2 sets depending on licence)
  • A "sentence spaceship" for building sentences visually (1 or 2 depending on licence)
  • Picture cards and JPEG images for each section
  • Reading, writing, speaking, listening worksheets and activities for every sentence component
  • Auslan sign language support for each sentence element
  • Completion certificates for each program part
  • Teacher guides with explicit instructions for every section
Get Alien Talk
Alien Talk aliens showing Who, What doing and Where sentence components with real photos

A peek inside Alien Talk

Alien cards, sentence spaceships and colourful resources designed to make grammar fun.

Alien Talk fill in the what doing words worksheet
Alien Talk blue alien describe and cut up strips activity worksheets

Created by a speech pathologist

Alien Talk is written and illustrated by an experienced clinician who works directly with children.

Smiling person holding emotion cards, calm and excited.

Lucia Smith

Speech Pathologist

Lucia is an Australian Certified Practising Speech Pathologist with over 30 years' experience.

She has been writing and illustrating for Pelican Talk Speech Therapy Resources since 2012, drawing on evidence-based practice and her extensive clinical work with children across a wide range of settings and age groups.

Lucia is also the developer of a specialist training program focused on using puppets to support social and emotional learning. This program has been listed on the Victorian School Readiness Funding Menu since 2021.

More about Pelican Talk

Frequently asked questions

Common questions from educators, therapists, and parents about Alien Talk.

What age group is Alien Talk suitable for?
Alien Talk is designed for school-aged children. It is highly adaptable, supporting students with minimal word combinations and small vocabularies right through to those who need to extend their sentence building and grammar skills. The program is most commonly used with primary school students.
Is Alien Talk similar to Colourful Semantics?
Colourful Semantics is an evidence-based approach to teaching sentence structure, originally developed by speech and language therapist Alison Bryan in 1997. The method assigns a colour to each component of a sentence. Alien Talk shares some of the same colour links, but not all. Colourful Semantics differs in Blue: Where? and Brown (When?), Pink (To whom?), Purple (Adjectives/Joining words) and Black (How?). Alien Talk has many similar components but includes a greater focus on explicit teaching of grammatical markers and morphology (including the spelling).
Can I use Alien Talk in a whole-class setting?
Yes. While originally created for students with language difficulties, many Australian teachers now use Alien Talk for general classroom grammar programming. The program aligns with the Grammar Knowledge strand of the Australian Curriculum and is easily integrated into literacy lessons for the whole class.
Does the program align with the Australian Curriculum?
Alien Talk addresses vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure goals that align with the Grammar Knowledge section of the Australian Curriculum. It covers parts of speech, sentence construction, verb tense, and morpheme awareness in a systematic and explicit way.
Do I need to be a speech pathologist to use Alien Talk?
No. Alien Talk is used by teachers, education support assistants, tutors and parents as well as speech pathologists. However, for students with specific language difficulties, the input of a speech pathologist is highly recommended to assess needs and adapt the program accordingly.
How long does the program take to complete?
This varies depending on the student. Some children move quickly through certain parts while others need more practice and discussion. Students should demonstrate a good understanding of each alien before moving on. The program is designed to be worked through sequentially from Part 1 to Part 10.
Are homework kits available?
Yes. Homework kits can be purchased separately by those who have the Alien Talk program. Each kit includes a coloured alien star chart, a brief program overview, a homework planner, a set of 10 alien cards, and a USB stick with all slideshows and images for home practice. Kits are available in lots of 1, 5 or 10.
What format does Alien Talk come in?
Alien Talk is available as a digital download and a physical kit. After purchase, you can immediately download all 10 parts of the program from your account. You will also receive a USB stick with all resources, a set of colourful alien cards, and a sentence spaceship for building sentences visually. The digital files can be used on a tablet, laptop, interactive whiteboard, or Smart TV.

Pick the licence that fits

Every licence includes the full program. Choose the one that fits your team.

Small Clinic / Classroom

$ 120 AUD

For clinics with up to 2 clinicians or schools using the program in one classroom.

  • 1 set of printed cards
  • 1 USB stick
  • Digital download via account
  • 1 sentence spaceship
Choose this licence Best value

Whole Clinic / School

$ 220 AUD

Up to 8 clinicians at the same location or schools using the program across several classrooms.

  • 2 sets of printed cards
  • 1 USB stick
  • Digital download via account
  • 2 sentence spaceships
Choose this licence

All prices in Australian dollars. Instant digital download after purchase.

Related resources

Other Pelican Talk resources that pair well with Alien Talk.

Terry’s Language Pack

Chat TO Terry... Chat THROUGH Terry. Explore what Terry has been up to by looking at 20 photos. Terry's Language Pack is a favourite language resource for children in their first and second year of schooling. It comes with the cutest teddy bear puppet seen in any Australian school and a USB stick crammed full of language tasks and photos to view and/or print. (If you don't have a USB port, we can send you the data via a downloadable link).The language tasks in Terry's Language Pack are written to target the learning goals of the Language and Literacy strands of the Foundation and Year One levels of the current Australian Curriculum. You receive:20 photos to print or view on a device 400 language tasks outlined in a 69 page manual a high quality (and super cute) teddy bear puppet to be used by adults or sent home with children
Doug the dog teaching prepositions to children.

Doug Teaches Prepositions

This resource can be immediately downloadable on payment.TARGET AREAS:Using and understanding the spatial prepositions in, on, behind, next to, under, in front of and between.Prepositions are explored from many different perspectives— in relation to self, in relation to Doug and other items, in relation to flies ON Doug and Doug's favourite toy in relation to furniture items.Using and responding to “Where” questions.Early word combinationsCONTENTS:6 repetitive video-clips A page of sign language (Auslan) and visual symbols Printable games and activities to reinforce concepts Flashcards to print Manual including suggested uses, theory and record sheets 63 images of Doug in different positions 34 pages of wonderful colourful fun!
Oral storytelling kit cover with child astronaut

Story Talk 2

 A great kit to work on story-telling and story-writing skills!Based on the Story Grammar model...Work through character and setting development - events, feelings, thoughts, problem (conflict) and ending (resolution).You receive:magnetic frames to highlight elements of story structure a Story Star a bendy character downloadable resources containing many activities, images to view, cards to create and blackline masters to printUses: Develops and extends narrative skills.Suitable for: Early to middle primary school

Ready for sentences that are out of this world?

A structured, fun way to help children build sentences and understand grammar. Alien Talk makes expressive language activities engaging for every learner.

Get Alien Talk