Read picture books to young children to build receptive language skills. As they listen to your words and observe the images on the page, children develop meaning and build receptive vocabulary. As children mature, read books that rely more on text than images.
Stop often to discuss the book being read. Use descriptive language to describe what you see. Make an effort to use a variety of words to describe common attributes. If the child observes a big ball, make an effort to describe its size in other words, such as large, gigantic and huge. This teaches your child that all these words have a similar meaning.
Provide opportunities for your child to retell parts of the story or to describe the pictures he sees. This builds expressive language and allows you to check your child's understanding.
Talk to your child during everyday activities. Describe objects, events and feelings to help your child build his receptive language vocabulary. Listen to his responses as this is how he develops his expressive vocabulary.
Encourage your child to tell stories or relay events. The more your child talks about his life and his day, the more his language skills develop.
Play word games with your child. Make up nonsense rhymes, sing nursery rhymes and make up new words. She will likely find it amusing while developing language skills at the same time.