Young Children’s Table Talk with Peers in Early Childhood Settings

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Robyn M. Holmes

Abstract

As Mechling (2000) noted, mealtime is both a biological necessity and a social activity. Mealtime has been acknowledged as a context and setting in which children can acquire language competencies and skills. During mealtime, young children have the opportunity to interact socially with both adults and peers. For example, Cote (2001) compared the mealtime experiences of preschool children in two different classroom settings. She found that the structure of mealtimes was related to children’s language learning opportunities. She compared language use during mealtimes to other times of the day and introduced strategies to help encourage children’s discourse during mealtime events. Other studies such as those by Snow and Beals (2006) have explored mealtime events as they relate to children’s language competencies and skills.

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