Activities to get kids to talk a little more

• Ideas here are listed alphabetically, not by priority or importance.
• I recommend that you scan quickly for things that interest you and   select just a few things that would be easy and fun  for you to try with your family.  I could go on and on about why "easy-ness" and "fun-ness" is so important but I want to keep  all these sections pretty short so people are more likely to use  them.
• If you have any questions about this stuff  or want to discuss anything on this page please email me at [email protected]. 

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Common interests & preferred topics-

Pick something that your child already likes and does a lot and think of three or four different things you can say about and put those into utterances that are just a little longer or more complicated than the ones your child is already using.  Then take some time to play with your child with those preferred toys/topics.  While you play use those utterances, say them in a relaxed ( but not-too-slow) way and leave plenty of pauses.
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Make your own books

There are tons of ways to use books to build language skills and making your own books is super easy & effective. Print pictures, draw pictures or have your child draw 4-6 pictures, staple the pages together & write a few words or a short sentences each page.  Then use it like any other book: read the words, take turns naming the pictures and the actions, expand on what you say, speak a little slower than usual and leave lots of pauses.

Questions - don't ask them

Being able to answer questions is an important language skill, but learning to do that doesn't help kids learn to put their own words together and say very much because very short answers are the most appropriate kind for most of the questions we ask kids. For early language learners, save questions for times you really need the information, eg "Where is your sister?", "Whose lunch box is this?", "Did you eat that penny?".
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Routines and "not"

Daily routines are the basis for a huge amount of language learning and disruptions in routines can stimulate a lot of conversation.  Novel things are often interesting in and of themselves, but with routines in mind, you can also talk about  what did NOT happen. (Learning to use negatives terms basically doubles what you can do with every word. you know.) e.g. "We had a field trip. We did not eat in the cafeteria. We ate in the park".  or "I saw Ms Teacher. I did not see BestFriend. BestFriend is sick".  
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Slow down your speech

Slower speech helps your communication partner in a lot of ways. (1) They are more likely to respond if they don't have to interrupt, (2) they have more time to think about what you're saying & generate a response, and   (3)it's easier for them to imitate you if they happen be learning practicing new words or more complex grammar with you. (which they almost always are, even if they are not saying very much). 
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Smartphone

Use the camera on your phone to take pictures of things you do during the day and then later look at those and talk about what you did. Use utterances just a little more complicated than your child's, slow down your speech and leave lots of pauses. Only ask questions about your child's preferences opinions, e.g. "Was that fun?".  This is a great way to work on memory and sequencing multiple utterances to tell about experiences.
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Storybooks  & picture books

There are many, many ways that reading and sharing  books can help develop language skills. One thing I like to do is look at a familiar book with a child, and take turns saying something  or pointing to something on each page. Even if we  notice very different things about what's on the page, we're still taking turns and communicating about the same thing.   
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Taking Pictures

See Smartphone
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Talk less to let your child talk more

This is something to consider when you want to increase kids' speech output, that is the frequency of spontaneous utterances in conversation. People of all ages &  levels of development tend to match each other in conversation.  Young children are often more likely to say something in response to your speech if you say something that is kind of like what they might say, something that's easy for them to match in someway. As they can speak up more often with increasing success, they will be able to match more features that you produce as well as  longer and more variable kinds of utterances.  
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