Play-Based Strategies for the Development of Communicative Skills in EFL Among Children Aged 3 to 5

Resumen

This study examined the integration of Play-Based Strategies (PBS) in the development of communicative skills among children aged three to five in an Ecuadorian bilingual EFL context. A qualitative, non-experimental case-based design was employed during the 2025–2026 school year with six students selected from Inicial 1, Inicial 2, and Preparatoria. The pedagogical approach incorporated guided play, storytelling and role play, cooperative games, songs and rhymes, and movement-based activities using Total Physical Response (TPR). Data were collected through direct classroom observation and institutional weekly checklists, and were organized into four communicative dimensions: listening comprehension, vocabulary use, oral participation, and social interaction. The findings showed progressive development across all dimensions, with the most noticeable gains in listening comprehension and social interaction, while vocabulary use and oral participation developed more gradually. The results suggest that the combined use of play-based strategies can provide developmentally appropriate opportunities for young learners to engage with English through movement, repetition, interaction, and multimodal communication. However, due to the small sample, absence of a comparison group, and reliance on teacher-recorded checklists, the findings should be interpreted as contextualized classroom evidence rather than causal proof. The study highlights the pedagogical value of integrating play into early EFL instruction and the need for assessment practices that recognize both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication