"A low vocabulary is a serious handicap. Ambitious and energetic persons can push ahead in their jobs just so far, but then they reach a plateau caused by low vocabulary.... And while youthful zest and high aptitudes can enable us to forge ahead despite low vocabulary, when we become mature the world expects us to know something and we are judged on knowledge rather than our possibilities....
"Building a powerful vocabulary can help you advance in your career, because as you improve your skill with language you will become a better speaker, a better writer, a better reader, and a better listener. And, if you are all those things, you probably will be a more successful person."
This makes me think about the way in which we talk to children. A few things to consider:
- A great place to start building your preschooler's vocabulary is at the library. Read, read, read!
- An easy way to introduce your child to new words is to use them yourself. Learn how to become a walking thesaurus and why when it comes to preschool vocabulary building, enormous is better than big.
- Expand on what they are saying. Young toddler says "car" and the parent responds "yes, that is a red Honda".
- Instead of saying "good job" tell them exactly what they did that was so wonderful. "I like how you used a lot of yellow paint" "thank you for helping pick up 5 cars and all of your books".
- More is better! The more words that your child hears on a daily basis, the more she'll learn, absorb and eventually put to use herself.
No comments:
Post a Comment