Methodological recommendations for conducting conversations with preschool children
Victoria Tripolskaya
Methodological recommendations for conducting conversations with preschool children
Methodological recommendations for conducting conversations with preschool children
With preschool children, it is very important to correctly use the form and method of communication . One of the appropriate and relevant forms is the communication situation. The conversation method ensures the mental and speech development of the child, starting from early preschool age . The child learns to think independently. But there is a great difficulty in this conversation - both for the teacher and for the child. After all, teaching a preschool independently is much more difficult than demonstrating and presenting ready-made knowledge to the child. For this reason, many teachers prefer to tell or read to children rather than conduct conversations . But in the process of conversation , the child develops the following skills: to recall, analyze, compare, express judgments and draw conclusions.
Consequently, conversations are a valuable method through which not only activity is developed, but also the ability to restrain. Communicating and clarifying information develops and activates the child’s mental and speech activity.
A conversation is an organized dialogue between a teacher and children , dedicated to one topic or issue.
Teacher in conversation:
1) forms children’s knowledge and ideas about nature, about the lives of people, which they acquired, under the guidance of adults at home (with parents)
or in kindergarten (with teachers, through observation or experience;
2) develops the child’s ability to think purposefully, maintaining consistency on a specific topic;
3) develops the ability to express one’s thoughts in a clear and accessible form;
4) develops in children the ability to listen and maintain steady attention, answer questions, and speak loudly and clearly.
The teacher, through conversations, forms in children the prerequisites that are necessary in order to successfully study at school, which is a very important principle of the implementation of the Federal State Educational Standard for Education.
When choosing the topic of conversations , taking into account the program material, it is important for the teacher to take into account the children’s personal experience, stock of knowledge and ideas, since the child can join the conversation and take an active part in it only if he has certain data about the subject of the conversation . Experienced events and phenomena, realized by the child or acquired through observations, one’s own activities, or the perception of fiction, are the material on which the conversation and additional, new knowledge is imparted to children.
In order for the conversation to be effective , the teacher needs preparation: approach the conversation using the creative abilities of the teacher, be based on program material, follow thematic long-term planning, draw up a plan for the sequence of the conversation . To attract and engage children's attention in the conversation , the teacher thinks through what methods and techniques would be most appropriate to start the conversation . To activate mental activity and influence the emotional feelings of children in the group, you can use verbal methods (artistic words, visual (painting, illustration), which are directly related to the topic of the conversation . For example, before starting a conversation about autumn , in the middle group, the teacher demonstrates a reproduction of a painting by Levitan "Gold autumn"
.
While looking at the picture, the children’s memory will revive the emotions and impressions they acquired while walking in the park or in the forest. The beginning of a conversation about the profession of a postman, in the older group, can be reading a poem by S. Ya. Marshak. a conversation about the city of Moscow with a demonstration of illustrations depicting the historical places of the capital, the Kremlin, Red Square. Using questions during a conversation , which serve as the main methodological technique , in order to correctly direct the thoughts of preschool , helps the teacher reveal the content of the conversation and help children answer them correctly.
Questions must be constructed and formulated in such a way that they are understandable to children. If the child does not understand the content of the question, then accordingly he will give the wrong answer to it. For example, the teacher asks: “What leaves are on the oak tree?”
Children give the answer:
“Oak”
.
The teacher expected the children to name the color of the leaves, but in order to receive the expected answer from the children, it was necessary to correctly formulate the question: “What color are the leaves on the oak tree?”
Therefore, in order for a teacher to hear the correct answer from children, it is necessary to raise questions about specific phenomena and facts that are known to children. The teacher should ask questions that activate and direct children’s thoughts to the characteristic features of an object or phenomenon.
In order to clarify children's ideas about an object unknown to them and convey a visual image, it is necessary to use a visual method , for example: a toy, a model, an object in its natural form. The teacher must remember that it is visual material that evokes significant emotions, increases interest and activates mental and speech activity. In this case, children's statements are based on direct perceptions and sensations.
Visual material is used in different ways: some are distributed to each child (pictures, tree leaves, etc., while others are shown by the teacher to the whole group (reproduction of a painting, household items, etc.)
.
All demonstration materials must clearly reflect the programmatic content of the topic of the conversation and are prepared in advance .
In the final part of the conversation, it is useful to consolidate its content by presenting the content of the conversation in a short story , where significant emphasis is placed on the most important thing. A didactic game is also (5 minutes, for example, when talking about vegetables, you can finally invite children to play the didactic game “Guess by touch”
(place toys-vegetables in a bag)
; or a song is performed that reflects the topic
of the conversation . These methodological techniques allow you to deepen the emotional impact on children and help them remember and assimilate the topic of the conversation .
The teacher structures the course of the lesson so that all students are involved and actively participate in the conversation . It is recommended to pose a question to the entire group of children, and call on one child at a time to answer, but not in unison. If you ask children in the order in which they sit, this may lead to the fact that a certain group of children will lose interest due to the fact that they have to wait for their turn.
During the interview process, it is desirable to create conditions that will allow not only active children to participate in the conversation , but also shy and timid ones, and give them the opportunity to answer the question briefly. If the teacher keeps his attention on one child for a long time, then the rest of the group of children stops participating and gets distracted. The same thing happens if the teacher repeats and talks many times about what is already well known to the students. If a child does not have the necessary knowledge and ability to express his thoughts, or is confused or shows shyness, then it is not recommended to “pull out” at the cost of a long time and effort.
answer, you should be satisfied with a brief statement
from a preschooler . This process makes the conversation boring , tedious and dry.
Children must be encouraged to answer the questions posed clearly enough, loudly, in a cheerful voice, but not shout. If the child speaks quietly, the teacher asks to repeat the answer again louder so that all children can hear the answerer. With children of middle and older age , the teacher conducts conversations in an expanded form .
As observations show, the teacher, when asking a question, does not give the child enough time to concentrate and think; they are in a hurry to answer themselves. In this case, the teacher’s speech prevails over the child’s and the child is not given the opportunity to activate his thinking and speech, he can only listen passively.
How to competently and effectively build a conversation in order to lead children and their thoughts in the right direction, to intensify speech activity, largely depends on the professionalism of the teacher.
Methodological techniques for leading a conversation are as follows:
1. Do not let children stray from the topic.
2. Steadily lead to conclusions.
3. Do not interrupt children unless absolutely necessary. Refer comments and amendments to the end.
4. Don't require complete answers. The conversation should be conducted naturally and at ease. A short answer, since it is logically and grammatically correct, can be more convincing than a common one.
5. Do not overuse questions. Do without them, if it is possible to achieve the same goal through brief instructions and reminders.
6. Encourage children to ask questions. We know that at a certain age children are bombarded with questions: what is this? Why? For what? When? etc. This is a unique manifestation of child development, which requires special attention in the sense of understanding what and how to respond to children, and should be used in the interests of children’s speech development.
7. Involve all children in evaluating the thoughts expressed and their verbal presentation.
8. Challenge competition to speak clearly and elegantly.
9. Conversations are conducted individually and collectively. Starting from middle preschool age, collective conversations in kindergarten predominate, and their content becomes more complicated.
Hill (1986) identifies five types of interpretation:
1. Establishing connections between seemingly separate statements, problems or events. For example, to a client who talks about fear of public speaking, low self-esteem and difficulties in relationships with other people, the consultant points out the interconnection of problems and the influence of the client’s inadequate expectations and claims on their occurrence.
2. Emphasizing any features of the client’s behavior or feelings. A client, for example, constantly refuses to work, although he expresses a desire to work. The counselor might tell him, “You seem to be excited about the opportunity, but when you encounter inevitable difficulties, you run away.”
3. Interpretation of methods of psychological defense, reactions of resistance and transference. In the above example, a possible interpretation is: “Judging by our conversation, running away is a way for you to deal with the fear of failure.” Thus, psychological defense (escape) from anxiety (fear of failure) is interpreted here. Transference interpretation is a fundamental technique in psychoanalytic treatment. They try to show the client that his past relationship (usually with his father or mother) prevents him from correctly perceiving the feelings and behavior of the consultant.
4. Linking current events, thoughts and experiences with the past. In other words, the consultant helps the client to see the connection between current problems and conflicts with previous psychological traumas.
5. Giving the client another opportunity to understand his feelings, behavior or problems.
In almost all of the listed types of interpretations, the moment of explanation is obvious, i.e. The essence of interpretation is to make the incomprehensible understandable. Let us give as an example an explanation to a client of the concept of “agoraphobia” (Storr A., 1980):
“From your story it follows that the world has become dangerous for you since childhood, when your mother was afraid to let you leave the house alone. Such fear is not surprising for a three-year-old child, but over the years, self-confidence and risk-taking increases. The only abnormality of your fear is its duration.”
This interpretation does not relieve the neurotic symptom, but it reduces anxiety, transforming the symptom from an incomprehensible obstacle into a clearly established problem that can be solved.
Interpretation should be carried out taking into account the stage of the consultative process. This technique is of little use at the beginning of counseling, when it is expected to achieve trusting relationships with clients, but later it is very useful for revealing the psychodynamics of problems.
The effectiveness of interpretation largely depends on its depth and time. A good interpretation usually doesn't go too deep. It must connect to what the client already knows. The effectiveness of the interpretation is also determined by the timeliness and the client’s willingness to accept it. No matter how wise and accurate the interpretation may be, if it is presented at the wrong time, the effect will be zero, since the client will not be able to understand the consultant's explanations.
The effectiveness of interpretation also depends on the client’s personality. According to S. Spiegel and C
Hill (1989), clients with high levels of self-esteem and education are more sensitive to interpretations and even in case of disagreement take them into account
The consultant must be able to understand clients' reactions to the essence of interpretations. The client's emotional indifference should force the consultant to think about the consistency of the interpretation with reality. However, if the client reacted with hostility and immediately rejected the interpretation as implausible, there is reason to assume that the interpretation has touched the root of the problem.
Classification of types of conversation
Flerina E.A. developed a classification of types of conversation based on didactic tasks. Thus, she distinguishes three types of conversation:
- introductory, which organizes children for a certain type of activity;
- accompanying children's activities and observations of children;
- the final one, designed to clarify and expand the children's experience.
Each type of conversation is unique in its purpose and method. The basis of this classification is the interaction of childhood experience and its expression in speech.
Konina M.M. Two types of conversations are identified that complement Flerina’s classification; they are based on the material in connection with which the conversation is conducted.
In terms of content, cognitive conversations are conventionally distinguished, for example, about school or hometown, and ethical conversations - about the norms and rules of behavior of people at home and in society.
