As children hear more words, their vocabularies will increase. According to Pennington Publishing, a four-year old child, in an environment that is high in communication, has heard 45 million words by this age; whereas a child this age in an environment with little communication has heard only around 13 million words. According to Mercury News, on average, a two-year old child has a vocabulary of around 200 words. Most children between the ages of two and six learn approximately five new words each day. By the age of six, most children have a vocabulary between 5,000 to 20,000 words, with 10,000 being the average.
Children learn new words very easily and they are like sponges when it comes to learning. The more practice a child gets, the faster he will learn words and increase his vocabulary. Exposure to new words comes from direct conversation, overhearing words from conversations, TV and radio and through other methods such as reading.
Talking and reading to your child is the best method to help her increase her vocabulary. Another method is to make a conscious effort to point out words often. For example, if you see a road sign, point it at or simply read it out loud. The child will begin to correlate words with the way they are spelled. Teach your children to have a love for reading by setting an example for them. Sit and read often. If your child wants to be included, read portions of the book to him aloud. If a word appears that he does not know, ask him what he thinks it means. This technique will help him develop curiosity and a better understanding of words.
According to Maricopa, the average adult's vocabulary is between 40,000 and 50,000 words. As people age, their exposure to and practice of words significantly decreases, which explains why children appear to learn new words at a much faster rate than adults.