Recess as a Site for Language Play

Researchers in this study adopted an ethnomusicology perspective to explore the playground language and music-making practices of children at nine Canadian school playgrounds over a two-year period.  Using non-participant observation the researchers found that school children (ages 5-12) engaged in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language & literacy (Kingston, Ont.) Ont.), 2014-09, Vol.16 (3), p.4-26
Main Authors: Countryman, June, Gabriel, Martha A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child development
Children
Communication Skills
Elementary Education
Elementary Schools
Kinetics
Language
Learning
Linguistic Theory
Literacy
Literary Devices
Music
Musicology
Participant Observation
Playgrounds
Reading Instruction
Semiotics
Speech
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Summary:Researchers in this study adopted an ethnomusicology perspective to explore the playground language and music-making practices of children at nine Canadian school playgrounds over a two-year period.  Using non-participant observation the researchers found that school children (ages 5-12) engaged in multimodal and multi-vocal play as they manipulated language, chanted or sang with rhythmic speech, and combined language play with gestures and kinetic movements.  The authors suggest a link between children’s out-of-school literacies (‘languaging’ and ‘musicking’ on the playground)—where children are active agents of their own learning—and children’s potential in-school literacies.
ISSN:1496-0974
1496-0974
DOI:10.20360/G2Q301