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Mrs. Kahn
gkahn@fboe.org
Speech News from Mrs. Kahn
February, 2012
Vocabulary Development
When
teachers and speech-language specialists talk
about vocabulary, they are referring to the set
of words that a child knows. Vocabulary can be
split into two types: receptive vocabulary and
expressive vocabulary. A child’s receptive
vocabulary consists of the words the child
understands when he/she hears them or reads
them. A child’s expressive vocabulary consists
of the words the child uses when he/she speaks.
During
the first few years of life, as babies begin to
say their first words, it is easy to keep track
of their growing vocabularies. Children
typically understand or recognize more words
than they actually use when speaking. For
example, a toddler might only say five
different words (e.g., dada, mama, doggie,
bottle, more) but be able to understand many
others—like pointing to the light when Mommy
asks, “Where is the light?” or beginning to cry
when Daddy says, “Bye-bye” as he leaves for
work. Vocabulary development does not stop once
a child can talk. In fact, children learn many
new words once they start reading and going to
school.
Why is Vocabulary Important?
Vocabulary is the basis for learning language.
Educational research shows that vocabulary is
strongly related to reading comprehension. As
children learn to read, they must learn to
decode (sound-out) print, but they also must
have a vocabulary base (word-knowledge) in order
to make sense of what they decode. By third
grade, children are reading to learn. For
example, a child who is reading to learn about
the Revolutionary War needs to know words like
war, army, and horses (a basic
vocabulary) to understand the history lesson. At
the same time, however, the child will likely
learn new words like artillery and
revolution—continuing to build his/her
vocabulary.
How Can You Encourage Vocabulary Development?
Read to
your child; read with your child; expose your
child to plenty of reading materials. Children
who listen to adults read to them, have new
words explained to them, and have conversations
about the book they’ve read develop stronger
vocabulary skills. Talk to your child about the
environment around you, plans you have made, and
current events that are happening throughout the
world.
Read together and talk about what you read!
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