Play-based Education for Early English Literacy

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_15How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Play-based learning; Culturally relevant context; Educational toys; Alphabet learning; Multisensory elements

Abstract

Although fluency in English has become exceedingly important for success in academics and employment, many students, especially from rural and semi-urban regions of India, face potential challenges in English language acquisition. This can be seen from a very tender age because of students’ social and cultural disparity, behavioral challenges, and linguistic variations. This study focuses on building design solutions for early alphabet learning among children of the age group 3 to 5 years studying in vernacular medium schools in rural Rajasthan. Existing solutions include alphabet charts, phonetic learning digital apps, and tactile alphabet toys, but they often lack the multi-sensory element, local cultural context for relevance, and most importantly, fun educational solutions for kids’ engagement and interest retention. Therefore, this study investigates methods that support the initial cognitive development of children employing play-based learning and a user-centric design approach in educational toys. This will be done through integrating familiar local motifs and using a visual and tactile, gamified task-based pedagogical approach that encourages team sport and problem-solving skills among the kids. Data was collected through a qualitative literature study in play-based early education, backed by field observations and user testing sessions through design interventions. These interventions were made with careful use of self-determination theory, encouraging students’ autonomy in task performance, competence in the ability to tackle challenges, and relatedness in group activities as motivational drivers. The findings suggest that familiar references like regional foods, festivals, and animal visuals, when combined with play-based, multisensory activities, can significantly enhance children’s enjoyment in alphabet learning activities.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ayushi Pandey
AU  - Gaurav Vinod Vaidya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/31
TI  - Play-based Education for Early English Literacy
BT  - Proceedings of the ATLAS International Design Conference 2025 (AIDC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 230
EP  - 250
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-620-3_15
ID  - Pandey2026
ER  -