Cultural Pretend Play with Minangkabau Songs to Enhance Mother Tongue and Character in Early Childhood: A SEM-PLS Analysis

This study examines the integration of cultural pretend play and Minangkabau-themed animated songs as a pedagogical model to foster mother tongue acquisition and character development in early childhood. The research involved 60 kindergarten students aged 5–6 years in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Learning activities combined local animated songs with structured pretend play reflecting cultural values. A quantitative design using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) was applied to test the relationship between cultural play, language development, and character formation. Findings show that cultural play and localized musical content significantly enhance children’s mother tongue skills, which in turn positively influence character development. The study highlights that incorporating traditional cultural elements into early learning can create meaningful and engaging experiences, particularly in multilingual and multicultural contexts. This model contributes to the literature on culturally responsive, play-based learning and offers implications for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers in promoting language preservation and holistic child development.