Investigation of preschool children's geometry/spatial perception levels in terms of language development

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the receptive, expressive and total language skills scores and geometry and spatial perception levels of children aged 60-72 months. The sample of the study consisted of 120 children aged five and six who attended an independent kindergarten affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the Alanya district center in the 2023-2024 academic year. The data in the study were obtained with the help of the Turkish Early Language Development Test (TEDIL) and the Geometry and Spatial Perception Test (GUZAL-T). The relevant scales started to be applied in November 2023 and were completed in January 2024. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationships between the obtained data. In the relevant study, stepwise regression analysis was used to determine whether the language development levels of preschool children significantly predicted their visual/spatial skills. According to the results obtained from the research data, it is seen that there is a positive significant relationship between the receptive language skills, expressive language skills, total language skills and geometry and spatial perception skills of 5-year-old children in the preschool period. In other words, it is seen that children with high general language skills have higher geometry and spatial perception skill scores. The research results are discussed within the scope of the relevant literature and suggestions for future research are presented. Keywords: Preschool children, Language development, Geometry and spatial skills, Receptive language skills, Expressive language skills.