Developing and increasing a child’s vocabulary is central to the child’s learning process. This is one of the reasons parents and teachers start working on a child’s vocabulary young, sometimes even before the kids get to a primary school in Singapore. The vocabulary boundary of a young kid will accurately predict their educational outcomes at a later stage; a broader vocabulary translates into improved confidence and better social skills when they become adults.
Along with sending your child to an excellent primary school in Singapore, you must also enhance your child’s vocabulary as a parent. Parents’ input in their kids’ vocabulary is crucial as approximately 95% of the words known to a child come from the parents’ vocabulary. Here are a few ways to seamlessly integrate vocabulary development into your daily routine.
Top tips to improve your child’s vocabulary
Introduce them to new words
You may think kids cannot pick up on words like catastrophe or camouflage, but they actually can. Teach them these new nouns and show them pictures in books or online to represent the same. If the new word is an adjective, think of nouns that can be described using that very adjective such as diligent student or an inadequate lunch. If it is an emotion like exasperation, frustration, elated etc., display the feeling using expressions or hand gestures.
Ask your child to question any words they come across.
Tell your children it is ok to ask the meaning of new words they read or see without feeling embarrassed about it. Teach them to look up a dictionary, apply context or simply walk up to their teachers in school or cone to you. Show enthusiasm and take interest when they come to you with new words.
Rely on the pictorial representation of the new word
For instance, if you are introducing your child to the word reluctant, you can both draw a situation that signifies that word for them, such as a picture of their sibling entering the pool or being given spinach.
Don’t ‘dumb down’ your vocabulary for the sake of your child.
Use as many new and tricky words as possible; the vaster the vocabulary, the better it is for your child. Often parents try and use simpler words because they think it is better for the kids; however, this is far from the truth. Speak to them as you would speak to another adult. Use challenging words so they can become academically more adept as well.
Indulge a lot of time in stimulating conversation with your child
Thought-provoking parent-child chats are key influencing factors in developing children’s vocabulary. Even if the topic is not exciting, describe your childhood, talk about your day, and ask them about their day at school Singapores history, previous family holidays and other past experiences. When visiting new places such as a supermarket or museum or taking the subway, ask your child to read signboards for you and pick up words from instructions, manuals, notices and labels.
Carry on a dialogue with your child
Even the best primary schools in Singapore are adopting this approach, as having a two-way conversation is essential for a child’s learning and development. Don’t just start a monologue and have a one-sided conversation. Ask your child open-ended questions, let them ponder about new topics being introduced to them and get back to you with their thoughts. The more time they have to practice and articulate their thoughts, the more confident they become in picking up new words.
Put new words into context.
Rather than sitting down with a list of words to learn, make it easy for your child by using the words in meaningful sentences. When your child encounters new words while reading or hearing you, it becomes easier and fun to pick up the new words.
Incorporate the new word in different scenarios
When you introduce a new word to your child in conversations, try and use the same word in multiple scenarios so that it easily gets embedded in your child’s memory and helps them understand the word across scenarios. For example, the word fortunate can be used in two ways – We are fortunate that the store didn’t shut before we reached. You could even casually remark how fortunate you are to have such a loving family and exceptional children. Then let them use the term fortunate to see if they understood what you meant.
Don’t overload your child with too many new words all at once
Don’t go all out all at once; introduce a few new words every day, so it is a manageable number for your kid to learn. You can’t just introduce it and let it be; everyone in the family needs to actively incorporate those words and use them naturally as part of their conversations.
