Receptive and Expressive Language

Does your child understand spoken language? This includes following directions, answering questions and correctly identifying common objects.

Can your child communicate effectively with others? This includes the amount of spoken words, types of grammatical forms used, sentence structure, and proper sequencing of information.

If your child is working on building their understanding of (receptive) and use of (expressive) language, here are some easy activities that you can do at home to boost and reinforce those communication skills.

Language skills are often learned best through everyday moments and routines:

(reading books, talking, playing, bathtime, making dinner, errands, laundry, picking up, etc., and you don't need anything special except your daily routine)

1. Talk through steps of your routines. If it's folding laundry, then talk about the pieces and piles. If it's making lunch, then talk out loud the steps to making a sandwich "First.... then.... next.... last" etc.

2. Ask open-ended questions that don't have a yes/no answer. It's hard not to assume the answer, but if your child doesn't answer, then break it down into choices. "Do you like the yellow flower or the red flower?"

3. Notice, out loud, the number, size, shape, and color of the things around you. "Do you see those two blue silos? They are so tall!" (for example)

4. Make up rhymes, sing and say nursery rhymes, and sing songs. This is a big one for pre-literacy, as the skill of rhyming is very important in learning how to read.

5. Practice with pretend phones.

6. Pretend play-shopping, work, ordering food, etc.

7. Build on interests--check out books, find websites, make something and color it, hang it up, songs, or anything about your child's favorite things.

8. Tell stories-real or imaginary: when, who, where, what, sequence of events. Encourage them to tell you stories.

9. Let them choose books to read and if they want the same one a thousand times, it is ok!

10. Encourage logic throughout your routines: "What do you think will happen?", "What is ___ going to say?", "What is happening?"

11. Make a word book--take index cards and glue magazine pics on them that interest them. Then talk about it.

12. Expand on utterances. I should have put this one first. This is probably THE most important, and easiest, suggestion. If they point to the dog and say 'dog', then you say, "Yes, that's our brown, furry dog." If they point to the truck and says 'truck', then you can say "Daddy drives a black truck." When you use synonyms and descriptors in context, it helps them expand their vocabulary. "Look at the cars and trucks. That is a lot of vehicles!"

Children benefit from playtime, no matter how old! Here are some examples of games and playtime activities that combine language learning with fun:

• Word games. Expand your children’s vocabulary with word games. It can be as simple as pointing out items at home or during a road trip e.g. “I am now mixing the butter into the batter” or “Tall buildings are also called skyscrapers”. You might even give the definition or share background information about these words. Games like Scrabble, Pictionary or a round of Charades also encourage vocabulary development and communication skills.

• Jokes. Telling age-appropriate puns will also help foster good humor and creativity in children. This also encourages wordplay and imagination. You can read through kid-friendly joke books and take turns telling witty stories. Avoid being too critical of their gags, speech, or articulation. Instead, model proper pronunciation or grammar by repeating the statement back to them in the correct way e.g. when your child says “I goed so fast!” instead of saying, “That’s not how you say it”, you can opt to say, “Yes, you went so fast!”

• Riddles. Riddles are fun ways to use words and paint pictures of scenes or situations. Read or say riddles aloud to each other and explain to your children the different definitions of a single word e.g. school as in a place of learning or school as in a group of fish to help them understand the riddle better.

• Rhymes. The repetitive chanting, reading, writing, or hearing of rhymes promotes good listening skills and memory retention, aside from developing speech. You can also narrate what you do at home with rhyming words or let your children tell you about their favorite toys using rhyming words.

• Homonyms. Promote listening and comprehension skills by playing with words that sound the same but have different meanings. Allow your children to think of words that sound alike and let them try to define each one. This is also a good gauge of how much your children’s vocabulary has expanded and if their understanding of the words is correct.

• Storytelling. While storybooks provide ample entertainment, sharing stories – whether real or make-believe – can provide a good bonding time with your children while helping develop their communication skills. Exchange stories about daily events. Broaden their imagination with fantastical stories and let their creativity grow as you make up stories about anything and everything around them.

• Songs. Aside from harnessing their musical abilities, songs also help children learn new words. Lyrics have a sense of rhyme and rhythm so it will be easy and entertaining for them to sing along. In addition, simply putting a tune to an activity can be a fun game that you can play with your children.

• Tongue twisters. Tongue twisters are an excellent and fun way to teach children correct pronunciation and enunciation of words. It is a fun way to train their tongue to pronounce words. Start with simple ones and work your way up.