Sagacious, sophisticated and sedulous may not seem like words that one would use in everyday conversation with a preschooler, however, research indicates that parents and caregivers who talk with children using unusual words provide exposure to new words and new concepts that can be built upon for years to come! Molly F. Collins, Ed. D, co-author of So Much More Than the ABC’s, shares that preschoolers who hear rich explanations of sophisticated words learn significantly more words than children who do not.
The benefits of conversations using sophisticated vocabulary are noted in a recent publication of the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). In the article “The Importance of Discussing 50-Cent Words with Preschoolers,” Collins (2012) states that discussing sophisticated words:
- Exposes children to new words and new concepts
- Clarifies differences in meaning between new words and known concepts
- Deepens meaning of partially known words
- Repairs initial misunderstandings of new words
- Primes children to value words and increase their knowledge about word meaning
Don’t be afraid to introduce children to interesting “big” words! Discussing what the words mean, pointing to illustrations or objects, providing brief definitions, using synonyms or gestures and expressing multiple meanings of words can all lend to robust development in literacy learning!
References
Collins, M.F. (2012). Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, “The Importance of Discussing 50-Cent Words with Preschoolers.”
Collins, M.F. (2005). Reading Research Quarterly, “ESL Preschoolers’ English Vocabulary Acquisition from Storybook Reading.”
