A Study of Metacommunication Signals in the Initiation of Pretend Play of 3-6 year-old Children

Abstract

Pretend play is the most typical play among children aged 3-6 years old, the initiation of which needs children’s matecommunication ability. In turn, the temecommunication ability of children can be enhanced and strengthened during the play. And thus the topic of how children initiate matecommunication signals in the pretend play is worthy to research. Using observation as research method, the researchers analyzed the metacommunication signals in the initiation of pretend play of 60 children aged 3-6. The results are as follows: (1) the metacommunication signals used by children aged 3-6 on pretend play show a tendency of transition from non-verbal signals to verbal signals with the increase of age. (2) Metacommunication signals used in regional activities show a feature of borrowing special materials and being limited by material exploring ability, and metacommunication signals used in life activities show a feature of using spontaneous physical actions. (3) The signals used by familiar peers are identifiable and changed frequently, and signals used by unfamiliar peers are repeatedly explained and are controlled. Some suggestions are provided. Reachers propose responding suggestions for teachers in the kindergarten: (1) Properly place regional material (2) Support children’s spontaneous communicative activities. (3) Promote the development of the psychological theory of children in junior class.