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Vocabulary
The development of vocabulary is based on communication, the emergence of new experiences and information. At the same time, the educator is obliged to activate and clarify the vocabulary while communicating with children. This happens not only in everyday life, but also during games and classes. For this, specially developed didactic games and a variety of exercises should be used.
In this process, special attention must be paid to exercises, during which the children, together with the educators, make up the so-called absurdities. That is, in this case, the children are invited to continue the story started by the teachers. This prepares children for a variety of fun games... These games help to activate vocabulary, imagination and the development of the ability to laugh, including joking.
The morphological features of the language must be developed on the basis of games. In this case, special attention is paid to the sound of the grammatical form, sound design, or the formation of certain grammatical categories.
In the children's dictionary, it is necessary to regularly include certain linguistic means that will help the child unite various thoughts, judgments into a single whole, will make it possible to concretize certain thoughts and make certain generalizations from what has been said.
In order to make syntactic speech more perfect, certain situations should be created in which the child needs to explain something to the teacher or friends. That is, they will need to convince everyone around him of something. In this case, you need to pay special attention to learning to understand the questions posed and form the answers.
Sample questions
- What would you do?
- Why is it so?
- How would you help? Etc.
During their answers, it is necessary to force children to give detailed and detailed answers. In this case, the educator must evaluate not only the form of the answer, but also its speech design.
When a child characterizes this or that object, it is necessary that he most closely reflects not only the color, but also the shape. This contributes to the appearance in the lexicon of children of sentences, which include homogeneous members. At the same time, the educator should note this.
It is important to remember that children of this age rarely use relative clauses in their speech. Accordingly, during the analysis it is necessary to focus on these proposals. Repeat the sentences spoken by the child.
In order to develop this dialogue, it is necessary to use such techniques.
Continue the started sentence
Examples:
- "We went to the store in order to ...",
- "We made a call to ...",
- "We decided to stop because ..." and so on.
Children of this age rarely use subjunctive verbs in their speech. Accordingly, it is necessary to constantly use exercises that will push children to the correct construction of the statement.
Children of this age need to be taught to separate mixed sounds. Hissing and whistling: w - s, w - h, h - c, w - s. Deaf and voiced: v - f, z - s, w - w, b - p, d - t, g - k. Sonny: lyre. For this you need to use special exercises.
Vocabulary development - improving dialogical speech
This happens during communication. Despite the fact that dialogue is considered free speech, it is necessary to regularly use this technique to form the specified style.
During classes, it is necessary to use visual didactic aids that can help children solve the assigned tasks, based on their own experience.
Particular attention should be paid to teaching how to tell. For this, it is necessary for the child to talk about what is shown in the picture. Subsequently, the range of actions should be expanded.
Children of this age begin to teach how to retell what they hear. In this case, special attention is paid to the selection of the text. The text should arouse the child's interest. He should have a desire to listen to this story more than once. Moreover, not only performed by an adult, but also by a comrade. At the first stage, educators help children with what they hear. They start and the children finish. In the second half of the year, children retell the text on their own. At the same time, it is necessary to retell not to one child, but in a group. In this case, the children independently determine the place where it is necessary to stop, so that the text continues to be retelled by his friend.
During this period, it is necessary to pay the maximum amount of attention to teaching using pictures. In this case, the teacher develops the ability of children to title the picture and talk about the actions that are depicted on it. All this must be done according to a certain plan, which is developed at the time of starting work with a picture. At the same time, children must tell everything meaningfully and in a certain sequence.
While working with a picture, the teacher focuses on consistency and generalization, vocabulary development. With this approach, the integrity of the compiled picture and stories will be as complete and detailed as possible.
At this age, it is characteristic to develop the ability of children to form pictures using certain handouts. In this case, children should look at pictures with sequential actions and put them in a certain order. This allows you to form the ability to use complex sentences... It is worth noting that these activities allow the development of vocabulary, teach children to talk about certain phenomena in a creative way. For this, it is necessary that children display pictures in a certain sequence. During this procedure, they can pay attention to the fact that this or that part is missing and will be able to fill in the missing gap on their own.
For the same purposes, you can use plots from familiar fairy tales. In addition, it is necessary to force children to compose their own stories and fairy tales. In this case, the teacher sets a topic for the child and helps him compose a story and tell it in a clear and accessible way for others. In this case, you can focus on stories based on personal experience child. That is, he must talk about his adventures or entertainment.
For the development of vocabulary, constant communication between adults and a child is important. The volume and quality (accuracy, imagery) of a preschooler's vocabulary depend on how complete his communication is. Therefore, parents need to acquaint the child with new objects, phenomena, and their names. It is important to talk with the preschooler, ask questions, create situations in which the child's likely lack of understanding and use of words will be revealed. Active image family life provides fertile material for expanding the vocabulary: excursions to the theater, circus, zoo, etc. As speech and thinking develop, the gradually replenishing vocabulary is systematized, ordered, folding into semantic fields or the formation of words united by meaning. R.I. Lalaeva highlighted the following directions in the development of the dictionary:
Expanding the scope of the vocabulary
Clarification of the meaning of a word
Development of the structure of the meaning of a word
Formation of semantic fields and lexical consistency
Expanding connections between words in the lexicon.
The methodology for the development of speech by a preschooler offers this type of activity, which is built in the form of a game. This facilitates the assimilation of the material, develops auditory attention in children, and contributes to the correct perception of speech. The presentation of material aimed at enriching the vocabulary, in the form of a game, teaches kids to correlate a sounding word with a picture or object, clearly pronounce simple and polysyllabic words, and answer questions.
There is only one goal in conducting such classes: replenishment of vocabulary. Teachers widely use didactic games, which not only make it possible to comprehensively develop preschoolers, but also contribute to the formation of vocabulary skills in children. Didactic play is a multifaceted, complex pedagogical phenomenon: it is also a play method of teaching children preschool age, and a form of training, and independent play activities, and a means of comprehensive education of the child's personality. It is in didactic play that the child gets the opportunity to improve, enrich, consolidate, and activate his vocabulary.
Depending on the material, didactic games can be divided into three types:
Games with objects (toys, natural materials, etc.),
Board printed games,
Word games.
It should be noted that all these games can be successfully used to activate the vocabulary of preschoolers. Games with objects are most accessible to children, since they are based on direct perception, correspond to the child's desire to act with things and thus get to know them, in addition, the child names the objects he sees with desire. The child begins to play these games at an early age and does not lose his interest in them throughout the entire preschool childhood. At a younger preschool age, many games with toys are accompanied by movements that correspond to the characteristics of the child's perception and thinking.
The most difficult are verbal games: they are not associated with direct perception of the object, in them children must operate with representations. These games are of great importance for the development of a child's thinking, since in them children learn to express independent judgments, draw conclusions and inferences, not relying on the judgments of others, and notice logical errors. Word games are carried out mainly in older groups and are very important for preparing children for school, as they require and, therefore, develop the ability to listen carefully, quickly find the right answer to the question posed, accurately and clearly formulate their thoughts, apply knowledge. Didactic play as a form of teaching children contains two principles: educational (cognitive) and play (entertaining).
The teacher is both a teacher and a participant in the game. He teaches and plays, and children learn by playing. Game techniques for vocabulary formation in young children:
Game: "Cold - Hot". Purpose: Enrichment of vocabulary with nouns Content. The adult asks the children to close their eyes, then hides the object and asks the question: "Where is the bear?" Children are looking for an object in the room at the tip of an adult: “It's cold. Colder. Warmer. It's even warmer. Hot". Finding a missing object helps children remember a new word.
Game: "Describe the subject." Objectives: Expansion of the scope of the vocabulary of adjectives, the formation of ideas about the subject. Content. The adult looks at the object and points out its signs. For example, an adult examines an apple. It is yellow in color. It resembles a ball in shape (clasps the apple with its hands), the apple is round. It is large and large in size. If you stroke an apple, you feel that it is smooth. I press on the apple, nothing happens to it. The apple is firm. I smell an apple: oh, how fragrant, fragrant it is. I will hold it in my hand and weigh it: the apple is heavy. I will cut off a piece and taste it: the apple is sweet (sour, sweet and sour). "
The game "Wonderful little bag" Objectives: Expanding the volume of the vocabulary, developing tactile perception, clarifying ideas about the attributes of objects. Equipment. An elegantly designed bag, small toys, the names of which belong to the same lexical group ("Dishes", "Vegetables", etc.) Contents. Previously, children get acquainted with toys, the names of which belong to the same lexical group: they consider, name, highlight their qualities. The first player puts his hand into the bag, gropes for one toy, recognizes it and calls it: "I have a cup." Only after these words can the child take the toy out of the bag, examine it and show it to all children. If the answer is correct, the child takes the object for himself. Players take turns recognizing, naming, and removing items from the bag. The winner is the one who collects the most toys. Complicated version (for older preschoolers): it is required, before removing the object from the bag, to determine its shape (round, oblong), the material from which the object is made (rubber, metal, rag, wooden, plastic), surface quality (smooth, rough , slippery, cold).
Game "Sending" Objectives: Expansion of the vocabulary, clarification of ideas about the attributes of objects, the development of coherent speech. Equipment. Items, boxes by the number of players. Content. Each child receives a "parcel" (a box with an object inside). The first player begins to describe his item without naming or showing it. The subject is presented after it has been guessed.
Game "Analogies" Objectives: Activation of nouns with a generalizing meaning, development of understanding of generic relations between words (development of the conceptual component of the lexical meaning of a word) Content. An adult invites children to complete the word according to the model: fox - an animal, crane - a bird, or vice versa. An adult names a word with a generalizing meaning, a child comes up with a word of a specific meaning (or vice versa): dishes - a frying pan, flowers - a dandelion, transport - a truck, fish - catfish, insects - a grasshopper. The one who never gets lost wins.
Game "Edible - inedible" Objectives: Development of the ability to highlight the essential features of an object (edibility, animation, etc.), clarification of the meaning of generalizing words, development of auditory attention, general motor skills. Content. The presenter says the word and throws the ball to one of the players. If a food item, fruit or other edible object was named, the player must catch the ball. Otherwise, the player dodges the ball. The games "Live-non-living", "vegetables-fruits", "Wild animals - domestic animals", "Birds - insects", "Clothes - shoes", etc. are held in the same way.
Game "I know five ..." Objectives: Activation of words with a generalized meaning, development of understanding of generic relations between words (development of the conceptual aspect of the meaning of the word). Content. Children stand in a circle. The first player with the ball in his hands starts the game with the word "I" and passes (throws) the ball to the next child. The second player takes the ball, says the following word: “I know” - and passes the ball on. Third player: Five. The next child of the Insects. Further, each move is accompanied by the naming of one insect until five words of this group are named. The game continues on.
Ball game "Associations" Objectives: Expansion of the vocabulary, development of speech associations, general motor skills. Content. An adult throws a ball to a child and names a specific feature of the object: "Red." The child catches the ball, adds a word denoting an object that has this feature (poppy, and returns the ball to an adult. Similarly: heavy - a truck; prickly hedgehog, cold snow, tall - a person, glass - a glass. It is possible to play a game on the material of a specific lexical topic ( In this case, the adult agrees with the child that he needs to come up with words on a certain topic (for example, on the topic “Dishes”). In this case, the corresponding pictures can be presented on the typesetting canvas.
Bibliography.
1. Big encyclopedic dictionary. Linguistics / Ed. V.N. Yartseva. M .: Nauch. publishing house "Big Ros. Encyclopedia ", 2000. 688s .: ill.
Vocabulary work (development of a child's vocabulary) is a purposeful process aimed at enriching the vocabulary of children at the expense of words that are unfamiliar or difficult for them. Many parents are interested in how to expand the vocabulary of a child but they don't quite understand about the composition of the toddler's vocabulary.
The whole child's vocabulary can be divided into two large parts - the active vocabulary of the child and the passive vocabulary of the child.
The active vocabulary of a child is those words that the child not only understands, but also uses in his speech regularly.
A child's passive vocabulary is those words whose meaning the child understands, but does not use these words in his everyday speech.
Thus, the main vocabulary task with preschoolers will consist in enriching the passive vocabulary of children and helping to activate the active vocabulary.
How is the vocabulary of a preschool child expanding?
From about 6-6.5 months, a child begins to understand not only intonation, but also the content of an adult's speech. From 10 to 11 months, children understand the meaning of almost all words that an adult pronounces. From 1 year ( early childhood) begins the most favorable period for the development of the child's speech. For 3 years, the child masters a colossal number of words, which make up not only a passive, but also an active vocabulary of the baby. At 1 year old, a child is able to pronounce 8-12 words. At 2 years old, he already pronounces 300 - 400 words. At 3 years old, the child knows and uses 1500 words; at 4 years old - 1900 words; at 5 years old - 2 - 2.5 thousand words; and at 6-7 years old - 3.5-4 thousand words. This is how the vocabulary of a child's speech intensively develops. But words are not learned by themselves. In order for the development of speech to proceed at just such a pace and there is no delay in speech development, daily purposeful work is necessary to enrich and activate the children's vocabulary.
Since children of different ages are in different conditions development of speech, then vocabulary content at different age stages will be slightly different, one thing will remain unchanged - this enrichment of children's vocabulary . Content of vocabulary work includes the vocabulary (words) necessary for communication, for satisfying one's needs, for knowing the world around and improving different types activities. First of all, children must learn:
Household dictionary (name of dishes, toys, household items and hygiene items);
Natural science dictionary (names of plants, animals, birds that are in the immediate environment of the child and he can observe them, natural phenomena, etc.)
Social science dictionary (words denoting human labor, holidays, traditions, human values);
Emotional evaluative vocabulary (words denoting feelings, emotions, experiences, character traits, etc.)
Vocabulary for space, time and quantity.
With the help of what and how can you expand the vocabulary of the child?
Firstly, from the very birth it is necessary to talk with the baby, constantly comment on your actions and the actions of your child. In vocabulary work up to a year, oral folklore plays an important role. Children simply adore various pestushki, nursery rhymes, jokes, sentences, short rhymes. These uncomplicated works contribute to the enrichment of the children's vocabulary. The words in them are not only repeated, but also have an emotional impact on the child, therefore they are quickly remembered.
After a year, various methods for expanding a child's vocabulary .
Second method - viewing pictures and pictures ... The specificity of this method is that your speech (interpretation of words, comparing them in meaning, explanation, etc.) takes the predominant place when looking at pictures.
Thanks to the examination of pictures and pictures, the child's passive vocabulary grows, new words are introduced into the child's speech, he learns to see and understand the meaning of what is depicted. My daughter just loves looking at pictures from her books. I do not just list the depicted objects, but try to combine them into one plot, with her we compose whole stories from pictures. Those words that are introduced into the child's lexicon should be repeated several times. For older preschool children, it is necessary to ask questions, accompany the examination of paintings or pictures with verses, riddles.
The third method for enriching children's vocabulary is reading to children fiction.
Dictionary work acts as an important link in the work on the text. This method can be actively used no earlier than two years. Only from the age of two does the child begin to understand contextual speech (the meaning of stories, fairy tales). When you read fiction to your child, you pronounce the same words in different combinations, in different contexts. After three years in the course of reading, it is important to ask the child questions about what he has read, thereby you will activate the child's vocabulary. The main thing is that these questions are relaxed, and the child is interested in answering them. In addition, in many literary works there are words incomprehensible to children, it is important to explain the meanings of all incomprehensible words.
An excellent means of forming a children's dictionary is the use of proverbs, sayings, nursery rhymes,.
The next vocabulary method would be examining toys .
Most often this method is used to activate the vocabulary of children. All kinds of toys are suitable for the development of children's vocabulary. The doll is of particular importance in using this method. This toy is suitable for both boys and girls. The child's lexicon includes the name of body parts, clothes, shoes, dishes, furniture, hygiene items, in general, almost the entire household dictionary. Children of older preschool age are also introduced to the material from which the toy or its parts are made, so it is important to have toys in the house made of different materials and different textures. Also in older preschool age, children learn generalizing words. It is best to enrich children's vocabulary with generalized words through play. For example, arrange a birthday for your favorite doll or your favorite bunny. And in the process of this game, think about how to put furniture, what clothes to put on, what dishes to put on the table, from what vegetables and fruits to cook a treat, etc.
And the last fifth method of vocabulary work will be didactic games and vocabulary exercises.
- a widespread method of vocabulary work. These are the so-called training or otherwise, educational games .
are carried out with toys, objects, pictures and on a verbal basis. Game actions in word games make it possible, mainly, to activate the existing vocabulary.
Didactic games help the development of both specific and generic concepts, the development of words in their generalized meanings. Each didactic game has its own program content, which includes a vocabulary that the child must master. Playing with the child in didactic game, it is important to seek the activation of the intended words.
The peculiarities of the development of a children's dictionary have been sufficiently fully studied in physiology, psychology, and psycholinguistics.
In the development of the vocabulary of preschool children, two sides are distinguished: the quantitative growth of vocabulary and its qualitative development, i.e. mastering the meanings of words.
Let us dwell briefly on the characteristics of each of the sides.
Quantitative growth of the vocabulary. Preschool age is a period of quick vocabulary enrichment. Its growth depends on living conditions and upbringing, therefore, in the literature, data on the number of words of preschoolers of the same age are very different among themselves. The first meaningful words appear in children by the end of the first year of life. In the modern Russian methodology, 10–12 words per year are considered the norm. The development of understanding of speech largely outstrips the active vocabulary. After a year and a half, the active vocabulary is enriched at a rapid pace, and by the end of the second year of life it is 300 - 400 words, and by the age of three it can reach 1500 words. A huge leap in the development of vocabulary occurs not only and not so much due to borrowing words from the speech of adults, but due to mastering the methods of forming words. The development of the vocabulary is carried out at the expense of words denoting objects of the immediate environment, actions with them, as well as their individual signs. In subsequent years, the number of words used also increases rapidly, but the rate of this increase slows down somewhat. The third year of life is the period of the greatest increase in active vocabulary. By the age of 4, the number of words reaches 1900, at 5 years - up to 2000 - 2500, and at 6 - 7 years up to 3500 - 4000 words. Individual differences in vocabulary are also observed in these age periods. According to DB Elkonin, the differences in the vocabulary are "greater than in any other area of mental development."
The number of nouns and verbs is increasing especially rapidly, and the number of adjectives used is growing at a slower pace. This is explained, firstly, by the conditions of upbringing (adults pay little attention to the acquaintance of children with the signs and qualities of objects), and secondly, by the nature of the adjective as the most abstract part of speech.
The composition of the dictionary reflects the range of interests and needs of the child. For example, according to the Austrian psychologists who recorded the conversations of children with each other and with adults, a five-year-old child pronounces an average of about 11 thousand words a day. The most frequently used word is “I”, followed by the expressions “I want”, “I will”, “I love”.
In the speech of children, you can find words denoting different areas of life. So, in the study of V.V. Gerbova (See: Gerbova V.V., The use of vocabulary by children in the third year of life in Everyday life and activities // Scientific notes: MGZPI-1970. - Issue. 31), the features of the content of the most common parts of speech in the vocabulary of children of the third year of life are established. Among the nouns, the names of household items make up 36%; the names of wildlife objects - 16.5%; names of vehicles - 15.9%. Among other nouns, the most common are the names of phenomena of inanimate nature, body parts, building structures, etc. The third part of all words are verbs.
The data given above indicate that children, already in their third year of life, have a fairly diverse vocabulary that ensures communication with others.
However, it is not the quantitative accumulation of the vocabulary itself that is important, but its qualitative development - the development of the meanings of words, in the words of L. S. Vygotsky, representing "tremendous complexity."
According to N. Kh. Shvachkin, the most successful explanation of the semantic nature of children's words was given by A.A. Potebnya, who believed that the meanings of the first words in children are not an action, not an object, but a sensual image. The first words are very peculiar. They are characterized by polysemantism. The word "chubby" was used by the child under Potebnya's supervision to refer to the cook and the pies that she served to him. These first words are not really words yet. The real word is born as a designation of an object and is directly related to a gesture that indicates an object.
A clear object-related relationship does not arise from the earliest stages of a child's life and is a product of development. Already from 10 - 11 months., According to F.I. Fradkina, the child begins to respond not only to the sound side of the word, but also to its content. At first, the word is associated for the kid only with a specific single object (a child who has always played only with a white ball was given two balls - a white familiar to him and an unfamiliar large colored ball. In response to the question "Where is the ball?" ). Gradually, with the development of the ability to generalize, it begins to designate all objects of a given category.
The path of development of generalization in children was characterized by M.M.Koltsova (See: M.M.
According to her, at first a word appears for a child only as a component of a complex influence of an adult, as a component of a whole situation, which includes gestures, intonation, and the environment in which this word is said. Then the word becomes an integrating signal, passing through a series of intermediate steps: first degree of generalization- the word replaces the sensory image of only one object (a doll - only this doll). The word several times coincided with the sensations of the given thing, and a strong connection was formed between them. This degree of generalization is available to children at the end of the first - beginning of the second year of life; second degree of generalization- the word replaces the sensory image of a number of homogeneous objects (doll refers to any doll, regardless of its size, material from which it is made, etc.). The meaning of the word is broader here. This degree of generalization can be achieved by children by the end of the second year of life; third degree of generalization- the word denotes several groups of objects that have a general purpose (toys, dishes, etc.). The word toys generalizes dolls, balls, cubes, and other objects intended for play. The signal meaning of such a word is very broad, but at the same time it is significantly removed from the concrete images of objects. This degree of generalization is available to children between three and three and a half years old; fourth degree of generalization- the word reaches the highest stage of integration. The word, as it were, gives a summary of the previous levels of generalization (the word thing, for example, contains generalizations that include the words toys, dishes, furniture, etc.). The signal meaning of such a word is extremely wide, and its connection with specific objects can be traced with great difficulty. Children reach this level of generalization only in the fifth year of life.
In order for the child to learn the words of the first and second degrees of generalization, it is necessary to coincide in time with the sound of the word that the adult utters, with the child's perception of the object or action that it denotes. Moreover, the smaller the child, the more such matches are required. So, in the first year, more than 50 - 70 repetitions are needed, while in the second year - no more than 10. The actions of the child with the named object are of great importance. In the research of M.M.
Scientists came to this conclusion on the basis of an experiment conducted in two groups of children aged 1 year - 1 year 3 months. In the first group, each child for two months every day 10 times for five seconds was shown an unfamiliar object - a book and said: “Book! Book!" Each time the children turned their eyes and turned their heads towards the book. This reaction was repeated 500 times.
With the children of the second group, they also used one book in the experiments, but with it the children performed actions: “Here is a book. Take the book. Open the book! " etc. - a total of 20 different teams. Each included the word book, and each required a motor response. These motor reactions were repeated only 50 times.
In control tests, children were presented with various objects (cubes, dolls, toy dishes) and several books, different in cover color and thickness. The instruction was offered: "Give me a book!" The children of the first group took one book, which they dealt with in the experiments. When they were asked to give another book, they took the first item they came across. This means that the word book did not become a generalizing signal for them.
All the children of the second group chose from the objects in front of them, first one book, familiar from experiments, and then all the others. The word acquired a generalizing meaning for them and began to refer to many similar subjects.
The results of this experience are of great pedagogical significance. They indicate what should be the methodology for forming a vocabulary in children of the first years of life.
For the development of higher degrees of generalization, it is required during the perception of objects to call them both concrete and more general in meaning ("This doll is a good toy. How many toys do you have - a doll, a car, and a ball!").
After 4 - 5 years of age, children who are fluent in speech relate the new word not to one, but to many subjects. Learning ready-made words from adults and operating with them, the child is not yet aware of all the semantic content that they express. Children can learn the subject reference of a word, but the system of abstractions and generalizations behind it cannot. There are many examples of the discrepancy between the meanings of words in the speech of children and adults.
In a poetic form, she showed the peculiarities of children's speech by A. Barto: “I do not have enough warmth,” she said to her daughter. The daughter was surprised: - Are you freezing even on summer days? “You don’t understand, you’re still young,” the mother sighed wearily. And the daughter shouts: - I understand! - and drags the blanket. "
There are numerous facts of erroneous word use, transfer of a name from one subject to another, narrowing or, conversely, expanding the boundaries of the meanings of words and their application. The narrowing or expansion of the meanings of words by children is explained by the fact that they do not have sufficient knowledge about those objects and phenomena that are called these words. Moreover, the understanding and use of words by children 3 - 5 years old depends not only on the degree of generalization, but also on how often the surrounding adults use these words and how the activities of children with the corresponding objects are organized (research by A. Bogatyreva). Children most correctly understand and use words denoting specific objects they use (doll, drum, watering can, brush, toys, clothes).
The basis for mastering the meanings of words is the functional attribute of the subject. That is why, in the absence of a word, children often resort to interpretations indicating the purpose of objects: case - "eyeglass case", "glasses"; watering can - "sprinkler"; furniture - "sleep there"; car - "to drive"; seat - "to sit down", etc. And even generalizing words, in the sound image of which a general functional feature of objects is fixed, children learn earlier than others, similar in the degree of generalization (toys - to play, clothes - to put on, shoes - to put on shoes).
The least learned words are those denoting phenomena that are more distant from children. For example, the people - “this is in the bazaar. Everybody goes and buys ”; confusion - “this is a girl who has no smart dress”; follower - “on the trail, some kind of hunter”; rocket launcher - "this aunt flies on a rocket."
N. Kh. Shvachkin drew attention to the following features of understanding the meanings of words by preschoolers: first of all, in the perception of a preschooler, each object should have its own name. Therefore, the child is looking in the meaning of the word for a literal reflection of the object or phenomenon to which the word refers (5-year-old Adik to his own question “Why are these workers called carpenters?” Answered: “They hammer tightly”).
The kid is looking for a direct connection between the sound and the meaning of the word, "rebelled" against the unmotivated combination of sounds in the word. This explains the need for a preschooler to modify the sound form of words: instead of crackers - "kusariki", instead of a policeman - "streetman". The child, as if in the sound itself, is looking for the meaning of the word.
In the meaning of the word, the child puts a living, tangible image (Kolya in 4 year called the front garden - "half garden").
The preschooler has a tendency to give literal meaning to the words he utters: he calls the pilot "airplane", in his opinion, one can fly in a hot air balloon and on a glider, and a "airplane" flies only on an airplane (See: N. Shvachkin . Development of speech forms in a younger preschooler // Questions of psychology of a child of preschool age. - M .; L., 1948. P.94-95.)
Figurative meanings of words are not immediately acquired by children. First, the basic meaning is assimilated. Any use of words in figurative meaning causes surprise and disagreement among children (hearing the expression “he goes to bed with the roosters”, the child objects: “No, they will peck”).
Children's words meanings are dynamic. LS Vygotsky drew attention to the fact that one and the same word, with the same attribution to objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, “means” for a child of different ages and different levels of development. He showed that at different stages different forms of generalization stand behind the meaning of a word. If at the early stages of a child's development, emotional-figurative components prevail in the meanings of words, then the role of logical components gradually increases with age. For a child at the age of 3 - 5, the central place is occupied by the process of mastering a clear object relatedness of words and their specific meanings, and at 5 - 6 years old - by a system of so-called everyday concepts, but in which emotional-figurative, visual connections still dominate.
Thus, in its concrete-related form, the meaning of a word arises before the concept and is a prerequisite for its formation. The concept denoted by the word, being a generalized image of reality, grows, expands, deepens as the child develops, as the scope of his activity expands and becomes more diverse, the circle of people and objects with which he enters into communication increases. In the course of its development, the child's speech ceases to be dependent on the sensory situation.
By older preschool age, children master vocabulary and other components of the language so much that the language being learned really becomes their native language. Here, basically, the formation of the core of the dictionary should end. At the same time, "semantic and, in part, grammatical development remains far from complete" (Zakharova A. V. Experience of linguistic analysis of the dictionary of children's speech. - Novosibirsk, 1975. - S.Z-5.)
Clarification of the semantic content of words by the age of 6-7 is still gaining momentum. This is due to the assimilation of new knowledge about the world and the emergence of an aesthetic attitude to the word and speech in general. At first, children unconsciously use metaphors in their speech. (A child watches how mashed potatoes are prepared: "Why are you hammering potatoes? Why are you pushing potatoes? I saw: you were pushing them now!"). In older preschool age, there are cases of deliberate use of metaphors ("What big grapes! Straight balloons!" . Zeitlin, - L., 1987.)
The dictionary of preschoolers is actively enriched by the words "invented" by them ("krasavlyus", "namakaronilsya", "mazelin"). Word creation is the most important feature of children's speech. The facts collected by psychologists, teachers, linguists indicate that the period from two to five is distinguished by the active word-creation of children. Moreover, the new words are built according to the laws of the language on the basis of imitation of the forms that they hear from the surrounding adults. Word creation is an indicator of the development of the morphological elements of the language, which are associated with the quantitative accumulation of words and the development of their meanings.
An important task of education and training is to take into account the patterns of mastering the meanings of words, in their gradual deepening, in the formation of the skills of semantic selection of words in accordance with the context of the utterance.