Expand the request vocabulary

Why this matters

After transfer the skill is stable, so you can grow the volume. About twenty requests in use give the learner noticeably more ways to express what they want. But one page gets crowded: cards go into folders of the same three kinds, and the sentence starter "Want" helps make a whole request. The vocabulary does not stop there: keep a steady small growth in view — roughly a fifth more requests on top of what is already in place. Variety matters again here: if there are few items, the vocabulary is expanded through actions.

How to introduce

1. 1Folders of three kinds. When the cards no longer fit on one page, sort them into folders: food, items and toys, actions.
2. 2"Want" and one folder. Add the sentence starter "Want": the learner taps it, opens a folder and picks a card — the app says the whole sentence. Start with one folder; at first prompt what to tap first, then fade the prompt.
3. 3More folders. Add the next folder once the learner finds cards in the first one with confidence; later you can add other sentence starters too. The goal is that the learner builds the sentence on their own, without prompts.
4. 4Add new requests on the same principle: motivating for the learner, varied across kinds.
5. 5First learn the new activity or place together, then turn it into a request — it makes sense to ask for what the learner has already tried and liked.
6. 6If there are no new items to draw on (an older learner, a narrow circle of objects) — expand through actions and shared activities.
7. 7Check against the platform hints about category variety.

How to advance

With the vocabulary in place, teach requesting what is out of sight — and keep growing the vocabulary along the way.

Common mistakes

• Opening all folders at once. Start with one: first the learner learns to find a card inside a folder.
• Chasing the number at the expense of variety.
• Stopping when items run out — actions and new activities can almost always be added.
• Creating a request for something the learner cannot play with yet: first teach the play, then add the request.

Examples

• A younger learner: you mastered a new game — a ball maze — the learner enjoyed it, and the request "maze" appeared in the vocabulary.
• An older learner: you visited the rope park nearby, the learner loved it — the request "to the park" appeared.
• The step is essentially the same for younger and older learners: for younger ones it is more often new games and toys, for older ones new places and new kinds of shared activities during the day.