Vocabulary development in preschool children: methods and techniques

Tags: Development, Speech development
The development of a child’s speech is an important area of ​​preschool and school education. And one of the criteria for success is a rich vocabulary (the number of words that a child can use during communication).

To avoid delayed speech development, it is necessary to enrich the baby’s vocabulary from the first year of life. Classes aimed at expanding and activating the vocabulary should be conducted not occasionally, but daily. Only with regular and systematic vocabulary work will you be able to raise an erudite and intellectually developed child.

Features of children's dictionary by year

1–3 years

A one-year-old baby knows and can use 5–9 one- or two-syllable words (“give”, “ma-ma”, “pa-pa”, “la-la”). In the next 2 years, his vocabulary quickly expands due to the words that his parents use in everyday communication, and reaches 800–1000 lexical units.

Thematic categories that a child aged 1–3 years operates with:

• names of family members, names of pets;
• names of toys, surrounding household items (dishes, furniture, food);
• names of 5–10 animals and plants;
• names of seasons and weather phenomena (“rain”, “snow”, “sun”).

The basis of a three-year-old's vocabulary is nouns with specific meanings and verbs. Adjectives and adverbs are not used at this age: the child cannot use words to describe an object or his emotional state.

4–5 years

During this period, a qualitative leap occurs: the child’s vocabulary is enriched with new thematic groups and reaches a volume of 1900–2200 words.

New thematic categories in a child’s dictionary at 4–5 years old:

• emotional experiences, feelings and emotions (“cheerful”, “angry”, “sad”, “offended”);
• qualitative characteristics of objects (“big”, “green”, “cold”);
• diminutive forms (“mommy”, “brother”);
• names of baby animals (“kitten”, “duckling”).

At 5 years old, a child learns the basics of word formation. Now he can create groups of words with the same root using prefixes and suffixes: “water” - “water”, “goose” - “gosling”, “table” - “table”. At the same time, he realizes not only the relatedness of such lexical units, but also their differences (“a goose is an adult bird, and a gosling is a baby”).

5–7 years

The child’s vocabulary increases approximately 2 times: now its volume is about 3000–4000 words.

Thematic groups that a child aged 5–7 years should use:

• time intervals (“minute”, “hour”, “year”), days of the week, months and seasons;
• spatial concepts (“top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”);
• numerals (from 1 to 10, sometimes up to 100);
• first and last names of parents, close relatives, famous writers;
• some social science terms (“country”, “Motherland”, “people”, “labor”, “Russia”), names of city attractions and holidays (“New Year”, “Birthday”, “Christmas”);
• professions and sports, colors and shades, parts of the human body, natural phenomena;
• household items (clothing, shoes, hats, toys, dishes, furniture, hygiene products), vehicles (water, land, air);
• domestic and wild animals, plants, fruits, berries, vegetables, flowers;
• words with a general meaning (“animals”, “transport”, “dishes”);
• emotional-evaluative words with the meaning of a person’s feelings and experiences.

Before enrolling a child in first grade, almost all schools conduct testing, which includes an assessment of the child’s speech development. That is why it is so important to identify gaps in the knowledge of a future first-grader in advance and eliminate them in a timely manner.

Replenishing a child’s vocabulary with different types of parts of speech

Between one and three years of age, a child remembers the following:

• what are the names of your loved ones;
• what are the toys called?
• how household items are designated (food, dishes, hygiene items, etc.)
• natural phenomena;
• Seasons;
• easy names of plants and animals

A child’s vocabulary at this age has not yet been replenished with words that allow him to clearly express his assessment or emotions.

By the age of four or five, a child’s speech is already filled with a larger volume of words; he operates in a completely different way with concepts that have already been learned. What does a preschooler remember at this time:

• Labeling feelings (sad, happy, angry, etc.)
• Qualitative characteristics of objects (low, cold, light, etc.)
• How to correctly create a diminutive form of the word (son, daddy)
• Cognate words: (rook-rook; cat-kitten-cat)

By the age of five or six, a preschooler, as a rule, has already mastered about three thousand or more words; he knows the following:

• Time designation - days, weeks, hours, minutes, etc.
• Designation of space - right, left, sideways, etc.
• Simple and complex numbers
• The name of peoples, countries, the designation of social phenomena - labor, state, etc.

The child increases his stock of verbs and nouns most quickly, and adjectives more slowly. Since it is this part of speech that gives imagery to the conversation and saturates it, adults should pay attention to the descriptive and qualitative characteristics of objects and phenomena.

Ways to develop vocabulary

There is a generally accepted formula that describes the mechanism for replenishing a child’s vocabulary:

1. the child hears the word;
2. understands its meaning;
3. remembers the word (sends it to the passive vocabulary);
4. learns to use it in speech (translates it into active vocabulary).

It is on this universal formula that exercises and activities should be built to help increase the baby’s vocabulary. If even one link is missing, the necessary word will not become part of the child's vocabulary.

Observation with comments

From the very birth of the baby, start talking to him: the baby must get used to the sound of human speech. Lesson options:

1. While walking, tell your baby everything you see. Try to make the story picturesque and figurative: use many adjectives, use synonyms. An example of a good description: “This is a tree. It is green, bright, with lush foliage. And how big, tall and majestic it is! This is a truly gigantic tree!” Try to comment on events emotionally: say how you feel from contemplating a rainbow or how you feel when a hot object touches your hand.
2. An eight-month-old child can already be taught about the structure of the body. Touch it and say: “This is a pen, your pen; little pink hand." Then show your hand and say: “This is my hand: look how big it is.” Remember to use as many adjectives as possible.
3. Organize a joint observation of something: a pet, an insect, a tree swaying in the wind, or something happening on the street. At the same time, comment on what is happening: “Look, a grasshopper is crawling along a leaf. Now he moved his paw. Funny, isn't it? Oh, that’s it, he galloped away.” If possible, let your child touch, smell, or even lick the observed object.
4. You can conduct several experiments with your child. Bring his hand to the cat’s fur and say: “This is a cat; It’s soft, warm and smooth.” Then invite the baby to hold a piece of ice and say: “This is cold, hard and wet ice.”
5. From the age of 2, you can purposefully introduce new lexical units into your child’s vocabulary. To do this, you must demonstrate the object to the child, say its name several times and make sure that the baby remembers it. Try to do it naturally. On a walk, as if by the way, show him a tree and say: “This is a spruce.” Point to another spruce and say again: “And this is a spruce.” Then, pointing to the tree, ask: “Do you think this is a spruce?” To make sure that your child remembers the word, point to the spruce and ask: “What kind of tree is this?”

Conversations

From the age of 3, the child already understands the meaning of the text and understands the content of poems and fairy tales that his mother reads to him. Therefore, you can discuss the books you read or the illustrations you viewed. Effective exercises:

• the child tells what is shown in the pictures and makes up stories based on them;
• the child answers questions based on the text he just listened to (good questions: who did you like best? what event do you remember? what would you do in the hero’s place? why?);
• the child describes an object in detail (parents can ask clarifying questions: what shape is it? what color?).

To learn the names of body parts and items of clothing, have your child describe himself or a doll.

Reading fiction

Be sure to read aloud to your child. After all, reading fiction is the most important way to enrich your vocabulary. Children who have loved books since childhood have more developed speech than their peers, are able to construct sentences correctly, and write essays better in school.

When reading a book to your child, try to pronounce words clearly, loudly and correctly, and avoid mistakes in articulation and emphasis. If there are unfamiliar words in the text, explain their meaning to the baby.

Vocabulary games

1. “Name the animal (plant, name, etc.).” Take the ball and place the children in front of you in a semicircle. Throw the ball to the children one by one: the child who caught the ball must name a word from a given thematic group and throw the ball back. The kid who couldn’t remember the word is eliminated from the game. The winner is the child who was able to stay in the game.
2. "Edible - inedible." The presenter says any word and throws the ball to the child. If the word denotes an edible object, the child catches the ball; if it is inedible, he throws it away. The exercise helps to understand how correctly the child has mastered the meaning of words. For example, if a child claims that a plate belongs to the group of edible objects, there is reason to think about it.
3. "Big small". The rules are the same as in the previous game. The presenter pronounces one word from a pair (“chair” or “high chair”, “table” or “little table”, “spoon” or “spoon”). If the child believes that the leader named a small object, he catches the ball, if it is large, he throws it away.
4. "Package". Each player receives a “package” with some item. The child must describe his subject in detail so that others understand what he is talking about.
5. "Analogies". Write the “equation” on the card: “A pigeon is a bird, a cat is a ?” The child must understand which thematic group the second word belongs to. This exercise helps you learn words with specific and general meanings.

Bibliography

1. Volosovets T.S. Speech development of preschool children: theoretical foundations and new technologies: collection of articles from the Federal State Educational Standard for 15 years. - M. 2015.- 54 p.
2. Karikova Yu.I. Features of work on speech development of preschool children / O.A. Skryabina, Yu.I. Karikova.- Ryazan.: Noosphere, 2015.-289 p.
3. Levshina N.I.Modern approaches to the methods of speech development of preschoolers//Fundamental Research.-M.: 2015.-40 p.
4. Nevskaya V.P. Speech games and exercises: a manual for teachers and speech therapists, educators and parents. M.: TC Sfera, 2022. -64 p.
5. Rybakova E.V. Speech development of children: domestic and foreign experience. — M.: Sphere shopping center, 2022 -140 p.

Formation of active and passive vocabulary

It happens that a child knows a word, but does not use it. The reason often lies in the fact that the baby is not sure of its meaning. He just doesn't know in what context it can be used. The task of parents is to identify these “dead” lexical units and try to transfer them to the active stock (explain their meaning and show an example of use in speech).

Choose a variety of methods to build your child's vocabulary. Active and active children will enjoy playing with a ball: they will diligently remember the words, as long as the game continues. But calm children prefer listening to books and doing exercises with descriptions. And remember! A developed vocabulary is a guarantee of successful learning at school.

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Enriching the vocabulary of preschoolers during play activities

ENRICHING THE DICTIONARY OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

DURING GAME ACTIVITIES

K.D. Ushinsky O.

Enriching vocabulary is a necessary condition for the development of children's communication skills. The richer and more correct a child’s speech, the easier it is for him to express his thoughts, the wider his opportunities for understanding the surrounding reality, the more meaningful and fulfilling his relationships with peers and adults, the more active his mental development is. Poor vocabulary hinders full communication, and, consequently, the overall development of the child. Conversely, a rich vocabulary is a sign of well-developed speech and an indicator of a high level of mental development. Timely development of vocabulary is one of the most important factors in preparing for school education.

Thanks to various types of activities, and, above all, play, the child’s speech becomes voluntary and purposeful.

The game has a very great influence on the development of speech. The game situation requires from each child included in it a certain level of development of verbal communication. If a child is not able to clearly express his wishes regarding the course of the game, if he is not able to understand his playmates, he will be a burden to them. The need to communicate with peers stimulates the development of coherent speech.

Methods for activating vocabulary, most often used in working with children of senior preschool age, include: verbal didactic exercises: “Who will say more precisely?”, “Who will notice more (qualities, signs, details)?”, “Who will tell in more detail?”, “Who will say otherwise?” (an exercise for selecting synonyms), “Indicate the opposite quality, direction” (or “Say the opposite” - for the use of antonyms). Games can be played using a ball (“What kind of apple?” asks the teacher and throws the ball to the child. “Sweet,” he answers and returns the ball. “The apple is sweet and ...?” - the teacher throws the ball to another child. “Fragrant (juicy, yellow, Antonov)." Or the teacher throws the ball with the words: “He works at a construction site, but is not a painter.” “A bricklayer (plasterer, carpenter, plumber, etc.),” the child answers.

Play is the main activity of a child in preschool age; by playing, he learns about the world and people; by playing, the child develops. An important means of developing the vocabulary of preschool children is a didactic game. The methodology for conducting vocabulary didactic games is determined by the content of vocabulary work, the age characteristics of children and the ability to regulate their actions. Inner speech is formed.

For the most part, adults who want to teach a child to speak correctly use one method - they ask them to repeat the word they just said. However, this method is not the most successful for speech development. Adults who really want not only to teach a child to imitate them, but also to ensure that he perceives the world around him through these words, can use simple didactic exercises in their practice.

Vocabulary didactic games help the development of both specific and generic concepts, the development of words in their generalized meanings. In these games, the child finds himself in situations where he is forced to use previously acquired knowledge and vocabulary in new conditions.

The selection of material for didactic games should be determined by the tasks of vocabulary work. To activate the everyday vocabulary, toys or pictures depicting household items are selected. To activate the natural history vocabulary, natural material is selected. One of the conditions for clear management of games is to determine the list of words to be learned. With the help of didactic games, a child can acquire new knowledge: by communicating with the teacher, with his peers, in the process of observing the players, their statements, actions, acting as a fan, the child receives a lot of new information. And this is very important for its development.

In the game, the child learns to understand the purpose of various things and objects, to find connections with adults and other children.

Didactic games with toys are widely used: “Find the toy”, “Guess the toy by touch”, “Find out what has changed”, etc. Games are played for different purposes. Depending on which words are clarified and reinforced, the teacher selects toys. Usually they use 2 - 3 toys that are pre-considered. In the process of examination, the vocabulary is clarified, and in the process of subsequent play, it is activated. The game also combines education and entertainment.

Didactic games are educational games that can be used to enrich children's vocabulary. They are also used to consolidate children's vocabulary (nouns, adjectives, verbs, color names, spatial concepts, prepositions, etc.). Speech, memory, attention, logical thinking, visual memory develop. A culture of behavior and communication skills are strengthened. To develop and enrich a child’s vocabulary, educators widely use role-playing games.

Role-playing play has a positive effect on speech development. Role-playing play plays a special role in the life of a child, especially a preschooler, it allows the child to imagine himself as a doctor, hairdresser, mom or dad, and allows him to develop imagination, thinking, and fantasizing. In role-playing games, the child tries to express himself as clearly as possible, to apply all his accumulated experience, all his knowledge and skills. Theatrical games have a great influence on the development of the vocabulary of preschool children. By participating in theatrical games, children get acquainted with the world around them through images, colors, and sounds. Theatrical and play activities enrich children with new impressions, knowledge, skills, develop interest in literature, activate the vocabulary, and contribute to the moral and ethical education of each child.

In the process of working on the expressiveness of characters’ remarks and their own statements, the child’s vocabulary is imperceptibly activated, and the sound side of speech is improved. A new role, especially the dialogue of characters, confronts the child with the need to express himself clearly, distinctly, and intelligibly. His dialogical speech and its grammatical structure improve, he begins to actively use the dictionary, which, in turn, is also updated.

The vocabulary of preschoolers is actively enriched by words “invented” by them (“pretty”, “naked”, “mazeline”). Word creation is the most important feature of children's speech. Facts collected by psychologists, teachers, and linguists indicate that the period from two to five years is characterized by active word creation in children. Moreover, new words are constructed according to the laws of language based on imitation of the forms that they hear from surrounding adults. Word creation is an indicator of the mastery of the morphological elements of a language, which are associated with the quantitative accumulation of words and the development of their meanings.

So, good speech is the most important condition for the comprehensive development of children. The richer and more correct a child’s speech, the easier it is for him to express his thoughts, the wider his opportunities for understanding the surrounding reality, the more meaningful and fulfilling his relationships with peers and adults, the more active his mental development is. The development of speech - its sound side, vocabulary, grammatical structure - is one of the most important tasks in teaching children. A significant place in teaching speech is occupied by vocabulary work: expanding the vocabulary, clarifying the meanings of words, activating passive vocabulary. Play is the life of a child, his joy, the activity necessary for him. In the game, the preschooler assimilates the experience gained; but does not copy those around him, but expresses his attitude to what he hears.

The specificity of role-playing games is that the child is especially independent in it: he is free to choose the theme of the game, plot, role; in a certain change in the content, direction of the game (of course, in agreement with partners); in choosing playmates, game materials, determining the beginning and end. The uniqueness of children's play, of course, requires great delicacy from an adult in the pedagogical guidance of this activity. Meanwhile, the mistakes typical of previous years still occur to a large extent today. Since play is the leading activity of a preschooler, it is necessary to use various games and play exercises in developing the child’s vocabulary.

The most powerful engine of speech development is activity. A little person, like adults, has work and play. This is the most natural and easiest way for a child to master speech. While playing, the baby remembers the names of various objects, learns to characterize and verbalize the actions that can be performed with these objects.

All actions that you perform together with your child and objects associated with them require verbal accompaniment.

Vocabulary and grammatical structure develop and improve constantly, not only in preschool age, but also during schooling.

Despite the increasing vocabulary, the growth of the vocabulary lags behind the growth of ideas, and a gap appears between the passive and active vocabulary. Hence the abundance of demonstrative pronouns and adverbs in children’s speech (that, that, there, that way).

The teacher’s task is to fill the children’s words with specific content, clarify their meaning, and activate them in speech. Attention should be paid to the correct understanding of words, their precise use according to their meaning, and expansion of the active vocabulary; when comparing objects, learn to identify and accurately identify essential features; activate words denoting qualities and actions. In preschool age, a child must master a vocabulary that would allow him to communicate with peers and adults, study successfully at school, understand literature, television and radio programs, etc. Preschool age is a period of active acquisition by a child of spoken language, the formation and development of all aspects of speech: phonetic, lexical, grammatical. Full command of the native language in preschool childhood is a necessary condition for solving the problems of mental, aesthetic and moral education of children in the most sensitive period of development. Scientific research by a number of psychologists and educators has shown that preschool childhood is especially sensitive to speech acquisition.

The development of children's speech and vocabulary, mastery of the riches of their native language is one of the main elements of personality formation, mastery of the developed values ​​of national culture, is closely related to mental, moral, aesthetic development, and is a priority in language education and training of preschool children.