A Plethora of Ways to Increase Your Child's Vocabulary
“Hello babbbby. Babbby, babyyyy, mommy loves you, yes mommy loves…baby want a baba? Baby want a blankie? Oh, poor baby have a boo-boo!” I smiled as I stood in line at a local retail store and heard a mom talking to her baby. She had another of her kids nearby and he was joining in on this 'high level' conversation as well.
Isn't it funny how when we speak to babies, we raise the pitch of our voice and repeat over and over cutsie little phrases? It's easy to see and hear that we begin teaching our children language and vocabulary from the day we hold our precious ones in our arms and begin to introduce them to the world. As our baby becomes a toddler, then a preschooler and on to kindie, most of her language ability comes from the interactions with family members or child care providers.
In a study conducted in 1995, more than 40 families were observed over several years to study how, and how often, parents talk with children. Researchers found a tremendous variety in the amount of words spoken to children in the first three years of life and in the quality of feedback they received. These verbal interactions with adults are major predictors of how prepared children will be to succeed in school.
This study showed the following statistics:
Number of words heard at home per hour
by 1- and 2-year-olds learning to talk:
• low-income child: 620
• middle-income child: 1,250
• high-income child: 2,150
Number of words heard by age 3:
• low-income child: 10 million
• middle-income child: 20 million
• high-income child: 30 million
(Source: Hart Risley, 1995. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Young Children)
How many different words do you speak to your child each day? And what kind of role are you playing in expanding their vocabulary to prepare them for success? I must confess, although I'm a college graduate, it was several years of raising children before I realized the importance of using a myriad of nouns, adjectives and verbs when I was speaking with my kids. I soon realized I needed to up the stakes on the kind of vocabulary I used in my every day communication.
A few weeks ago, I was sharing with my college students about the importance of expanding their vocabulary. I read a quote to them by Jim Rohn, “Vocabulary enables us to interpret and to express. If you have a limited vocabulary, you will also have a limited vision and a limited future.” I told them about an opportunity my husband and I had to move to Australia. One of the first things I noticed when we arrived there was the Australian's expressive use of adjectives in their vocabulary.
In fact, one of my new Aussie friends asked me why I called everything 'pretty' and used the word 'good' so often. I hadn't really ever thought about it. But when I thought about it, I realized that when I saw a nice house I called it 'pretty', a new dress was 'pretty', the woman working down the street was 'pretty', my friends' children were 'pretty', the new couch was 'pretty', the landscaping was 'pretty', my friend's new haircut…'pretty'. Yep, she was right. As to the word 'good', I reflected on my use of that term too. Be a 'good' boy, you're doing 'good' in school, you're a 'good' reader, the dinner was so 'good', you're a 'good' friend, have a 'good' day, sleep 'good' tonight, have you seen the latest movie…it's really 'good'!.…. ok …so I used those adjectives a lot…too much. My college students laughed when I shared that with them, and I asked them what words they would use to describe a nice house, a dress, a couch…they all responded chorally….”It's cool!” I smiled and said, “Yeah dude, it's uh, like uh, ya know…really cool...totally awesome!”
Most of us have a long way to go in our expansion and use of vocabulary. Perhaps the biggest advance we can make is in the impact we can have on our children's vocabulary. We have all been taught (some of us the hard way) that kids do repeat what they hear their parent say.
In Mark Twain's autobiography, he writes “(when around adults using an array of colorful words and phrases)….'the children's ears become early familiarized with wide vocabularies. It is natural for them to pick up any words that fall their way; it is natural for them to pick up big and little ones indiscriminately; it is natural for them to use without fear any word that comes to their net, no matter how formidable it may be as to size. As a result, their talk is a curious and funny musketry clatter of little words, interrupted at intervals by the heavy-artillery crash of a word of such imposing sound and size that it seems to shake the ground and rattle the windows. Sometimes the child gets a wrong idea of a word which it has picked up by chance, and attaches to it a meaning which impairs its usefulness--but this does not happen as often as one might expect it would. Indeed, it happens with an infrequency which may be regarded as remarkable.”
Who can ever forget that wonderful endearing English nanny, Mary Poppins, as she unveiled her magic to Jane and Michael Banks as she sang, 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious'? Do you know a child that didn't know how to pronounce that silly, fanciful non-word? Our children love to have fun with vocabulary, no matter how difficult or unusual. So, let's get on-board and build the vocabulary of our family members, ourselves included. Now… where to begin.
Model it- as usual, it's up to us to set the stage. Think about the words and phrases you say over and over again to your child each day. Can you make it more interesting, more fun, and more expressive?
When your child leaves for school each day, do you say something similar to this, “Have a 'good' day!”?
I suspect you will send them off with a smile if instead you say something like this, “Have a marvelous, magical Monday; Have a truly terrific Tuesday; Have a wonderful whimsical Wednesday; Have a thoroughly thrilling Thursday; Have a fun, fabulous Friday!”
What do you tell your precious loved ones at night when you tuck them in? “Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite?” (What a visual that creates for our kids!). How about instead we could tell them to sleep sedately or repose with the angels or fantasize while enjoying their soothing slumber. Show your child the wonder of words, let them see you digging deep to find that special unit of language that will express your thoughts and open up a whole new world full of enchantment and delight.
Help them to expand the vocabulary they already use or are familiar with - I heard a perfect example of this, the other day while I was shopping. A small delicate little four-year-old ran to show her mom a 'big book'. The tiny voice squealed, “Look at the big book, mommy!” The woman held up the big book and smiled. “It is a very big book. It's humongous!” The child waited only a second and then repeated proudly with a smile. “It's hu-mun-gus! “
We help build our child's vocabulary by re-enforcing what they already know, and then help them expand it. So when little Joey says, “This tastes good,” we repeat. “Yes, it does taste good. It's scrumptious, delicious, or delightful!” With the upcoming holidays, there will be so many opportune times to express the wonder and mystic of this fanciful holiday. Is the turkey just yummy? Or is it succulent, tender, flavorful? Are the Christmas lights pretty? Or are they twinkling, radiant, breathtaking? Is your Christmas tree green and big or is it a fir, a pine, spruce or cedar, (or plastic, made in China?)… Watch how the world expands as your child hears and begins to practice new vocabulary. Perhaps you can make a Christmas collage with all the words that are found on Christmas cards or used in advertisements to describe Christmas.
Make learning new words fun for the whole family - After my trip to Australia, I was determined to work on my vocabulary as well as the children's. We had a game we played. Each week a different family member (there were six of us) had the opportunity to select 'a word for the week'. We spelled the word out with colorful magnetic letters and placed it up on the freezer door to remind us. Experts say we need to use the word 14 times before it becomes part of our vocabulary, so our goal was to use each word at least three times a day throughout the week. My son was entering junior high at the time and when a friend of his came over, he remarked. “What's that word on the freezer and why is it there?” My son said, “The word is 'plethora'.” “Oh,” his friend said, “so, what does that mean?” Although he was quite proud of the word 'plethora' when he chose it, I could tell my son was afraid his buddy would think he was visiting a bit of a nerdy family. “Plethora means a lot of or many,” my son explained. His friend paused for a bit and said wistfully, “That's so cool…We never do anything fun like that at my house. Can I choose a word of the week some day?” Encourage the family to search for new words. Instead of making fun of each other for not knowing what a word is…encourage them to play detective to search unfamiliar ones out.
Read to your child and encourage them to read -
A quote from Erasmus is a great reminder of how our children learn their language
“…For it is not by learning rules that we acquire the powers of speaking a language, but by daily intercourse with those accustomed to express themselves with exactness and refinement and by copious reading of the best authors. “
Reading is one of the prime ways to discover new vocabulary. We know that when a child begins to read, the amount of vocabulary he knows is a strong predictor of reading ability. The more vocabulary, the better the reader, the better the reader, the more he learns vocabulary. In several studies conducted during the 90's the following was discovered: “Based on estimates of independent reading word counts, students who read independently for at least 10 minutes each day appear to experience substantially higher rates of vocabulary growth than students who do very little independent reading” (Adams, 1990; Anderson & Nagy, 1991; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). Another study, referred to as the Matthew Effect, shows how once your child enters school behind in vocabulary they never catch up, but rather continue to widen the gap with their classmates. (Check out this website for more information http://www.balancedreading.com/matthew.html)
Start today to build you and your child's vocabulary. You will see before your eyes your child's view of the world broaden, and their imagination and creativity flourish. Be a role model, make learning vocabulary fun, and read, read, read!
“The limits of my language are the limits of my mind. All I know is what I have words for. "
Ludwig Wittgenstein.
