Hello Everyone,
The video showcases the progress of play and conversational abilities in two different classrooms - Becket's classroom consisting of 2 1/2 year olds and Mrs. Kilmer's classroom consisting of 4 year olds. The video highlights the development of pragmatic skills, particularly in the areas of contingent speech, presuppositions, directives, requests, and role-play.
When observing children's speech, we notice their ability to maintain the topic of conversation and ensure
that everyone understands the discussion. They achieve this by adapting to the listener's knowledge and using presuppositions. For instance, when one child asks another if they want to play with a toy, they assume the other child knows what toy they are referring to, thus avoiding confusion.
When children want something, they may use direct or indirect language. For instance, if a child wants another child to play with them, they may use direct language and say, "Come over here and play with me." However, if a child wants another child to stop playing with a toy, they may use indirect language and say, "Can you please stop playing with that toy?"
Long, C. (2009). Last Day at His First School. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vhT9njtIR64
Our Savior Marlette (2010). Mrs Kilmer’s 4yr old class Playtime. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=b0yovU_bP8o
