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Shall We Play?
Play as Stepping Stone towards Language Acquisition
An important component of language development, play helps
children learn verbal skills around activities that are motivating
The simple act of playing for children is
essential for their development, both
physically and mentally.
Play enables children to do a variety of things,
for example:
• To make sense of the world through
interactive and fun games
• To develop social interaction and social
rules
• To develop problem solving skills while
cooperating with others
• To express their ideas and feelings
Games
Play is also an important component of
language development. It helps children
learn verbal skills around activities that
are motivating. While children play, they
have opportunities to listen and speak to
others, both learning from and teaching
those around them. The adults have an
opportunity to provide rich and meaningful
vocabulary while engaged in tasks that are
equally more appealing and place fewer
demands on children. The ability to offer
a varied commentary about activities that
are occurring familiarises children with
contextual language.
Vocabulary, in particular, is a crucial
element in language development. Children,
predominantly, learn language through
social interactions. When they are motivated
to interact and listen, they have more
opportunities to absorb what they hear.
Lorraine, S. (2008) suggested that 6 year
olds may have approximately 2,600 words
of expressive vocabulary and 20,000–24,000
words of receptive vocabulary, while Bloom
& Markson (1998) suggested that 6 to 8 year
olds may learn 6–7 words per day, increasing
to 12 words per day for 8 to 12 years olds.
Below are a few strategies that can be put
in place during familiar games and that
encourage language development:
Tips
Pop Up
Pirate Following instructions: “Can you get a blue sword?” / “Put in the red sword before you put in the blue sword”
Categorisation: “Shall we divide the swords into colours” / “What else in the room is red?”
Verbal model: “I’d like a green sword please” / “It didn’t pop. Maybe the pirate is asleep!”
Inferences/ Problem solving: “What would happen if the sword broke inside the barrel?” / “What could you do to fix it?”
Go
Fishing Following instructions: “Can you find the pictures that have riding, reading and talking on the phone?”
Categorisation: “Which of these actions can you do outside?” / “What do you need to be careful with?”
Verbal model: “I see a big boy riding an awesome blue bike. What about you? ”
Inferences/ Problem solving: “What would happen if the boy feel from his bike?” / “How would his parents feel?”
Jenga Following instructions: “Take out the red block in the middle” / Put the yellow block next to/ on top/ under the blue block” /
Categorisation: “Shall we build shapes/ numbers / letters?”
Verbal model: “I’m going to pull out the blue block from under the red block ”
Inferences/ Problem solving: “What will happen if I take this block?” / “How can we make this game more difficult?”
Zingo Following instructions: “Show me the cat, the foot and the tree”
Categorisation: “What animals can you see?” / “Which ones are soft?”
Verbal model: “I only have three more pictures left. What about you?” / “I love chocolate cake because it is delicious. What is
your favourite cake?”
Inferences/ Problem solving: “What could you do if you saw a snake on the road?” / “What would happen if you ate too
much cake?”
HedBanz Following instructions: “Can you give me the cat, the car, the fork and the book?”
Categorisation: “Which ones are big?” / “What can we buy?”
Verbal model: “Am I something that is soft when I touch it?” / “Do I like to jump around outside on the soft green grass?”
Inferences/ Problem solving: “What would happen if you kicked a ball against a window?” / “What should you do if you
break a glass?”
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Dover Court International School (Pte) Ltd is registered with the Committee for Private Education | CPE Registration No: 197100313E | Registration Period: 05/07/2015 to 04/07/2019
The Committee for Private Education (CPE) is part of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)