Talking and Listening!
By Alice Lapuerta

How do we encourage our children’s language development and vocabulary? How do we get them to speak more?

Try these helpful tips for every language!

Allow them to speak! This might sound obvious, but before you brush this point aside as irrelevant, stop and reflect for a while. Are you really listening to your child when s/he speaks? Sure, we are all guilty at times of just answering absent-mindedly “uh-huh” to whatever our child just said, and we continue to read our newspaper. This does happen to all of us. But let’s just, for once, be conscious of this behavior and set aside our newspaper. Let’s actively listen to what our children are telling us.

Give them your whole attention. Look at them: make eye-contact. Listen for content, not form. In other words, don’t be overly concerned about correct pronunciation or grammar, but respond to what they tried to say, not how they just said it. If you really do not have time to listen to your child now, tell her you will listen to her at a later point.

Do not constantly remind your child to speak slowly, to repeat the sentence again, or to start over again. This is a conversation killer and won’t motivate your child to speak correctly or at all. Try this, instead: repeat the correct sentence back to her.

Take Your Time. You just asked your child something. He is taking forever to respond. Don’t put your child under time pressure. Give him time to respond!

No Interrupting. When they finally speak, don’t interrupt. Let them finish their sentences.

Praise lavishly! Positive feedback works miracles: “You just explained that very well, indeed!” “Wow, how well you said that in Spanish! I’m impressed!”

Build up on your child’s topic of interest. Talk about what they are doing now, what they are seeing, experiencing. Set some time aside before they go to sleep. Lie down next to them and just let them talk. Listen unconditionally, lovingly. Aside from this being good practice for your little one, it will also strengthen your parent-child bond.

Get Started Now. If you have a baby who doesn’t speak yet, talk anyway. This is easier for some parents than for others. Maybe you are like me and feel awkward conducting a monologue with an unresponsive baby.  It is tempting to just submit to silence. What helps is to just talk your way through the day and to comment on every activity that you are doing: “Now I am changing your diaper. Let’s put on a fresh shirt. Let’s get you ready, we have to go shopping now …”

No Pressure. We all have good days and bad days. Some are better than others. Speak a lot with your child on “fluent” days and on days when they are less prone to talk. Don’t pressure them when they don’t feel like talking.

Be a model. Speak slowly, calmly and clearly. Yes, that means good grammar! Tell other people in your environment (grandparents, other family members) to do the same.

Speak Clearly. Don’t swallow any sounds or syllables when you speak, especially at the end of words.

Expand Vocabulary. Read. Read. Read out loud! This is one activity that guarantees the expansion of your child’s vocabulary in whatever language you do it.

Here are further activities from Childcare Aware that you can do at home with your child to encourage language development and expand vocabulary:

• Put household objects in a box and have your child name each one as he removes it.
• Look at photo albums and name the people you see.
• Make basic books by cutting and gluing favorite pictures from old magazines.
• Sing simple songs such as Old MacDonald and leave words out for your child to fill in.
• Play easy games such as naming body parts, foods or articles of clothing.
• Put simple storybooks in a basket for you and your child to choose from everyday.

*These tips are suggestions by parents for parents, and are not to be taken as expert advice or substitute thereof.

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