Role-play areas and home corners provide meaningful ways for children to explore, rehearse and use language in a variety of situations. When inhabiting the role of a firefighter, a market stall trader or a mum with a baby to care for, a child will be modelling an adult's behaviour.
They may try out a more mature way of speaking, using rhythm and intonation and expression in their voices. They may discuss their roles using past, present and future tenses to connect the ideas or events that they are acting out, they may share their ideas and feelings through words or actions, or they may just talk to themselves - a vital stage in a child's language development. As they get older, they will be able to use narrative language to develop plots or storylines and, regardless of the props that are on offer, they will use language to bring their play to life.
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