Teaching politeness strategies in the kindergarten: A critical literacy teaching proposal

The present study explores the use of the genre of service encounters to teach (about) politeness strategies in the kindergarten. My teaching proposal involves a critical approach to politeness strategies which is expected to enhance students' awareness of the social/interactional aspects of service encounters, and in particular to familiarize them with positive and negative politeness and with how the speech acts they may use in such contexts contribute to creating solidarity or distance with their interlocutors. Since young children participate in such interactions outside school, their own experiences could form the basis for language teaching. Concurrently, kindergartens are often equipped to host role play activities simulating service encounters, and teachers are usually trained to assist children in such activities. Given the above, the present teaching proposal will be based on the multiliteracies model which aims at cultivating students' critical literacy skills and exploits children's communicative and textual experiences. The presentation of the teaching proposal here includes not only specific activities and goals that could be set by teachers and children, but also the analysis of authentic data, so as to assist teachers in the preparation of their courses.