Using social knowledge while interacting at the classroom sand center: Facework and cohesion strategies

© The Author(s) 2018In this study, we investigated the ways in which young children used cohesive devices and demonstrated facework to achieve social purposes in their interactions at the sand centre in one kindergarten class. Analyses of video-recordings of five-year old children revealed that children used cohesive strategies, such as referring to objects and people using pronouns, rather than proper nouns. They used repetitions and conjunctions to tie together the ideas from one speaker to the next. Additionally, conversation partners were readily able to construct appropriate meanings from the general references using contextual information. Further, their oral communication demonstrated cooperativeness and engagement as part of their social development. Children used language primarily for imaginative purposes, in addition to communicating information, regulating others’ behavior, and expressing their individuality and emotional responses to activities at the sand centre. They were least likely to use language for interactional purposes. Children’s use of face-work strategies included complimenting peers, softening regulatory language with words, such as “just”, and showing interest in others’ activities.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counci