Vocabulary development in children

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.

Techniques for enriching the vocabulary of preschool children

At the same age, words denoting elementary everyday concepts (vegetables, fruits, clothes, toys, shoes, dishes, etc.) are introduced into the dictionary based on identifying essential features and generalizing from them.

In the 6th year of life, the main content of vocabulary work in the process of familiarization with objects becomes the further introduction into the dictionary of words denoting differentiated qualities and properties according to the degree of expression, and also includes in the dictionary the names of materials and their objects.

In the 7th year of life, special attention is paid to the accuracy of word usage when denoting the qualities and characteristics of objects and materials. Work continues on the formation of new concepts and differentiation of known ones, and on this basis the vocabulary is expanding.

However, it is not the enrichment of the vocabulary itself that is important, but its qualitative development - the development of the meaning of words. A clear subject correlation does not arise from the very early stages of a child’s life, but is a product of development. At first, the word is associated for the baby only with a specific, “single” object; gradually, with the development of the ability to generalize, it begins to designate all objects of this category. By the age of 4–5, children are aware of the polysemy of words, but do not grasp their figurative meaning. Clarification of the semantic content of words by the age of 6-7 years is still gaining momentum. The vocabulary is actively enriched by words invented by them ("dipped", "mud boots"). Word creation is the most important feature of children's speech - an indicator of the development of morphological elements of language.

An important task of education and training is to take into account the patterns of mastering the meanings of words, to gradually deepen them, and to develop the skills of semantic selection of words in accordance with the context of the utterance.

There are four main tasks:

Enriching the dictionary with new words, children learning previously unknown words, as well as learning new meanings for a number of words already in the lexicon;

Consolidation and clarification of vocabulary;

Activation of the dictionary - a new word should enter the dictionary in combination with other words so that children get used to using them in the right case;

Elimination of non-literary words from children's speech.

First of all, children learn:

Household dictionary: names of parts of the body, face; name of toys, dishes, furniture, clothing, toiletries, food, premises;

Natural history dictionary: phenomena of inanimate nature, plants, animals;

Social science dictionary: words denoting phenomena of social life (people’s work, native country, national holidays, army, etc.);

Emotional-evaluative vocabulary: words denoting emotions, experiences, feelings (brave, honest, joyful), qualitative assessment of objects (good, bad, beautiful), words, the emotional significance of which is created using word-formation means (darling, little voice), formation of synonyms (came - tagged along, laughed - giggled), with the help of phraseological combinations (rush headlong), words, the actual lexical meaning of which contains an assessment of the phenomena they define (dilapidated - very old);

Ways to develop vocabulary

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

the child hears the word;
understands its meaning;
remembers the word (sends it to the passive vocabulary);
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:

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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR ENRICHING THE DICTIONARY

Two groups of methods can be distinguished:

1. methods of accumulating the content of children's speech (methods of familiarization with the outside world and enriching the vocabulary);

2. methods aimed at consolidating and activating the vocabulary , developing its semantic side.

1. The first group includes methods:

a) direct acquaintance

with the environment and enriching the vocabulary: examining and examining objects, observation, inspections of the kindergarten premises, targeted walks and excursions;

b) indirect acquaintance

with the environment and enriching the vocabulary: looking at paintings with unfamiliar content, reading works of art, showing films, films and videos, watching TV shows.

The speech pattern (naming ) of the teacher is of particular importance. New words must be pronounced clearly and distinctly. Special techniques are used to attract children's attention to the word, to the name: intonational emphasis of the word, somewhat enhanced articulation of it, repeated pronunciation of words and phrases by children.

From the point of view of physiology and psychology, the role of these techniques is caused by the need to memorize a word, preserve its sound image in memory, and form kinesthetic sensations that arise when it is pronounced repeatedly.

It is very important to vary your repetition technique. Psychologists rightly criticize the existing method of speech development for the fact that many exercises consist of mechanical repetition of a word in order to develop speech skills (the “Say it and you” technique is very common). Such repetition removes the communicative function of speech, as a result of which speech becomes artificial and aimless. Taking this into account, we can recommend repetition as: literal individual and choral reproduction of the sample

(“Listen to me say the word - aquarium. Now you say it”);
joint pronunciation of a word by the teacher and children
(conjugate speech);
game repetition of
“Who can say it better”;
answers to questions
(“What do you think, how should I say it?”).

The teacher often accompanies the speech sample with an explanation of the words and an interpretation of their meaning.

There is an opinion that these techniques should be used mainly in older groups. However, we cannot agree with this. Experience working with children and special research indicate the possibility and feasibility of explanations and interpretations of words for children of primary and secondary preschool age.

Among the methods of indirect acquaintance with the environment and enriching the vocabulary, showing pictures with unfamiliar content

. In this case, the picture gives children knowledge about those objects that they cannot observe directly (about wild animals, about the life of different peoples, about certain types of labor, about technology and means of transportation, etc.). From a physiological point of view, the picture ensures the connection of the second signaling system with the first, the rapid assimilation of words.

One of the means of enriching children’s vocabulary, along with the speech of surrounding adults, is fiction

. Vocabulary work acts as the most important link in working on the text. The quality of text perception is directly dependent on the understanding of linguistic means, especially the meanings of words

In connection with reading and storytelling, the following methods of working on words can be used: accumulating the content of speech in preliminary work, enriching knowledge about the environment in order to prepare children for the perception of the work; focusing on words that carry the main semantic load; lexical analysis of the language of works of art (identification of the meanings of unfamiliar words and expressions, clarification of the shades of meaning of words used in a figurative sense, analysis of the visual means of the language of the text); the teacher’s explanation of the meanings of words; children pronouncing words; replacing original words with words that are similar in meaning; selection of words to characterize the characters; the use of words in different contexts in connection with a conversation on the content of the work

An excellent means of developing thinking and figurative speech are proverbs, sayings, riddles, and jokes.

, which K. D. Ushinsky called the best way to “bring a child to the living source of the folk language.” Many useful explanations for the child can be associated with them.

3. The second group of vocabulary work methods is used to consolidate and activate the vocabulary: looking at toys, looking at pictures with familiar content, didactic games, reading works of art, didactic (vocabulary) exercises.

Looking at toys

as a method of clarifying, consolidating and activating vocabulary, it is used in all age groups. Toys provide multiple opportunities for consolidating the ideas that children have acquired through experience in life, and for the verbal forms determined by these ideas (E. I. Tikheeva). The content and selection of toys for each group are determined by the age characteristics of the children and the tasks of speech work. To develop vocabulary, various categories of toys are used: people (figurines of children, adults), people’s homes and their surroundings, vehicles, animals, birds, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, tools. Of particular importance is the didactically equipped doll proposed by E.I. Tikheyeva (dress, linen and shoes, bed, dishes, furniture, tools), which is a means of consolidating and activating everyday vocabulary in organized games and activities.

The methodology draws attention to the difference in two methods: the method of examining toys and the method of didactic games with them

(O.I. Solovyova, A.M. Borodich and others).

When examining toys, play techniques and play actions are used, but there are no strict rules.

A didactic game has a different structure (game task, game rules, game actions). However, in practice these two methods are often combined, with the first preceding the second.

Didactic games are a widespread method of vocabulary work. Vocabulary games are played with toys, objects, pictures and on a verbal basis (verbal). Game actions in vocabulary games provide the opportunity, mainly, to activate the existing vocabulary. No new words are introduced. If the teacher strives to introduce new words, he inevitably interferes with the game action, distracting children from the game with explanations and demonstrations, which leads to the destruction of the game.

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 methods of preschool education have accumulated a rich arsenal of didactic games with children of different ages (“Shop”, “What is made of what?”, “Who needs what?”, “Whoever finds it, let him take it”, “Who will be the first to know?”, “Wonderful bag”) ", "Paired pictures", dominoes "Transport"). They are described in sufficient detail in various collections of didactic games.

Example The most typical vocabulary games.

“Wonderful bag” (can be carried out using toys of different categories, in different age groups, more often in younger ones).

Didactic tasks. Teach children to recognize objects by characteristic features; activate the dictionary (in accordance with the selection of toys, objects; nouns, verbs, adjectives are used)

Game rules. Take out an object, name it, tell what it is. (Complication: you can guess the object by touch, take it out and show it after you have told about it; the bag does not open if the object is not recognized by the description or is named incorrectly.)

Game actions. Feeling an object, guessing it. Making a riddle.

Progress of the game. Playing with the bag. Removing objects and examining them, accompanied by a description of their appearance, parts, purpose, characteristics.

Identification of objects (placed again in the bag) by touch, naming and describing them.

There are various variations of this game; The content, game rules and actions become more complex depending on age.

“Pick up some dishes for the doll.”

Didactic tasks. Fix the names of different utensils, develop the ability to use them for their intended purpose; activate the dictionary (names of utensils).

Game rule. Select the necessary utensils for the cook, nanny, and for treating the doll to tea.

Game actions. Selecting dishes and delivering them to the character.

Progress of the game. Children look at the dolls: a cook, a nanny and a girl. They talk about what kind of utensils a cook or nanny needs for their work, and what kind of utensils a girl needs to serve tea. Then the children select the dishes and take them to the “kitchen”, to the “dining room”.

In the future, you can enter general names: kitchenware, tableware, teaware.

Didactic exercises.

What is the difference between a didactic exercise and a didactic game?

It is known that a didactic exercise, unlike a didactic game, does not have game rules. The game task of vocabulary exercises is to quickly select the appropriate word. It presents a certain difficulty for children. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the selection of speech material, the gradual increase in complexity of tasks, and their connection with the previous stages of work on the word.

The main content of lexical exercises is various types of classification of words: by gender (by groups: vegetables, fruits, dishes); by generic and subgeneric characteristics (animals, domestic animals, wild animals); by properties (color, taste, size, material); subsuming words of specific meaning under a generic concept (bus, tram, taxi), composing phrases and sentences with antonyms, polysemantic words; distributing sentences using given words.

A distinctive feature of vocabulary exercises is that most of them are simultaneously aimed at developing the grammatical aspect of speech: word agreement, inflection, and use of a word as part of a sentence, which is explained by the unity of the lexical and grammatical meanings of the word. This type of exercise can be called lexical-grammatical.

Until recently, vocabulary exercises as a method of activating vocabulary were considered mainly in relation to older preschoolers. Data from modern science on the possibilities of mental and speech development of children have made it possible to significantly expand their use in middle and even junior groups.

Making and guessing riddles has a multifaceted impact on children’s speech .

Based on the nature of riddles and the characteristics of children’s development, the methodology formulates the following requirements for the use of riddles for the purpose of vocabulary development :

ü asking riddles should be preceded by familiarizing children with objects and their characteristic features; riddles should be accessible to children in terms of both content and form. First, children guess riddles based on a direct description of characteristic features (“A long ear, a ball of fluff, jumps deftly, nibbles a carrot”), and gradually riddles containing a metaphor are introduced, i.e. those in which the description of an object is given through comparison with other objects (“A grandfather is sitting, dressed in a hundred fur coats. Whoever undresses him sheds tears”);

ü learning to guess riddles should be carried out on visual material and on the basis of correlating a verbal image with a real object (examination of objects);

ü guessing riddles must be accompanied by reasoning and evidence, explanations of figurative description;

ü inventing riddles by children themselves should be based on a lot of preliminary work on examining and describing objects, guessing ready-made riddles;

ü making and guessing riddles should be done in a playful way.

Thus, in vocabulary work a combination of different methods and techniques is used, depending on the degree of children’s mastery of the word. This can be summarized in a table.

Vocabulary games

“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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.

Enriching the vocabulary of preschool children article on speech development (senior group)

Consultation for parents “Enriching children’s vocabulary”

Speech is the simplest and most difficult way of self-affirmation, because using it is a serious science and no small art.

Senior preschool age is a very important period in a child’s life. Children who do not have sufficient vocabulary experience great difficulties in learning, not finding suitable words to express their thoughts. In preschool age, a child must master a vocabulary that would allow him to communicate with peers and adults, study successfully at school, and understand literature, television, and radio programs. Therefore, vocabulary development is one of the important tasks of speech development.

A child’s development occurs through communication and joint activities with adults; this is the only way a child learns about the world. As children's knowledge about their surroundings increases, their vocabulary also expands.

Stimulate vocabulary development by:

• observations (observe seasonal changes occurring in nature; animals; look at various objects, etc.);

• looking at paintings, pictures, toys;

• showing cartoons;

• reading works of fiction;

• learning rhymes, nursery rhymes, tongue twisters;

• playing games: speech didactic, verbal and logical exercises (“What is tall?” - “A house, a tree, a person.” - “What is taller - a tree or a person? Can a person be taller than a tree? When?” Or: “What is wide?” - “River, street, ribbon.” - “What is wider - a stream or a river?”)

It should be noted that these techniques must be accompanied by comments or a story from an adult. Constantly tell and explain to your child: “What is this?”, “What is this for?”, “How does it work?”, “Why does it happen this way and not otherwise?” etc.

Work on the development of the dictionary should take place in several directions:

The enrichment of the dictionary with new words, the assimilation by children of previously unknown words occurs, first of all, due to commonly used vocabulary (names of objects, signs and qualities, actions, processes, etc.).

Clarifying the dictionary involves deepening the understanding of already known words, filling them with specific content, based on an exact correlation with objects in the real world.

Activation of the dictionary. Children must not only remember new words, but also be able to use them freely.

Elimination of non-literary words from children’s speech (dialectal, colloquial, slang). This is especially necessary when children are in a disadvantaged language environment.

A child successfully masters speech when he is taught not only in a preschool institution, but also in the family. Playing for a child is the main activity. Considering the workload of parents, I recommend “playing in the kitchen” with available items and materials.

Entertaining word games and exercises:

The game “Magic Wands” is to use matches (without sulphur) to create shapes, patterns and more.
Game: “Let’s Help Mom,” where the child is asked to sort through rice, peas, buckwheat, and millet. These games develop small arm muscles.
The game “I Treat” develops children’s vocabulary. You can play with “sour”, “salty”, “bitter” words.
The game “Let's Make Juice” develops the grammatical structure of speech. Juice from apples (apple juice, juice from pears (pear juice), etc. And then vice versa: orange juice from what? (from oranges).
Game “Say the Word.” The adult says the phrase, and the child must finish it.

Exercises with nouns.

Adult (shows a toy bear or other toy). Give this toy different names. (Teddy bear, little bear, mishulenka, little bear, etc.). Talk about toys in words that contain the sound Ш or another sound (teddy bear, bear, little son, baby, mishulya).

Exercise with verbs.

Dad or Mom asks questions:

- What can a cat do? (Lapping (milk, climbing (trees, scratching, meowing, purring, playing, lying, watching, standing, caressing).

— What does the puppy like to do? (Run, gnaw (bone, chase (cat, caress).

— How does a puppy behave when he is given a bone? (gnaws, enjoys, growls, rejoices, hurry).

— What does a puppy do when he is picked up? (Snuggles, rejoices, looks, closes his eyes, sniffles).

Exercises with adjectives.

The parent asks the child - What can you say using the words: round (plate, frying pan, round (ball, ball, table, tray, hoop, round (mirror, wheel?)

What words can you say about the sun? (Clear, radiant, golden, cheerful, joyful, light, spring, kind, affectionate, hot).

Exercises with adverbs.

An adult asks - How does a wolf rush after its prey? (Quickly, swiftly,

— How does a turtle move? (Slowly, calmly, smoothly).

— How do leaves fall to the ground during leaf fall? (Noiseless, quiet, easy, slow, calm, smooth, beautiful).

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.

Comments ()

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.

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.