Origins: The concept of incorporating play into early childhood education has been around since the 1700s. It was believed but still often disputed that play is how children observe and educate themselves about the world around them. However, it wasn’t until 1929 that Mildred Parten Newhall developed her Stages of Play Theory to conceptualize how a child participates in free play (play not related to survival, production, or profit). Her stages are now frequently used to understand the development of social and educational skills that are acquired throughout a child’s early life.

Researcher: Mildred Parten Newhall (August 4, 1902 – May 26, 1970) was an American sociologist and researcher. Parten was one of the first researchers to conduct extensive studies on preschool age children (2 to 5 years old) with an emphasis on observation of play. Her research took place at University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development where she eventually developed what is now known as Parten’s Stages of Play Theory (stages explained below).

Nature of Language: Mildred Parten Newhall describes six stages of play, these stages are:

1) Unoccupied Play: This type of play lays the groundwork for further stages. This stage of play appears as though children are exploring materials with no organization. Includes practicing the manipulation of materials, self-control, and learning about the world around them.

2) Solitary Play: This type of play involves the child entertaining themselves without any social involvement. This stage is very normal in development. It allows mastery of personal skills, and prepares individuals for social play.

3) Onlooker Play: This type of play involves the child sitting back and looking engagingly at other kids who are playing, but do not join in themselves. It may look as though a child engaged in onlooker appears lonely, but this is seen as a very normal stage in play development. They develop knowledge about social skills of play and relationships and the world around them.

4) Parallel Play: This type of play involves a child playing next to another child, but not necessarily interacting with them. In this stage, children are not necessarily engaging in social exchange. However, in doing so, they are practicing skills and learning new methods together.

5) Associative Play: This type of play signifies a shift in the child. Instead of focusing on the activity in front of them, they begin to have interest in the other players around them. This stage allows the child to practice what they had seen in the onlooker and parallel stages of play. Lastly, in this stage, children can use their new skills to engage with other children or adults.

6) Cooperative Play: This type of play involves cooperative effort between players and can include rules of games and group goals. It is normal in this stage, that young children may have a difficult time with cooperation, which is normal. Having adults nearby to support children in this stage is beneficial for them to learn about healthy expression of emotions and problem-solving skills.

Why are humans gifted at language? Children are able to grow and foster their communication skills through play, as it influences their ability to connect and create symbolic meaning to objects. Play provides the opportunity for a child to be exposed to new vocabulary, build upon their ability to express their emotions, and connect with one another to promote their pragmatic language skills. Children then become more interested in their social relationships than their toys and learn to use language to interact with others.

Why do language disorders occur? Play serves as an integral part of a child's cognitive and social-emotional development. If there is a deficit in a child's ability to engage in one of the stages of play, this development can be hindered. Play employs a child to create mental imagery and build representational skills that are an essential part of developing language. If a child does not interact in play behavior, semantics and pragmatics can be negatively affected.

What is Joint Attention?

Joint attention is when one person coordinates his or her focus of attention with another person. It involves two people directing attention to the same object or situation to engage in social interaction and learning. This is important for language, especially for children developing and learning social skills, because it allows for a person to communicate successfully while paying attention to others that are engaging in the same thing. This allows for the person to communicate while providing an opportunity for learning to be acquired. Although joint attention requires some form of communication and sets the foundation for language in a social context, verbal language is not required. Joint attention is typically acquired between 9 and 12 months.

Researcher:

Lev Vygotsky (November 17, 1896 - June 11, 1934) was a Russian psychologist who studied linguistics and philosophy at the University of Moscow prior to engaging in his research in psychology.

Vygotsky's Socio-interactionist Theory (1962) states that a child's language develops through social and cultural experiences. His research lays the foundation for further research on child development in a social context, including the coined term "joint attention".

Nature of Language:

Although joint attention does not require the use of spoken language, it is a foundational aspect of the development of language in a social context. Joint attention is important in the development of both cognitive and social-communicative skills. It requires the use of non-verbal skills (i.e. eye contact, gestures, pointing) to communicate with others. Joint attention fosters the development of social skills necessary for the development of language. Joint attention does not solely occur in the developmental stages of human life. Joint attention is practiced at all stages of life in a variety of contexts.

Why are humans gifted at language?

Humans are gifted at language because they have the ability to interact with others and mutually engage in their environment. Language allows humans to share thoughts and findings with others participating in joint attention. With this ability, we are given the opportunity to learn from others and find shared interests amongst one another.

Why do language disorders occur?

Joint attention relies on the ability to direct attention to a shared object or situation while actively engaging with another person. In order to accomplish joint attention, the individual must be motivated to engage with their environment. Children who are not motivated to engage in social contexts, or are not provided with the opportunity to do so, are at a higher risk of developing a language disorder. Children acquire language through interacting with their environment and engaging in social contexts. Without mutual engagement in this environment, there is a lost opportunity for language development. Additionally, children who face challenges engaging in social interaction may pose difficulties with joint attention.

For example, children with autism may struggle with joint attention because they commonly experience challenges with interacting with others in a social environment. This may result in issues with developing social relationships with others, missing social cues, missed opportunities to communicate, or struggles with communication of their wants and needs.