engleski

The Relationship Between Children’s Play And Language Skills In The Toddler And Early Preschool Period

Various theoretical accounts propose that there are important developmental relations between pretend play and the development of receptive and expressive language, suggesting that both language and play stem from a single underlying cognitive capacity reflecting the beginning of representational thinking (Charman et al., 2001. ; Lyytinen et al., 1999. ; McCune, 1995. ; Thal and Katich, 1996.) The aim of this study was to investigate the relations of receptive and expressive language skills with frequency of pretend play and amount of play with peers, parents and other adults. The sample consisted of 42 toddlers (M=21 month, SD=2, 92) and 36 early preschoolers (M=32 months, SD=3, 25). Their receptive language abilities were measured with Reynell Developmental Language Scales, and their expressive language abilities with McArthur Communicative Development Inventories. Additionally, childrenʼs parents completed a scale measuring frequency of childʼs pretend play (adapted from McEwen et al., 2007) and answered questions about the amount of time child spends daily in play with peers, parents and other adults. The results show significant differences between age groups in both receptive and expressive language abilities, as well as frequency of pretend play. Generally, older children show better language abilities and engage in more pretend play. In both groups of children significant positive correlations were obtained between frequency of pretend play and receptive and expressive language skills. In addition, toddlers who spent more time playing with their parents obtained lower results on the measure of expressive language skills. Results are discussed in the context of contemporary theories of language development.

pretend play; language skills

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