- Talk to your child about what you are doing (e.g. I need to put the cups in here”).
- Use hand gestures, point to objects and use varied intonation as you say the associated words. You can do this with your child’s body parts (eg “You have a fly on your arm, let me shoo it away “SHOO Fly”, people (e.g. “Wave bye bye”), toys (raise your hands and ask: “where is you farm book”) or draw their attention, through pointing, to objects as you go for walk around the streets or at the park.
- Read daily to your child. Discuss the pictures as you go.
- Sing simple songs / rhymes that are easy for them to learn (eg “Humpty Dumpty”).
- Give your full attention by crouching down to their level and give them eye contact when talking to them. Be patient with them and give them time to get their message across; don’t try to guess what they want to say / don’t finish their message for them.
- When a person asks them a question, don’t jump in and answer it for them; give them time.
- When they want / need something give them time to attempt the request. If it is incorrectly articulated; model the correct way.
- Repeating and rephrasing words / phrases is a valuable approach to helping your child learn words.
- Interaction with other children can be very valuable for young children to learn effective language skills.
- Always give your child time to respond. They need many opportunities to hear and speak language every day.
