The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of adult’s narration of child initiated play together with the use of intentional vocabulary, and to evaluate the impact on children’s language and communication skills development. In each participating class six children were identified and chosen to be part of the study. Throughout the research period participating adults narrated children’s play in their preferred outdoor areas of learning which was followed by the introduction of intentional vocabulary.
Carol Hayes stresses that “practitioners need to better understand the value and importance of helping children to develop their ability to receive and comprehend language, and see that they can have an important role in this process. Listening is a vital skill which sets the basis for all other language development, and you can assist this by valuing a child’s attempts to listen and comprehend and also to demonstrate what ‘good’ listening really is and the circumstances under which it can be enhanced.”
The findings of the study show that all the children had a significant improvement in communication skills and language development which is evident in the final assessment. Narration of the play helped with improving children’s confidence in general and in listening and communication skills specifically. Participating adults also improved their use of intentional vocabulary and questioning skills.