The Role of Puppets in Kindergarten Education in Cyprus

Çağda Kıvanç Çağanağa, Ayten Kalmış

Faculty of Education, European University of Lefke, Lefka, Cyprus.

DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1101647                

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to investigate that if the puppets can be used as a teaching tool in kindergarten education and how it is effective for children to learn. The question that this research is trying to find out is who the pre-school language learners are. The data are gathered using two different kinds of research methods: observation and interview. It is a case study in which 20 kindergarten children are taught English with a puppet named Pepe and students are observed whether or not they learn the language. In addition, two kindergarten teachers are interviewed about the use of puppets in English language classrooms. The data show that puppets are engaging and motivating for young learners. They are effective tools, which can be used in English language classrooms. However the study is limited to the role of puppets in kindergarten education in English language classrooms. Further studies may focus on the role of puppets in kindergarten education in other fields such as science, art, and so on.

Keywords

Puppets, Preschool Education, Young Learners (YLs), Kindergarten

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Chuang, S.S. and Su, Y. (2009) Says Who?: Decision-Making and Conflicts among Chinese-Canadian and Mainland Chinese Parents of Young Children. Sex Roles, 60, 527-536. www.citeulike.org/group/9568/article/6413452 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9537-9
[2]	Crain, W. (2005) Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Pearson, New Jersey.
[3]	Göktolga, B.I. (2013) Self Reports of Preschool Foreign Language Teachers on Early Childhood Foreign Language Teaching and Related Challenges. The Department of Early Childhood Education.
[4]	Reilly, V. and Ward, S.M. (1997) Very Young Learners (Resource Books for Teachers). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[5]	Meisel, J. (2011) First and Second Language Acquisition. http://encore.deakin.edu.au/iii/encore/record/C__Rb2597837__STeaching+bilingual+children__P0%2C6__Orightresult__X1?lang=eng&suite=cobalt
[6]	Holler, J. (1965) Unesco Service of Articles on Education: Puppets in Primary Education. Unesco Indexe Archives.
[7]	Korošec, H. (2012) Playing with Puppets in Class—Teaching and Learning with Pleasure. In: Kroßin, L., Ed., The Power of Puppet, The UNIMA Puppets in Education, Development and Therapy Commission, Zagreb.
[8]	Brezigar, B. (2010) How Does the Introduction of an English Speaking Puppet Influence the Use of English in Group Speaking Activities? The University of York, York.
[9]	Rangarajan, P. (2011) Educative and Interactive Puppet Plays Addressing Environmental Issues and Creating Awareness in Rural Community—A Case Study of Mahaboobnagar District, Andhra Pradesh. Indian Journal of Science & Technology, 4, 279.
[10]	Burn, J. (1989) Express It with Puppetry—An International Language.
[11]	Mishina, L. and Wallace, A. (2004) Relations between the Use of Puppetry in the Classroom, Student Attention and Student Involvement. Brooklyn College, Brooklyn.
[12]	Lennon, J. and Barbato, P. (2001) The Emotions: A Vocabulary before Language. The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning and Teaching, 6, 1-2. http://www.njcu.edu/CILL/vol6/lennon.html
[13]	Low, J. and Matthew, K. (2000) Puppets and Prose. Science and Children, 37, 41-45.
[14]	Naylore, S. (2008) Puppets Promoting Engagement and Talk in Science.
[15]	Peyton, J. (1996) Puppet Language: The Science of Communicative Play. http://www.puppetools.com/v3/library/pdf/PuppetLanguage.pdf
[16]	Wegerif, R., Mercer, N. and Dawes, L. (1999) From Social Interaction to Individual Reasoning: An Empirical Investigation of a Possible Socio-Cultural Model of Cognitive Development. Learning and Instruction, 9, 493-516. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4752(99)00013-4
[17]	Reidmiller, M.S. (2008) Benefits of Puppet Use: The Benefits of Puppet Use as a Strategy for Teaching Vocabulary at the Secondary School Level with Students Who have Mixed Learning Disabilities.
[18]	Hunt, T. and Renfro, N. (1982) Puppetry in Early Childhood Education. Nancy Renfro Studios, Austin.
[19]	Krashen, S. (1985) The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. Longman, New York.
[20]	Zuljevic, V. (2005) Puppets—A Great Addition to Everyday Teaching. Thinking Classroom, Vol. 6, January 2005.
[21]	Majaron, E. (2011) Art as a Pathway to the Child. Keynote Presentation to the 11th Biennial Conference of the European Affective Education Network (EAEN), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 26-30 June 2011.
[22]	Bennett, R. (2002) Teaching Reading with Puppets. ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No. ED462242. Retrieved 14 July 2007, from ERIC Database.
[23]	Silverman, D. (2005) Doing Qualitative Research. Sage Publications, New York.
[24]	Quintero, S.B. (2011) Puppetry and Art Education: A Personal Journey. Iowa Research Online, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
[25]	Piazza, C.L. (1999) Multiple Forms of Literacy: Teaching Literacy and the Arts. Merrill/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.
[26]	Keogh, B. and Naylor, S. (2007) Spellbound Science 1. Millgate House Publishers, Sandbach.