Singapore University of Social Sciences

ECE212 Fostering Communication and Emergent Literacy in Play-Based Curricula, delves into how children are eager to begin to communicate and make sense of the world from birth throughout the pre-school years. Students in ECE212 will examine how young children learn to listen, speak, read, write, through every day and contextualised opportunities to perceive, reflect, and represent their ideas in a language and literacy-rich environment. Students in this course will also be challenged to (re)think ways to support children’s language acquisition through reciprocal and responsive ways; (re)consider how literacy learning that includes both print and multi-modal texts; and reflect on how multilingualism and multi-literacies influence young children’s development as effective communicators, engaged readers, and creative writers. ECE212 is framed by the principles of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), guided by the assumption that children learn best through interactive activities that are engaging and relevant to them. In the context of a play-based curriculum, this entails having sustained shared conversations and meaningful interactions with everyday objects, peoples, and print, facilitated by knowledgeable teachers who are active listeners and intentional facilitators.