Speech is one of the most important skills a child acquires in early childhood. It is indeed an acquisition, as speech is not something that comes naturally to humans from birth. It takes
time for a child to start talking. And we, as adults, must make considerable efforts to ensure that a child’s speech develops correctly and in a timely manner. This is a necessary condition for the formation of a child’s personality. In modern education, speech is considered one of the foundations of raising and teaching children, as the level of mastery of connected speech determines the success of children’s learning at school, their ability to communicate with people, and their overall intellectual development.
The role of theatrical games is enormous in stimulating the speech development of young preschool children.
Why theatrical games?
Theatrical games are one of the most effective ways to influence children, in which the principle of learning through play is most fully and vividly manifested. It is well known that children love to play; they do not need to be forced to do so. By playing, we communicate with children on their terms. By entering the world of childhood play, we can learn a lot ourselves and teach our children a lot. By playing, we communicate with children on their territory. By entering the world of childhood games, we can learn a lot ourselves and teach our children.
Theater games have a significant impact on a child’s speech development. They stimulate active speech by expanding vocabulary and articulation development. Children find theatrical adaptations of fairy tales very exciting. Children learn the richness of their native language and its expressive means. Using expressive means and intonations appropriate to the characters
and their actions, they try to speak clearly so that everyone can understand them. They quickly memorize the words of all the characters and often improvise. Their speech becomes more expressive and literate. Children begin to use new words, proverbs, and sayings from the script.
The main directions of development of theatrical play consist in the gradual transition of the child from observing an adult theatrical performance to independent play activity; from individual play and “playing nearby” to playing in a group of three to five peers performing roles; from imitating the actions of popular and fictional characters to imitating actions in combination with conveying the main emotions of the character and mastering the role as the creation of a simple “typical” image in dramatic play.
In many families, parents pay little attention to this issue, believing that the most important thing is to teach their child to read, write, and count. But the most important thing is that without exposure to the arts, it is impossible for a child to develop fully as a person. Theatrical activities in a group are only possible as a result of active, coordinated work between the teacher and the child’s parents. The success of children’s speech development largely depends on the atmosphere created by parents in the family, whether it continues at home, and how much parents realize the need to assist preschool educators in carrying out the difficult tasks associated with the development of connected speech and the formation of a basic set of knowledge and skills in the field of artistic and esthetic activities.
Priority Conditions for Speech Development
1) Pay serious attention to the selection of literary works.
Preference should be given to works with a moral idea that is understandable to the child, with dynamic events, with characters endowed with expressive characteristics. Fairy tales meet these requirements to the greatest extent. Fairy tales are easy to act out because they are based on short dialogues between characters and contain repeated situations. The heroes of fairy tales enter into certain relationships in which their character traits, thoughts, and feelings are revealed.
2) From an early age, teach children to listen to artistic words and respond emotionally to them. Use nursery rhymes, lullabies, songs, jokes, and lyrics more often, including those that encourage the child to engage in dialogue (“Was there a monkey? — Yes. — Was the monkey funny? — Yes, it was funny”).
3) Introducing children to story toys, when an adult shows and names various actions with them (the doll walks, sings, dances, etc.). The adult’s speech should be expressive in intonation. The same words can be pronounced with different intonation, voice strength, and tempo of pronunciation. (The kangaroo jumps along the path: “hop, hop, hop.” The rabbit: “hop, hop, hop.” The fox: “hop, hop, hop.”)
4) Develop children’s interest in drama and theatrical activities. To this end, create special situations in which puppet theater characters and figurative toys engage in dialogue with children and act out scenes. For example, a bunny (a toy worn on an adult’s hand) comes to meet the child, reads poems to them, etc. For younger children, staging familiar stories has a stimulating effect on their play.
Theatrical Play Can Solve All Speech Disorders
At home, you can involve children aged three and four in acting out familiar fairy tales. Various types of theater can be used: tabletop, finger puppets, dramatization with the help of a flannel board. The use of costume elements (hats, jackets, skirts) and props (pumpkin, shoe, magic wand) arouses great interest in young children and makes them want to play the fairy tale “Cinderella.”
With the help of theatrical games, performances, and dramatizations, speech therapy for kids can effectively address nearly all goals of a speech development program. Along with the basic methods and techniques of speech development in children, it is necessary to actively use this rich material of verbal creativity in working with children of preschool age. Each of us spends our childhood in a world of role-playing and theatrical games, which help children learn the rules and laws of adult life. Games for children can be viewed as improvised theatrical productions in which a doll or the child themselves has their own belongings, toys, furniture, clothes, etc. The child is given the opportunity to play the role of an actor, director, decorator, prop master, or musician. Each child plays in their own way, but they all copy adults in their games. Based on the games and how children play them, we can imagine our future society.
Therefore, special attention in preschool educational institutions can and should be given to theatrical activities and all types of children’s theater, which will help improve the child’s overall culture and introduce them to children’s literature, music, visual arts, rules of etiquette, rituals, and traditions. A love of theater becomes not only a vivid childhood memory, but also a feeling of celebration spent together with peers, parents, and teachers in an unusual magical world. In addition, collective theatrical activities are aimed at holistically influencing the child’s personality, helping them to relax and get involved in the action, while activating all their available abilities; at independent creativity; the development of all leading mental processes; promoting self-awareness and self-expression with a high degree of freedom; creating conditions for the child’s socialization, thereby strengthening their adaptive abilities and correcting communication disorders; helping them to realize the feelings of satisfaction, joy, and significance that arise from the discovery of hidden talents and potential.