8 Ways to Improve your Child’s Vocabulary

The learning and the proper understanding of vocabulary are important for a child so as to gain academic excellence. It helps a child to adapt ideas and think more logically. In addition, it also helps in boosting up the power of communication in a more engaging way.  Therefore, the process of improvisation of your child’s vocabulary should be started at an early stage to create a lifelong love for reading and writing. It is good to increase slowly instead of being quick and forcing your kid to learn.

1. Introduce a new word each week

Introduce a new word each week and along with it describe the word in detail. For example, if you have introduced the word ‘shopkeeper’ to your child, then try to explain this word with the help of some practical examples and show your kid who is a shopkeeper, what does he/she do, how they are helpful to a society, etc. This will help your child to understand the correct usage of the word and will also interpret its correct meaning. Another tip is to use funny words, as this will add some extra enjoyment to the task of learning new words.

Remember, do not overdo it. Do not introduce too many words at a time as your kid may get confused and puzzled. For more advanced learners, you might want to introduce more difficult and unusual words, like xerothermic or these 12 words beginning with X.

We highly recommend this daily word challenge for kids. Each day your child will be introduced to a new word, which they must use in a paragraph.

2. Read the story aloud for your child

Reading aloud is one of the most effective ways of increasing vocabulary in a child. It not only increases understanding but also enhances communication in a child. Take the help of a picture book to demonstrate the correct usage of words. Picture books are usually bright in colours and hence catch the attention of a child. In addition to the reading aloud, it is good if you interact with your child too. You can ask them what they understood, and what they are seeing in the book, what does this picture mean, etc. You can also connect the story with your child’s activity so as to present a practical scenario. For example, if a picture shows ‘a child with a book’, then you can tell your child ‘‘as you are reading your favourite book, so as this boy too.’’

3. Allow your child to read book independently

Encourage your child to read their favourite book independently. Help them to pronounce any new word correctly and explain the meaning of that new word. Allow them to make mistakes while reading books as mistakes are important to be right. If your child is old enough to understand a child’s dictionary, then introduce the same and encourage them to use that too. Magazines, newspapers, storybooks, etc can be helpful if your child is interested to read. You can even take a look at these 5 techniques to encourage your child to read with no books involved.

Children who read more understand and use large vocabulary as compared to the kids who do not read.

4. Use activities

There are many learning-based activities available which you can take as a help to improve your child’s vocabulary. Games like Scrabble Jr., Upwords, crosswords for kids, etc. and many other mind games can be used to enhance their vocabulary skills. These games are so interesting that your child may not even realise that they are learning too while playing. Also they can help in increasing the thinking and concentrating power in a child. You can also use role-playing and these 8 image prompts games to encourage team work and improve communication skills.

5. Converse in a daily routine

It is good if you converse with your child while doing your daily activities. You can talk through your activities and encourage your child to participate in the conversation. When your child comes back from school then ask them about their day and encourage them to share their whereabouts and how their day was. This will help to reduce the hesitation which is usually there in a child unless he starts communicating with others.

6. Drawing

Drawing is helpful in many ways. In terms of improving vocabulary, drawing can do a miracle. It depicts the understanding level of a person whether it’s a child or an adult. Ask your child to draw a picture of a new word. For example, if you have introduced the word ‘play’ then according to you the image will be like two kids playing together, whereas for your child it can be simply a ball. Both imaginations conclude to the same word ‘play’. So you see drawing gives a clear understanding of a new term. Hence why drawing can be an effective way to improve your child’s vocabulary.

7. Correct mistakes with care

You may observe that your child is making mistakes while conversing and pronouncing new words. In this case, do not make fun of this or reprimand. Correct the mistakes gently and let them understand how this mistake can be avoided and what the correct usage can be. This will enhance the confidence in your child and will let them use the words correctly in the future. The gentler the correction, the more positive the results will be.

8. Be patient

While teaching and improving vocabulary, you may find that there is repetition of the same thing. However, you need to be patient as this situation is completely normal and fine. A child develops at its own pace, and there is no matter of taking the stress and losing hope. Therefore, be patient and energetic as this all takes time but the results are fruitful.