探討表徵遊戲與幼兒口語發展的關係

美國教育家杜威 (John Dewey, 1938) 認為在幼兒階段，「生活即遊戲，遊戲即生活」。在遊戲中幼兒自由地支配自己的行動，愉快地與同伴交往合作。遊戲為幼兒提供了語言實踐的良好機會，是提昇語言的最佳方法。 本研究是以個案的形式，製造遊戲的環境予六名幼稚園高班的兒童，並探入跟進其中兩名兒童的情況。結果顯示遊戲的環境真會令兒童的說話次數提昇。本報告將敍述其中的現象並提出校方可發展兒童語言的方法供業界參考。
According to Dewey (1938), play and life are inseparable in young children. We found that children are free to act, happy to collaborate when they are playing. In fact, play has provided excellent opportunities for children to practise their language which is vital to their cognitive as well as social development.
This case study explored the relationship between symbolic play and children’s language development through observing young children play. The finding shows that a free play environment where no external rules are enforced can enhance children’s frequency of speech acts. Apart from reporting the above, this article also suggests ways to promote children’s language proficiency in kindergartens. Copyright © 2005 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.