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Helping your child expand upon their vocabulary is an important part of their overall development and academic growth. A wider vocabulary will help them with their education but will also improve their social skills and ability to communicate effectively. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to help your child develop their vocabulary, as explored below by a nursery in North London.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
When chatting with your child, you might feel obliged to launch into a monologue of explanations to help them learn. However, doing so won’t allow them to practise using new words they have learnt. It’s better to try and encourage them to converse with you, so be sure to give them an opportunity to respond by asking open-ended questions.
Don’t “Dumb Down” Words
If your child doesn’t comprehend certain words, you probably feel like you need to dumb down your own vocabulary so that they understand. This won’t give them the opportunity to come across new words so you should try and speak to them as if you are talking to another adult. If there are any words they don’t understand, you will have an opportunity to teach them.
Encourage Reading
Make sure your child has access to plenty of age-appropriate reading materials from fiction and non-fiction books to magazines and newspapers. This will expose them a wider range of vocabulary that they can learn and develop.
Bring Words to Life
If your child learns a new noun or verb, try and bring it to life by showing them pictures or demonstrating the actions yourself. If they can visualise what the word means, it will be easier for them to understand and remember.
These are just a few suggestions to get you started, but there are lots of other ways you can help your child expand upon their vocabulary. For instance, you could play board games such as scrabble or encourage them to write stories.
