A Question for all the Moms & Teachers

Hey everybody. I've been trying to work with Alex on his language skills and extend his vocabulary but he seems to just want to stick to the same words. We're also working on his ABC's and numbers (more the ABC's though). He's picking up on some of the letters but when it comes to new words he just still wants to point instead of telling me what the item is. I've tried music, constantly talking and also not giving him the item (within reason, of course) unless he told me what he wanted. I was wondering if any of my dear friends could give me some suggestions that I could try or if any of you have been in the same situation. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you.