BUILDING YOUR CHILD’S VOCABULARY

Nell Duke, professor at the University of Michigan Education, discusses some ways by which parents can build their child’s vocabulary. He recommends you to teach no more than 5 unfamiliar words each week; and repeatedly use those in your day-to-day conversation.

Children need to be exposed to a new word 4 to 12 times before they include it in their vocabulary. While repeatedly exposing your child to a particular word, use it in a variety of applicable contexts. Do not restrict yourself to only those words that your child knows. Using words that he doesn’t know will help him pick new words soon.

Help your child visualize those new words by showing relevant pictures in books, magazines or web pages. Then help him actually learn it by making him to say it and write it. Read books with your child as often as possible; and take him to new places like zoo, railway station, museum, etc to expose her to a rich vocabulary. Upon coming across a new word, give him a quick child-friendly definition.

Help your child understand words with multiple meanings by asking him to explain the meaning of a word in a particular context. 

Content Source: http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=97AA2240-F7CE-11E3-

Image: http://linguistics.ohio.edu/opie/?page_id=1231