Language development through imaginative play

V., Vaishnavi (2021) Language development through imaginative play. Learning Curve (10). pp. 71-73. ISSN 2582-1644

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Abstract

Except for when she had to look after her one-year old cousin, wash clothes or scrub utensils, 5-year old Mona was always outside her house, playing. One could easily identify Mona’s actions as some form of play, be it by herself or with her other playmates. For someone who generally shied away from having any kind of conversation with me, I saw words flow like water from Mona’s mouth whenever she argued and negotiated with her playmates about taking turns with the jump-rope. Mona built make-believe worlds and transformed from one thing into another, while still retaining a good bit of herself – a giant old tree to an angry fruit vendor to a lazy doobi (buffalo in Bhili language) in the river and so on. She uninhibitedly produced sounds of animals and birds. Her body was free and fluid, moving in whichever way she wanted it to, as opposed to how she might be expected to seat and present herself in a classroom or while she was under the watch of elders and teachers. More than anything, her presence in her own play could be felt.

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Articles in APF Magazines

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V., Vaishnavi

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