The Profound Impact of Play on Literacy Development in Early Years

This essay delves into the significant impact of play on literacy development during the preschool years. It highlights how play provides a meaningful context for learning crucial literacy skills and concepts, supported by research emphasizing the importance of play-based learning in early childhood settings. The essay reviews literature on literacy and play, emphasizing that children enhance their learning and develop literacy skills when engaged in writing and reading activities within a playful environment. It explores how play fosters language development, enhances cognitive and social skills, and creates opportunities for children to explore the world and expand their ideas. The role of teachers in promoting play and literacy is also examined, highlighting strategies and interventions to support children's literacy learning. The essay concludes by addressing the literacy gaps and recommending playful environments in the early stages of learning to provide an effective and efficient learning experience for students.

Running head: IMPACT OF PLAY ON LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
Impact of Play on Literacy Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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IMPACT OF PLAY ON LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
In the preschool years, playing provide the young children a meaningful and engaging
context for learning significant literacy skills and concepts. There are several researches
which emphasize that there is a great significant of the learning through play on the literacy
level in the early childhood setting. According to Denise H. (2016), the starting of reading the
instructions should take place in a natural environment, therefore their usage of literacy and
language will soon replace the practice and skill of skill acquisition. This procedure can be
very helpful for the beginners’ instruction reading which is mostly presented in the play
environment of the early childhood learning. Playing can work as a suitable activity for the
development which can be a significant part of the emergent literacy and it has bought a new
insight in the notions of literacy development as well.
Scope of the literature
This literature review will trigger the concept of playing in the early childhood and its
impact on the development of literacy. This research will impact the ongoing research on the
codependence of playing and the capabilities of learning literacy at the early age. After
identifying the gap in the existing literature, the research will continue to that direction.
Literacy and Playing
According to Olivia N and Bernard (2006), if the children are engaged with writing
and reading activities within the play environment, their learning procedure is enhanced to a
great extent. Using the play blocks and Play-Doh for expressing their ideas and creating, the
children can also be able to make sense ozf such experiences in their later lives. With playing,
the literacy interactions can be easily fostered; therefore it can be supportive and facilitative
for the development of literacy acquisition in the children. The literacy development depends

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both on the development of listening and speaking because these are the ones which provide
the base of the emerging literacy. A recent study has indicated that the teachers experienced
that most of the students who have been starting their schools at the age of four or five, are
incapable of speaking audibly or being understood by other children. They are also unable of
replying to the simple instructions or counting to five or identifying their own names.
Therefore their literacy is hindered compared to the other students. As stated by Saracho
(2004) the students who have been performing in a poor way in their early years, have also
shown poor performance in their later years of school achievements. They have not been able
to communicate to others which later turned into poor outcomes in their academic
achievements. Many researchers have indicated that playing provides the students
opportunity for discovering the world while incorporating and expanding new ideas. Playing
at the early age also nurture the imagination capability of the children. Famous linguist
Vygotsky said regarding the notions of playing as a strong means of the learning that, “In
play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play, it is as though
he were a head taller than himself (Olivia N. and Bernard 2006). As in the focus of a
magnifying glass, play contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form; in play, it
is as though the child were trying to jump above the level of his normal behavior
Literacy in early age
According to Saracho (2004), in the early years, children tend to develop the
linguistic competence through communication with others, which in the later years enhance
their capability of developing further communication abilities. This linguistic competence
helps improving their knowledge and facilitates the growth and learning. When a child
engages him or herself in playing, they tend to learn how language is working; therefore they
gain the understanding of interacting with other people around them. Eventually they are
capable of connecting the spoken and the written languages, which in later life help them in

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school. Therefore, most of the researchers agree to the fact that playing is a significant factor
to studying as developing literacy through playing can be very much crucial for children.
According to Banerjee, Alsalman & Shehana (2015), the early literacy and play are
two interconnected concepts. As literacy can be defined as the capability of reading and
writing, through playing the children voluntarily engage themselves in activities they enjoy a
lot. According the social construction theory, the literacy skills can be evolved in a natural
way while the children play. It should be noted, in the previous times the concept of learning
has been done in a more controlled and strict manner, but it has affected the students
negatively. The children used to give up what they knew about learning and entirely
committed to the strict method of learning. However, the researches for the past 20 years,
have indicated that there is always a positive connection between playing and learning. Play
has a great part to enhance in the development of the social, emotional and cognitive
development of children. These social interactions tend to encourage the children in learning
form the genuine experiences. The social interactions during play do not really act as a pivot
for formal instructions as they are more purposeful.
Concepts related to learning literacy while playing
Banerjee, Alsalman & Shehana (2015) indicates that both literacy and language start
developing from the very first day of life. It is also believed that developing the literacy skills
can be enhanced from the language that is being spoken around the children. The children can
develop their language and literacy skills through various kinds of settings, like, the printed
books they see or the stories they hear from the parents or the caregivers. While playing the
children also participate in the writing and reading experiences which enhance their learning
and develop the skills for learning. The researchers who have been working on the
relationship between play and the development of literacy, propose that the most children

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learn is by the performance, not by the prompt. Saracho (2004) has believed that if the
children stay in a productive environment in their early years, they can be able to develop
literacy skills without having any knowledge about it. The Montessori schools are mostly set
according to the requirements of such young children. These schools provide them small
furniture that fit their reach and size, which is also a way of giving them the opportunity of
being the self-constructive learners. Maria Montessori, the famous theorist, says that the
learning process of children is best done by repetition and doing things. In fact, Montessori
has also believed that the teachers should structure the playing and working with the young
children with ample amount of time. ”. The evaluation of children’s play by Vygotsky has
implied two major things. Firstly, with playing the students develop major social and
cognitive development, and secondly, if the educational factors are incorporated in the
playing phase, the students can be familiar with the educational practices and enhances the
scope for their own creativity and imagination.
As said by Neuman and Roskos (1990), Piaget’s theory has also indicated that the
cognitive development of the children can be done through their interaction with the
surroundings. A child’s interactions with people around him or her can create the
environment for learning. Furthermore, play can offer a natural method of expressing ideas
for the children as they tend to learn through observing others and imitating them. It is also
believed by some theorists that when children are being engaged in playing, they are capable
of using their memories, therefore it tend to connect their pre-literacy skills with playing.
Children also tend to remember their past experiences of playing and creating new ones while
they play.

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Teacher’s responsibility in learning procedure
The teachers have been seen to adopt many strategies for promoting the playing
amongst the children. There are different characteristics of such playing activities such as
using the make-believe objects, assuming the role of make believe, making up such situation,
using language for communicating, interacting socially etc. These characteristics involve
communication through face to face interactions which can be significant to the socio-
dramatic playing. These characteristics tend to include a overall development of the
cognitive, social, emotional and physical development of the children which allow them
having greater competence in the later life. Olivia N. and Bernard (2006) has indicted
towards the changing in the play environment also affect the literacy behavior of the children.
If there are active adult participations in the children’s playing, it elaborates and enriches
their potential developments. Therefore it can be said that the adult participation can felicitate
the playing other than the richness of the language in the environment. SARACHO (2002)
indicate the environmental interventions mostly include the social, physical and the temporal
changes in the environment which can be centered towards learning. Therefore, increasing
the dramatic playing time is very much significant in the preschool stage. The more the
children spend time playing dramatically; they can have the interest growing with learning
and engagement. Also, during this time the teachers can also support and observe the
development of the students.
There are several evidences of the learning such as their oral language development,
learning narrative form, learning alphabetic codes etc. According to Colliver and Fleer
(2016), most of the children in such playing environment show a increasing usage of creative
vocabulary and expression with more complicated sentence and syntax patterns. The children
have also shown their interest in their classroom playing in narrative forms as well. In
addition to this, the students can also learn the alphabetic codes from their playing. Neuman

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and Roskos (1990) have also indicated towards the relationship between the letters and
speech sounds. Researchers have also evaluated the roles of teachers in the literacy learning
of the children during play time. The adults can work as interpreter and social director where
they can observe and direct the students to the right path. Therefore it should be noted that,
the teachers assume different kinds of roles during the playing related to literacy which can
include their roles as storytellers, monitors, promoters and the instructional guides.
Gap in the literature
However, as stated by SARACHO (2002), there are particular achievement literacy
gaps between the native English speakers and the English language learners. This gap does
not necessarily only indicate to the lack of language proficiency, but the students also exhibit
deficiency in both their native language and English. There are many beginners of English
language learners who experience their early literacy in both their native language and
English. Neuman and Roskos (1990) have indicated that the children who have been learning
their initial stage of studying through playing, they have acquired quite a lot than their peers.
However, on the other hand, the English language learners who start their learning late,
mostly after their Montessori period, they take much more time to master in English. There
are several English language learners who have begun their learning after the beginning of
the formal education. The researches indicate that, in the later years, the development of
literacy is complicated and more intricate. Therefore this literary procedure depends more on
developing their listening and speaking language skills. However, these skills are best when
developed in the early stages through playing. This is due to the reason that, in the early age
of the children the probability of gathering learning is more for the children than compared to
the older age. Thus, it is being recommended that the playful environment should be initiated
in the early stage to provide an effective and efficient learning experience for the students.
During this stage, the teachers or the adult caregivers promote the language learning skills

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through interactive activities and strategies. Therefore the literacy interactions within the play
environment can be very much helpful for the children. The previous literatures only
concentrated on the learning procedure of the native English speakers.
Limitations of the research
One of the key limitations being identified in the conducting this research is the lack
of in hand and primary data. This is due to the fact, that this research has been done based on
the secondary research being done by several other authors. Thus, the accurate and current
practical situation may have some different scenario than being stated in this research work.
Eventually, the conclusion and the findings will be different in this research paper from in the
practical situation. Another weakness being identified in this research is the opinions of the
chosen literature. This is due to the fact that, majority of the literatures has given the opinion
about the effectiveness of the play in learning rather than critically analyzing them. Thus, the
conclusion is being drawn based on the singular approach from the chosen literatures.
Conclusion
Playing has enhanced the learning opportunity in children to a great extent. Most of
the learning opportunities are offered to the children through their spontaneous playing in the
early ages. Critical analysis of the effectiveness and role of learning activities in the playful
environment prove that playful environment in providing the learning to the children will be
more effective and helpful for both the learner and the teacher. As discussed in the above
sections, initiation of the playful environment will help the teachers in providing the teaching
in a more effective manner. On the other hand, children will find it more easy and interesting
in having the learning experience in a playful mood. The teachers should also understand that
they should have professional knowledge which can facilitate the learning process as well.
Therefore the literary programs should be designed with the help of playing which can

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cultivate the spontaneity in children, With the context of playing, the expectations can be
explored and lead to mastering the literacy skills in later life.
Implications for further research
Based on the reviewed literatures regarding the impact of playing on the literacy learning of
children, it can be indicated that a research inquiry is required. The research will focus on the
learning capacity of the non-English speakers at the early age and how playing enhancing
their English language learning. The researcher will do a survey for completing the research
and see whether there is a codependence of playing and learning in terms of learning a second
language in the early age.

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Reference list and Bibliography
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in Preschools to Promote Language and Literacy Skills of English Language Learners. Early
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Colliver, Y. and Fleer, M., 2016. ‘I already know what I learned’: young children's
perspectives on learning through play. Early Child Development and Care, 186(10), pp.1559-
1570.
Denise H. Heppner (2016) ‘Then what happened?’ Studying emergent literacy in the
narrative play of preschool children, Language and Education, 30:5, 459-477, DOI:
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Hao, Y. and Fleer, M., 2016. Pretend Sign Created during Collective Family Play: A
Cultural-Historical Study of a Child's Scientific Learning through Everyday Family Play
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