Exploring children's oral language use during sociodramatic play in a junior infant classroom.

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to examine children's language use during sociodramatic play in a junior infant classroom. The research is a case study which aimed to examine the purposes of children's oral language use during sociodramatic play and to investigate if the elements and learning outcomes from the oral language strand of the Primary Language Curriculum (DES, 2015) are realised through sociodramatic play. Teacher involvement in sociodramatic play is also examined in order to discover the ways in which children's oral language use is affected by adult involvement during play. The findings indicate that children who take part in carefully planned sociodramatic play use language for many purposes. They use language for their own needs, language for co-operating with others, language for planning and directing, and playful and imaginative use of language. The findings also suggests that language curriculum objectives in relation to oral language can be realised through sociodramatic play. The study points to teacher involvement in sociodramatic play as being important in order to support and extend children's language use during play. The findings of this dissertation are important for those working in similar settings who struggle with the competing demands of meeting curricular goals while maintaining child-centered practices. This dissertation promotes sociodramatic play as an effective pedagogy through which teachers can achieve a balance between child-directed and teacher-guided interactions in early years classrooms.