We love to read to our child at night before bed. Are there any tips to make this ritual a language learning experience?
Reading is a great way to expose your little one to language and encourage communication.At this age, stick to short and simple board books with bright pictures of common objects. There should be about one idea per page. Before you read, introduce the book to your child and talk about the cover with enthusiasm.Read slowly, so you child has time to take in the story and pictures. And, of course, be sure to read with enthusiasm! If you are interested in the book, your child will be too.You can try using different voices for different characters. You can incorporate conversation by pointing to the pictures of common objects and asking your child to label the object: “Look, it’s a ____!”If you have a book that your child enjoys that is too advanced, simplify the story for them by only reading the main points seen in the pictures.
Don’t worry if your child keeps asking for the same book over and over again. Young children commonly enjoy the same story and the repetition helps to learn language!