This study examines how well young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age acquire color terms. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to understand the development of color terms in young children and provide the basic data necessary for...
This study examines how well young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age acquire color terms. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to understand the development of color terms in young children and provide the basic data necessary for seeking contents and teaching methods for color terms education depending on age in the field of early childhood education. To achieve this, our research questions are set as follows:
Research Question 1. How well do young children acquire color terms by age?
1-1. How well do young children aged 2 years in Korean age acquire color terms?
1-2. How well do young children aged 3 years in Korean age acquire color terms?
1-3. How well do young children aged 4 years in Korean age acquire color terms?
1-4. How well do young children aged 5 years in Korean age acquire color terms?
1-5. How about the difference in age in acquiring color terms in young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 in Korean age?
Research Question 2. How well do young children acquire color terms by gender?
2-1. Is there a difference in gender in acquiring color terms in young children aged 2 years in Korean age?
2-2. Is there a difference in gender in acquiring color
terms in young children aged 3 years in Korean age?
2-3. Is there a difference in gender in acquiring color
terms in young children aged 4 years in Korean age?
2-4. Is there a difference in gender in acquiring color
terms in young children aged 5 years in Korean age?
2-5. How about the difference in gender in acquiring color terms in young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age?
The number of subjects who participated in this study is 458 infants aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age attending S kindergarten, S kindergarten, K daycare center, and Y daycare center in D district, Seoul. The participants consisted of 124 young children aged 2 years in Korean age (66 males, 58 females), 110 young children aged 3 years in Korean age (53 males, 57 females), 115 young children aged 4 years in Korean age (57 males, 58 females), and 109 young children aged 5 years in Korean aged (61 males, 48 females).
To identify the acquisition of color terms in young children, 15 colors were selected through literature search and expert consulting, and the test instrument used in Pitchford and Mullen(2002) was modified and complemented appropriately for this study. One (1) poby who is not dressed, a total of 15 sets of poby's clothes with 15 different colors, and light-grey background plate were used as test instruments for receptive vocabulary, and 15 pobies dressed in single-color clothes with 15 different colors and light-grey background plate were as test instruments for acquiring color terms.
This study was conducted from May 26, 2015 to Jul. 3, 2015 for 6 weeks. This researcher visited four early childhood educational institutes selected as research institute and carried out receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary tests for about 10~15 minutes while sitting one on one between inspector and infant at a quiet place appropriate for inspection. The test was conducted in order of expressive vocabulary test and receptive vocabulary test.
To identify the acquisition of color terms depending on infant's age, one-way ANOVA was conducted, and if there was a difference between groups, Tukey post-hoc test was conducted to identify if there is any difference in which age groups. To identify the acquisition of color terms depending on infant's gender, independent sample t-test was conducted by using SPSS Statistics 21.0. And the test results were converted into a percentage and then our interpretation and description were done referring to Kim Minjin(2012)'s advanced research.
Our findings can be summed up as follows:
First, in acquisition of color terms in young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age depending on age, it was found that the higher the age, the higher the acquisition rate of color terms. A statistically significant development appeared in young children aged 3 years in Korean age, and grey, purple, dark blue, and blue green showed a lower acquisition rate even in young children aged 5 years in Korean age than other colors in receptive color terms and expressive color terms and were acquired rather late among young children. When the acquisition rate of receptive color vocabulary was compared with that of expressive color vocabulary in this study, it was found that the acquisition of receptive color terms was higher than that of expressive color terms, in general.
Second, in acquisition of color terms in young children aged 2, 3, 4, or 5 years in Korean age, it was found that in early childhood, girl's acquisition rate was higher than boy's acquisition rate, but as they got older, the difference in gender gradually declined. In general, girl's acquisition rate was higher than boy's acquisition rate in receptive color terms and expressive color terms, but in comparison between age groups depending on gender, it was found that as they got older, the number of colors that showed a statistically significant difference declined. Considering this, it could be concluded that as their age got higher, the difference between boy and girl by gender was reduced in receptive color terms and expressive color terms.