On Play Enhancing Emergent Literacy Of Young Children

Emergent literacy is the complex attitude, expectations, behaviors of writtenlanguage of young children, which is occurred in everyday life. It consists of thelearning of print motivation, print awareness, language awareness, narrative skills andvocabulary. The theory of emergent literacy view literacy learning of young childrenas a constructive process, and it take the perspective of the whole language to examinethis process and think highly of the cultural environment of the learning of youngchildren’s literacy. This theory derives from the theory of early reading, and the latterone had two stages which are mature theory and practical one.The play of young children consists of many elements that can enhance emergentliteracy. The use of oral language in play provide the foundation for the developmentof written language of young children, since play offers the relaxed psychologicalenvironment for the practice of oral language; the dialogue outside the situation ofplay offer the opportunity for oral language; the dialogue of roles of play can helpyoung children understanding decontexted language; and language play can promotethe meta-language awareness of young children. The pretending of roles of playmakes young children the emergent writer and emergent reader, and young childrenimitate behaviors of writer and reader in the play and convent the rules of writing inthe playful way. Besides, the pretending of writer and reader gives young children theself-efficiency of mastering reading and writing. The situation of play can give youngchildren the enlightenment education of written language: young children can learnsome written symbols, the awareness of print, the characters of Chinese ideograph andunderstand the context of story by act it out. The representative function of play isconnected to the psychological mechanism of reading: they all require imaginationand can offers safe psychological environment. The experience of play cultivateability of self-regulation and ability of active learning that are required in thelearning of emergent literacy.However, adults pay little attention to emergent literacy in the instruction of play,and they don’t set up the viewpoint of positive playful learning. The traditional belief that play is waste of time is deep-seated in the mind of people, and people don’trespect young children’s right to play. The understanding about the relationshipbetween play and learning of people is very superficial, and the belief that class ismore important than play is also very popular in the educational practice. There islittle penetration of emergent literacy in the provision of environment and materials ofplay. Adults pay too much attention to the recreational function of play and ignore thedirection of experience of emergent literacy, so they don’t recognize the experience ofemergent as its important part. The utilitarianism of teaching ruins the value ofliteracy education that could be realized naturally, and the teaching of reading turnsinto the one of becoming literate. Play is the assistance of obtaining knowledge ofyoung children, and the belief of prewriting makes the play of literacy the preparationof “real” literacy.In order to enhance emergent literacy of young children, teacher can set up playsituation where literacy is necessary and set up play which needs to make use ofliteracy. Teacher can put some episode that requires using literacy into play. Adultscan provide learning environment which is full of materials literacy, and teacher canset up special corner of literacy. Parents can set up environment which is full ofmaterials of literacy in the house, and teachers and parents should often bring youngchildren to library and bookstore. In the process of play of literacy, teacher canscaffold for young children to expand their experience. Teacher should observe andrecord carefully literacy of young children, and then guide them in the scene of play.Teacher should let young children know that prints are made by people, and theyeditor book and magazine with young children. All kinds of works of young childrencan be collected and edited as a book. The stories that are made up by young childrenand teacher can also be recorded as a book. Lastly, adults should manage to cultivateand protect the positive attitude about literacy of young children. Adults should letyoung children know that literacy is useful in life and let them experience the functionof literacy. Teacher should stop the activity of literacy when necessary.