Having a diverse vocabulary helps children to communicate themselves effectively and improves their comprehension, allowing them to understand more advanced texts. There are approximately 100,000 word families in the English language and the average person is thought to only know between 5,000 to 20,000. To grow their vocabulary there are 5 things that you can do according to a private school in Surrey.
Helping Your Child Develop their Vocabulary
1. Read More Often
Reading can steadily increase a child’s vocabulary as it introduces them to new words and their spellings. If your child’s not at the stage where they can read for themselves yet, you can help them get there sooner by working on the different sounds together at home. You can also read to them and that way you can teach them their meanings.
2. Use a Greater Variety
This one is an easy one. Simply grow your vocabulary and use a greater variety day to day. Don’t worry about words being too sophisticated or complex, they will slowly pick up the words and make them a part of their dictionary.
3. Help with Homework
If your child gets given spellings as a part of their English homework, give them a helping hand to practise and teach them how to use the words in a sentence. This will make it more likely for them to use them in the future.
4. Use Sticky Labels
Depending on how advanced your child’s vocabulary is, you can go around your home with sticky labels and name the objects that you see. This will help bring the words to life and ensure that they remember what they’re called.
5. Word Games
While they may not have much of a vocabulary, word games like sudoku encourage children to do their research and learn what things are called. It gamifies the process and can make learning new words fun.
