Judit Szitó: "Show and tell": The significance of a children's genre in culture and education

Article

The study examines an American children's genre, Show and tell. In the first part it compares the discourse structure of Show and tell to that of the presentation, and shows that they are forms of public speaking, central to assertive American culture. On the other hand, the genres that Hungarian kindergartners and lower graders at school perform seem to indicate that Hungarian culture cultivates verbal art and problem solving instead of open ended tasks. In the second part, American and Hungarian cultures are compared along four dimensions established by Hall (1976) and Hofstede (2011) to see if the genres studied support the description of national characteristics.
Finally, the possibility of introducing Show and tell and its descendants to early education in Hungary is explored, in order to produce more experienced and better public speakers. The conclusion is that the culture would not welcome these genres, which are therefore suggested to be utilized in extracurricular activities.