The purposes of the study were twofold: first, to analyze the structures and characteristics of pretend play, and second, to explain how the second language learner manages extended pretend play interaction with his native-English speaking friend over time. Two preschool children were videotaped biweekly for a ten-month period during sessions lasting approximately one and one half hours. One boy, a native speaker of Korean, was five years old at the beginning of the observation, and the other, a native-speaker of English, was four years and seven months old. For analysis, pretend play episodes were selected according to criteria established by Smilansky (1968) and were transcribed verbatim. / Based on Garvey and Berndt's framework (1977) of analysis of pretend play in first language learners, the data of the study were analyzed in terms of the following aspects: (1) macro-level components of play, (2) themes/internal structures of play, (3) individual performances, (4) topics of communication, (5) communicative strategies, and (6) functions of social language in play. With the extension of Halliday's functions of language (1975), the children's utterances were scrutinized in order to understand what types of functions were generated from the transcribed data. Several salient functions of their social language were identified. / The results of the study demonstrated that (1) the schematic structures of play served as a scaffold for the second language learner so that he could contribute to the unfolding of play and keep the play on track, and (2) what developed most significantly was the second language learner's increased ability to use specific language functions over time. The crucial developmental phenomena were observed in his more frequent use and great familiarity with the following functions: (a) retorts such as negation and challenge, (b) elaboration, and (c) regulatory utterances. In addition, the children's use of demonstration had the function of language teaching. Until the second language learner became able to utilize these functions with frequency and facility, he could not move towards the control of play and his playmate. / The results of the study underline the importance of imaginative play as a problem-solving context in child second language learning that allows second language learners to use the L2 productively in a sustained manner. The observation that the second language learner acquired and practiced various functions of language in such problem-solving contexts as imaginative play without adult intervention further suggests that encouraging young children to interact with peers in sustained pretend play contexts would be beneficial to their learning of communicative, social, and cognitive skills. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-09, Section: A, page: 3352. / Major Professor: Elizabeth Platt. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77002 |
| Contributors | Byun, Eun-Ju Kim., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 200 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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