Fictional Accounts Interactively Produced by Dyads of Children Different Ages. A Study with Children from Urban Marginalized Populations from Argentina

ALAM FLORENCIA Y ROSEMBERG CELIA RENATA

Belfast

Congreso; Interpersonal Communication & Social Interaction Section Conference; 2011

European Communication Research & Education Association

This study aims to analyze the fictional accounts that 4-year-old children from urban marginalized groups in Argentina produced in two conditions: autonomuous and interaction with 12-year old children. The data consists of 40 accounts produced by 20 4-year-old children in quasi-experimental induced situations. The children were given a series of images and where asked to tell the story using the images. The data was video-recorded and transcribed. The analysis compares the two conditions considering: a) the superstructure in the accounts produced; b) the interactional construction of the narratives produced considering the overlap between verbal language and other semiotic fields: body position, tone, direction of gaze, and gesture. Findings showed that in the interaction with the older children the 4 year old produced more extend narratives and use more language resources to generate coherence than in the autonomous condition. These differences can be explain in relation with the way in which the older children help the younger ones construct the story. These findings provide empirical evidence about the importance of the quality of the interaction for the child development.