Identifying the Characteristics of Dialogic Speech in Preschool Children Through Kazakh Folk Tales

Abstract

The development of dialogic speech in preschool children is one of the important areas in the formation of their communication skills. In children with general speech underdevelopment, limited vocabulary, difficulties in sentence construction, and insufficient skills in answering questions and expressing their thoughts freely may hinder the development of dialogic communication. In this regard, the use of the content, linguistic, and educational potential of Kazakh folk tales in corrective and developmental work is of particular importance. The aim of the study was to identify the experience, views, methods used, difficulties encountered, and methodological needs of speech therapists, preschool teachers, and special education teachers regarding the development of children’s dialogic speech through Kazakh folk tales. The study was conducted at State Special Kindergarten No. 32 “Erkin” in Shymkent. A total of 37 specialists participated in the survey and completed a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions. The survey results were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings showed that specialists use Kazakh folk tales to develop dialogic speech through expressive reading, discussion of story content, role-playing activities, the use of visual materials, and the construction of dialogues between characters. Of the respondents, 32.43% identified creating dialogues between fairy-tale characters as an important area for developing dialogic speech. In addition, 32.43% of specialists indicated that folk tales contribute to vocabulary expansion, while 32.43% reported that they support the development of listening comprehension skills. At the same time, 40.54% of respondents identified the lack of necessary materials as a major difficulty, while 51.35% rated the availability of methodological resources in the Kazakh language as low. The findings highlight the need to develop adapted Kazakh-language texts, visual and multimedia materials, and specialized methodological guidelines that would facilitate the systematic use of Kazakh folk tales in developing children’s dialogic speech.

Keywords: Kazakh folk tales, dialogic speech, preschool children, speech therapist, preschool teacher, special education teacher, survey.