Language games as a stimulus for speech development in children of kindergarten and preschool age

Govor je viša psihička aktivnost čovjeka koja mu omogućuje da pomoću sustava znakova i simbola priopćava svoja znanja, osjećaje, potrebe i mišljenje drugim ljudima. Osnovni simboli u ljudskom govoru su riječi, a njegova najvažnija funkcija je komunikacija. (Starc i sur.,2004). Poticanje i razvijanje govora kod djece odgovornost je prvenstveno roditelja od samog rođenja, a kasnije i odgojitelja, jer došla su vremena kada djeca veći dio dana provode s odgojiteljem u dječjim vrtićima, negoli s roditeljima kod kuće. Veoma je bitno da smo djeci na prvom mjestu dobar govorni uzor, ali i poticatelj na učenje kroz igru. Jezične igre jedne su od glavnih pomagača u razvoju govora kod djece vrtićke i predškolske dobi. Prema Peti-Stantić i Velički (2008.) definiramo ih kao sve igre kojima je izražajno sredstvo jezik u svim svojm pojavnostima. Osim odgojiteljima, jezične igre uvelike mogu pomoći i roditeljima jer su jednostavne za provođenje. Uz njih dijete ne mora imati osjećaj kao da nešto prisilno uči, jer se one većinom igraju u društvu. Dijete nije fokusirano samo na jednu određenu stvar, a ponavljanje može biti zabavno, a ne zamorno, jer su uvijek prisutni određeni elementi igre. Temeljna svrha i cilj ovog rada bilo je ispitati pomažu li jezične igre u razvoju govora kod djece vrtićke i predškolske dobi. Istraživanje je provedeno preko online obrasca – ankete i u njemu je sudjelovalo 88 odgojitelja iz cijele Hrvatske. Istraživanje je pokazalo da jezične igre pomažu u razvoju govora kod djece vrtićke i predškolske dobi, da su dobro sredstvo za rad, te da većina odgojitelja jezične igre provodi svaki dan u svojim odgojnim skupinama.Speech is a higher psychic activity of a person that allows him to communicate his knowledge, feelings, needs and opinions to other people through a system of signs and symbols. The basic symbols in human speech are words, and its most important function is communication. (Starc et al., 2004). Encouraging and developing speech in children is primarily the responsibility of parents from birth and later of educators because in recent times children spend most of the day with a kindergarten teacher than with parents at home. It is very important that we are a good role model for children in the first place, but also a stimulator of learning through play. Language games are one of the main helpers in speech development in children of kindergarten and preschool age. According to Peti-Stantić and Velički (2008.) we define them as all games for which language is the means of expression in all its manifestations. In addition to educators, language games can greatly help parents as well because they are easy to implement. With them, the child does not have to feel as if he is learning something by force, because they mostly play in society. A child is not focused on just one particular thing, and repetition can be fun, not tedious, because certain elements of the game are always present. The basic purpose and goal of this paper was to examine whether language games help in the development of speech in children of kindergarten and preschool age. The research was conducted through an online survey form and 88 educators from all over Croatia participated. Research has shown that language games help in the development of speech in children of kindergarten and preschool age, that they are a good tool for work, and that most educators spend language games every day in their educational groups