Desarrollo del lenguaje en preescolares: Experiencia de docentes peruanas en un contexto de pandemia

Abstract

Language development in infants is achieved through interaction with their peers in a social context allowing them to acquire cognitive and linguistic skills to understand the world around them. The purpose of this study was to analyze the experiences of Peruvian teachers regarding the language development of preschool students in the context of virtual education due to the pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted with a hermeneutic phenomenological design, focused on four categories: virtual education, language development, role of the family and future perspectives of preschool education. The participants were five preschool teachers working in an urban school in the city of Lima-Peru, who were selected through a purposive sampling. An in-depth interview was used; structured in 15 questions, framed in the categories of analysis of the study, following four stages: clarification of assumptions, descriptive, structural and discussion. During distance education, preschool teachers have incorporated several virtual strategies for language development; however, linguistic competencies have not been as expected for the age of infants in the school stage. The participation of families was determinant in the achievements or limitations of children's linguistic processes during the pandemic. Virtual education was not sufficiently effective in the development of language in preschool children in the context studied, evidencing limitations in oral and gestural expression, in addition to a limited repertoire of words expected for their age.