Activities for Teaching Vocabulary

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To assist your young child in language development, use the
following activities for teaching vocabulary:

Always use vocabulary in real context by talking to your child about what you or they are doing. eg "I'm hanging this blue sock on the clothesline." and "You've got a juicy pear to eat."

If your child is imitating your words and you're unsure if they understand the words, point to objects in books and label them. Then ask them to point to particular objects and see if they find the correct ones. Praise and encourage effort and achievement.

Lots of repetition is a key element to understanding language. Some people think they will go mad if they have to sing Humpty Dumpty one more time, but it will pay off! Read their favourite books over and over as much as they desire.

Once your child is talking, ask them to retell stories or programs they have watched in their own words. Also encourage them to tell you about their day and what they enjoyed doing, eating and playing.

Use the name of household and other everyday objects as you use them or as your child finds them. eg "That is an egg whisk, we can beat the eggs with an egg whisk".

Name objects as you go walking and driving eg "That pink bird is a galah." "Yes, look at that crooked fence".

If your child makes an illogical statement or question, rephrase it so it makes sense. eg Child: "Why is a train?" Adult: "Where is the train? It went through the tunnel."

Sit together at meal times and instigate conversations. Good starting points are talking about events that happened that day.

Practice using Who? What? When? Where? How? and Why? questions and show your child how to answer them.