Adults’ orientation of children—And children's initiative to pitch in—to everyday adult activities in a Tsotsil Maya community

The initiative of children to participate in activities that are valued in the community's daily life occurs at an early ages and it starts with actions that involve other participants, who “break down” the tasks by means of an interactional sequence that is supported by different communicative resources that characterize the Mayan Tsotsil culture of this study. This study examines how 2-year-old children attempt to participate actively in adult work in a Mayan community and how adults contribute and accommodate the contributions. As children enter into activities, adults orient and reorient them to direct the children. Teaching from expert to novice is generated by children’s agency in co-participatory interactions. This study shows how children become agents of their own process of socialization and are actively contributing to the acquisition of culture, both at cognitive and social levels. It also enriches LOPI by focusing on the structure of participation and communication, social and community organization, and the evaluation of the child’s efforts that occurs in activity itself. The data come from video recordings of natural interactions and is based on longitudinal, ethnographic, and linguistic research. A focal Family and Four Complementary from Ichintón Families in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico.