Child-peers talk: a preliminary study
Talk between child and peers are apparent in every preschool. Talk enhances child’s communication and social skills besides developing one’s self confidence. In fact developing communication skills is one of the objectives highlighted in the preschool curriculum in Malaysia. This preliminary study...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Zes Rokman Resources
2017
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/57216/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/57216/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/57216/1/57216_Child%20peers%20talk.pdf |
Summary: | Talk between child and peers are apparent in every preschool. Talk enhances child’s communication and social skills besides
developing one’s self confidence. In fact developing communication skills is one of the objectives highlighted in the preschool
curriculum in Malaysia. This preliminary study was carried out to investigate the types of talk between child and peers during
learning activities, in particular, individual task and free play sessions. The data arises from qualitative study investigating
preschoolers aged 6 years old from two preschools in Klang district, Selangor, Malaysia. Twenty preschoolers aged six years
old were drawn from purposive sampling, based on the preschool teachers’ suggestion of children who talk the most in the
preschool classroom. This study is significant since there are limited studies in child-peers talk especially in preschools in
Malaysia. Non-participant classroom observation was conducted and field-notes were taken during the observation. The findings
of this preliminary study revealed two major types of child-peers talk, namely: on-task talk and off-task talk. Each type of talk
was categorized further based on the thematic analysis of the data collected. Implication of this preliminary study showed that
more opportunities should be given for children to engage in quality children talk. |
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