This study examined the effect of transition time-based word-play activities on four-year-olds’ expressive
language ability and phonological awareness through an experimental study. The subjects of this study were 46
children (23 in the experimental group and 23 in the comparison group) from two four-year-old classrooms at J
public kindergarten in Seoul. The treatment was conducted for 6 weeks; in the experimental group, the children
participated in 27 word-play activities during transition times, whereas in the comparison group, the children
experienced transition activities as usual. Pretest and posttest on expressive language ability and phonological
awareness were conducted before and after the treatment, and the collected data was analyzed by t-test. The
results of this study are summarized as follows. First, participating in the transition time-based word-play
activities improved expressive language ability of the children. In particular, the children in the experimental
group demonstrated significantly better performance than the children in the comparison group in all the
sub-categories of expressive language ability (the usage of word variety, the number of sentences, contents
coincidence, contents cohesion, and creative expression). Second, participating in the transition time-based
word-play activities improved phonological awareness of the children. In particular, the children in the
experimental group showed significantly higher improvement than the children in the comparison group in all
the sub-categories of phonological awareness (syllable/phonemic omission and syllable/phoneme discrimination). In
conclusion, young children’s voluntary expression of their thoughts and feelings in speech and experience in
perceiving and utilizing syllables and phonemes through the transition time-based word-play activities had a
positive effect on their expressive language ability and phonological awareness. This result implies that transition
time-based word-play activities can be utilized as an effective teaching and learning method for language
development of young children, and that planning and implementing transition time-based word-play activities
during transition times can lead to an effective day for both young children and teachers in early childhood
education settings.