STORYING AS A SOCIAL CONTEXT FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

The complexities of using language in social interactions can be learned in social contexts where young children engage in talk as a social action within everyday interactions to construct meaning through narratives. This chapter integrates examples from the data organized around four themes identified as important to opening up space for children’s storying. The complexities of using language in social interactions is challenging for young children, given their age and, therefore, fewer experiences with language in different social contexts. The chapter highlights story as a way to make sense of experiences, a role that includes but goes beyond narration as a skill in communicative competence. Within the theoretical and research frame of story as a way of knowing, the chapter focuses on curricular engagements that immerse young children in storying processes and provides space for authentic engagement in co-constructing stories with peers and adults.