For children, play and serious learning do not necessarily need to be differentiated. Indeed, children learn a great deal through play and teachers and parents should treat this opportunity to play as a very serious part of all learning. In play, children can try out new roles and language, and often perform beyond what they are capable of in more formal settings. In play, they can make discoveries about language that are stored better in their memory than language that is ‘presented’ to them by a teacher. Therefore, the teachers’ role is to support the children and guide them, modelling language that is needed for success, and prompting and challenging children to learn.