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Play helps children learn language, the authors claim, and they review the evidence for it. They suggest that play benefits children's language development because it incorporates many of the socially interactive and cognitive elements known to enhance language skills. Although much of this evidence proves correlational, they point to a series of recent intervention studies that offer evidence of a key variable linking play and language: adult support. In particular, guided play during which adults scaffold child-initiated learning seems ideal for developing language skills. Based on this evidence, they argue that understanding the efficacy of play for learning requires paying careful attention to the type of play involved and to its results. Key words: guided play; language skills; play and language development; scaffolding; sociodramatic play; symbolic play
Play as a Context foi* Language Development
Language is the currency of social interaction and school achievement, so it is hardly surprising that thousands of pages have been devoted to understanding and encouraging optimal language acquisition in children (Clark 2003; Clark and Clark 1977; Dickinson et al. 2012; Frank, Goodman, andTenenbaum 2009; Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek 1999; Golinkoff et al. 2000; Harris, Golinkoff, and Hirsh-Pasek 2011; Hoff and Naigles 2002; Hollich, Hirsh-Pasek, and Golinkoff 2000). Many of these investigations find that language thrives when children are interacting with adults and peers in a playful manner (Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff 2003; Smith 2010; Vygotsky 1967; Zigler and Bishop-Josef 2004), suggesting that play can make important contributions to the learning of lan- guage. Evaluating just how play influences language, however, is a relatively new enterprise.
In a recent and influential paper, Lillard, Lerner, Hopkins, Dore, Smith, and Palmquist (2013) describe three categories of potential links between pretend play and other cognitive or social skills, based on Smith (2010). The strongest link one could posit is that play constitutes a unique and crucial component in the development of cognitive or social skills, which would not develop with- out it. This causal view holds that children cannot achieve, say, a kind of self- control if they do not engage in play; this skill would be impossible to acquire otherwise. Another claim suggests the link between play and learning is one of equifinality: play has a causal effect on the development of such...