non-Chinese Speaking Students Research Articles

Language exposure and Chinese character handwriting among Hong Kong non-Chinese speaking students: The mediating role of academic self-concept

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between language exposure and Chinese character handwriting (CCW) among 103 non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong. Specifically, it examined the impact of academic self-concept, including students’ self-perceptions of their Chinese character competence and affect, on the complex learning process of CCW in a multilingual context like Hong Kong. NCS students were invited to complete a writing-to-dictation test, a questionnaire on CCW exposure outside of the classroom, and a self-description questionnaire of academic self-concept. Path analysis was employed to analyse the path models within the constructs. The results revealed that language exposure had both direct and indirect effects on CCW through academic self-concept. Notably, the effect of language exposure on CCW was strongly mediated by competence self-concept but not affect self-concept. This suggests that NCS students evaluate their competence in producing desired outcomes within exposure environments based on their own self-perceptions. Drawing on these empirical findings, the article discusses the educational implications for Chinese as a second language learning and teaching. It emphasizes the significance of tailored instructional methods that can enhance the competence and affective self-concepts of NCS students. By implementing such approaches, students will be better equipped to integrate into diverse multilingual societies.

The different effects of the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation on reading performance via engagement among young Chinese second-language learners

AbstractAlthough motivational variables have been extensively examined in the context of English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL), they have received little attention when learning Chinese as a second language (CSL), especially among elementary school students in lower grades. Considering the significant impact of psychological variables on language learning and the dilemma of Chinese reading for non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students from Hong Kong, this study examined the structural relationship between the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation, as well as their impacts on the learning engagement and reading performance of 475 Hong Kong first-grade NCS students. Two findings were noteworthy: (1) under the simultaneous consideration of the above-mentioned variables, intrinsic motivation affects learning engagement and Chinese reading performance more than the ideal self; (2) the indirect effects of intrinsic motivation on reading performance through learning engagement are more significant than its direct effect on reading performance. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Teaching Chinese for Non-Chinese Speaking Students in Hong Kong Kindergartens : The Positioning of Immersion and Its Teaching Strategies

Teaching Chinese for Non-Chinese Speaking Students in Hong Kong Kindergartens : The Positioning of Immersion and Its Teaching Strategies

Professional Capacity Building of Multicultural Teaching Assistants in Hong Kong Kindergartens with Ethnic Minority Children

A professional teaching development programme was established to equip multicultural teaching assistants (MTA) with skills and knowledge to teach non-Chinese speaking (NCS) preschoolers in Hong Kong. To evaluate if MTAs are perceived to be able to perform their intended roles (support Chinese and overall learning, provide pastoral support, bridge the communication between NCS parents and kindergartens, and promote social integration), questionnaires were collected from 18 principals and 74 teachers. To assess if the programme can equip MTAs with necessary skills for the planned roles, questionnaires were collected from 39 MTAs, and a focus group interview with 8 MTAs was also conducted. Results showed that principals and teachers were satisfied with MTAs’ performances in supporting NCS students’ learning. Moreover, the majority of MTAs agreed that the training programme helped them to perform their intended roles in preschools. Most modules taught in the training programme, apart from one exception, were well received by MTAs. The focus group interview revealed that MTAs were satisfied with the programme, though they preferred more training on Chinese writing skills and knowledge in dealing behavioral issues of children. The study shows the possibility of integrating MTAs into multicultural classrooms in Hong Kong to facilitate NCS children’s learning.

Using R2L pedagogy in teaching practical writing to non-Chinese speaking students in Hong Kong

Abstract Since Hong Kong handover, the language policy in Hong Kong shifts from diglossic bilingualism to bi-literacy and trilingualism policy, balancing the status of English and Chinese with the mother tongue education policy. This policy shift has inadvertently impacted non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students’ enrollment, whose limited mastery of Chinese language prevents them from the mainstream schooling. Faced with this ethnically diverse and multilingual population, Applied Learning Chinese (ApL(C)) motivating practical reading and writing in an applied learning context was proposed by Hong Kong Education Bureau as an alternative for second language education. This study examines the effectiveness of “Reading to Learn, Learning to Write, R2L” pedagogy (Rose, 2012) in teaching Chinese practical writing to NCS students in Hong Kong with pedagogic interventions and Systemic Functional analytical perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to perceive students’ learning experiences with R2L pedagogy. The finding suggests an increased meta-linguistic awareness of genre-specific writings after interventions to be empowered with a voice against social inequity and be empathized with humanistic reflections.

The Roles of Multilingual Learning Facilitators in Assisting Non-Chinese-Speaking Students in Learning Chinese in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

This study aimed to define the roles played by Multilingual Learning Facilitators (MLFs), a novel post created to facilitate non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) pre-schoolers in learning Chinese in Hong Kong, based in community agencies. Qualitative analysis of field observations and interviews with MLFs and social workers found that roles fell under teaching-related and social work-related categories. For teaching-related roles, MLFs facilitated learning of Chinese in NCS pre-schoolers, assisted social workers in classroom management during activities, engaged NCS parents, and fostered communication between social workers and NCS parents. For social work-related duties, MLFs offered consulting for NCS parents dealing with issues, and also fostered communication between social workers and NCS parents. These roles are made possible due to MLFs’ language and cultural expertise of that of NCS families and the local Chinese community. This addresses current limitations faced by teachers and social workers in their roles in teaching NCS students, and expands resources available for NCS families, from schools to the community, in supporting their children in learning Chinese, potentially opening up opportunities for NCS children to integrate into the local community.

The impact of medium of instruction on Hong Kong non-Chinese speaking kindergarten children's learning Chinese

ABSTRACT Chinese as the medium of instruction (MOI) is used across the curriculum for early childhood education in Hong Kong; however, kindergartens with non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students adopt different MOI, in which English remains an integral part of learning and teaching, to cater to the needs of NCS students and their families. The present study investigated how different modes of MOI adopted in six local kindergartens affected the Chinese language learning of 457 NCS students. Effective Chinese learning of the NCS students in their first year of kindergarten schooling and its relation to their Chinese language proficiency were examined. The preliminary findings showed that the Chinese MOI was relatively effective in enhancing NCS students’ learning Chinese in comparison to English and dual-language MOI. Deliberate considerations on different contexts of kindergartens of varying proportions of NCS students for Chinese language learning is essential whilst the choice of MOI remains school-based, particularly in aspects of enhancing NCS students’ Chinese language proficiency for their smooth Primary One transition and earlier social integration.

Early experience and later multilingual attainments by ethnic minority students in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Language learning has long been one of the most challenging issues facing non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students who are mainly ethnic minorities immersed in a multilingual environment in Hong Kong. Previous research on the education of NCS students suggested that early support from an immersion programme at a pre-school age may contribute to higher achievement in Chinese language skills. However, limited empirical evidence is available in the literature to shed light on the relationship between early immersion and language attainments of NCS students. This study aimed at surveying the experience and attainments in four languages among NCS students in local schools, and at filling the gap in the literature on holistic approaches to assessing language needs and development among young minority students. We used questionnaires as the major instrument to elicit information of ethnicity, age, family, language proficiencies, and other key variables. Responses were received from 230 NCS students in local primary and secondary schools where English is used as the medium of instruction. The results revealed a strong link between early acculturation and the later language attainments among the NCS participants. Our key finding corroborated previous research claims that early immersion may facilitate Chinese language acquisition by NCS students. Implications for immersion pedagogy are also discussed.

Using the Home-School-Community Model to Enhance the Chinese Language Proficiency of Non-Chinese Speaking Children

This study employed a mixed-method approach from multiple source of informants, including NCS students, parents, principals, teachers, multicultural teaching assistants (MTAs), and voluntary agencies to validate the effectiveness of using the Home-School-Community (H-S-C) framework in teaching Chinese to non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) children. Results revealed that NCS students receiving the H-S-C-based interventions showed a better Chinese language proficiency progression than the comparison group. Within the home domain, NCS parents increased awareness, knowledge and skills in supporting children’s learning, and provided improved space for learning Chinese at home. In the school domain, principals and teachers were equipped with culturally-responsive pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching NCS students, with MTAs’ assisting in teaching and communicating with parents and teachers. Community domain programs provided experiential learning opportunities for NCS students to know the community and engage in cultural exchange with local students. With a holistic approach to home-school-community domains, a reconstruction of an L1-like Chinese language learning environment was made possible for NCS students.

｢閱讀促進學習｣教學法在中文第二語言課堂的漢字 教學之應用及成效

Due to the variety and complexity of Chinese characters in terms of form, pronunciation and meaning, many non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students failed to master the formation of characters and sentences. It might be worth mentioning that English language and some NCS students’ first languages such as Pilipino, Urdu and Nepali, are all based on alphabetic writing system. A lack of understandings of font and word meaning makes NCS students feel particularly difficult when writing Chinese characters. In view of the difficulties of NCS students in writing Chinese characters and the achievements of predecessors in applying Reading to Learn (R2L) pedagogy, this paper attempts to explore the application and effectiveness of R2L pedagogy in teaching Chinese characters to NCS students during Chinese classes. The participants were a group of 15 secondary one students who are learning Chinese as a second language, and their Chinese teacher. Using a qualitative research approach, interviews, lesson study and text analysis were conducted to explore whether R2L was considered and in fact effective for the students to acquire Chinese characters. The results of the study showed that the students with different Chinese levels significantly improved their writing after they received R2L pedagogy teaching. Based on the results, the researchers put forward relevant suggestions on the R2L teaching strategies that Chinese teachers might apply when teaching NCS students. Keywords : “Reading to Learn” pedagogy, Han characters, Teaching Chinese as a second language, NCS students 中文字詞在形, 音, 義上的繁多和複雜, 導致許多非華語學生無法很好地辨認不同字, 詞, 句組合的特徵, 而非華語學生所掌握的英語或其本身母語例如菲律賓語, 巴基斯坦語, 尼泊爾語等都是以拼音文字系統為主, 缺乏字型, 字義的概念, 故他們在書寫漢字時感到特別困難｡ 鑒於非華語學生在漢字書寫上的困難, 以及前賢學者在應用｢閱讀促進學習｣(Reading to Learn, 簡稱R2L)教學法取得的成果, 本文嘗試探究這種教學法在非華語學生中文課堂的漢字教學之應用, 觀察並分析中文老師運用R2L教學法進行漢字教學的課堂設計和教學步驟, 以評估這種教學法對提高學生寫作描寫文字詞的成效｡ 本文以個案研究的方式探討R2L教學法如何應用在香港非華語學生中文漢字的寫作教學上, 透過分析一位中文老師運用R2L教學法給十五位中一級非華語學生講解描寫文的篇章和字詞寫作的課堂教學情況, 利用師生訪談, 課堂研習和文本分析等研究工具, 總結R2L教學法在中文第二語言課堂的漢字教學的應用情況及評估其成效｡ 研究結果顯示中文老師運用R2L教學法施教後, 可有效提高不同程度學生寫作描寫文字詞和篇章的能力｡ 研究者根據本文的研究結果, 對於R2L教學法應用在非華語學生中文課堂的漢字教學策略提出相關建議｡ 關鍵字 : ｢閱讀促進學習｣教學法, 中文第二語言, 漢字教學, 非華語學生

鍛辭成章： ｢閱讀促進學習｣教學法中筆記摘錄與共同建構在香港非華 語初中課堂的實踐與成效

In Hong Kong, the number of secondary schools admitting Non-Chinese Speaking (NCS) students has increased tremendously in recent years (LegCo, 2016), in which most of them are mainstream schools. To cater the learning differences of NCS students, various supporting programs have been employed to help NCS students to improve their Chinese so as to ease their difficulties in applying for universities and finding jobs (Loh & Tam, 2016), and hence enhancing upward social mobility (Leung et al, 2017). Thus developing suitable Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) pedagogies has caught much scholarly attention with pressing needs. Under such backdrop, the paper discusses the use of “Reading to Learn (R2L)” Pedagogy (Rose & Martin, 2012) to support the junior secondary CSL teaching and learning in a secondary school with high NCS density. The research team developed school-based teaching and learning materials based on Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Adapted Learning Framework (EDB, 2014) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) syllabus. Based on collaborative lesson preparation, class observation, teachers and students focus groups, close examination of students’work, the study aims at finding the effectiveness of R2L in enhancing students’ reading and writing abilities of explanatory essays, as well as their motivation. Through Detailed Reading, Note-making, Joint Rewriting and Joint Construction, with extensive scaffolding and teacher-student interaction, students are able to understand the register variables and transfer to individual writing of explanatory essays. Discourse analysis and focus group interviews also show that R2L can enhance the motivation of students and their confidence in learning Chinese. The study explores the potential of applying R2L pedagogy to enhance the reading and writing of explanatory essays, as well as discerning the praxis and effectiveness of various teaching stages. Keywords : Teaching of Chinese as a Second Language, Reading and Writing Abilities, Reading to Learn Pedagogy, Note Taking, Joint Construction 近年, 香港取錄非華語學生的主流中學急增(立法會, 2016)｡ 學校需要因應這些學生的學習差異, 採用各種支援方式幫助他們學好中文, 改善其升學就業的困難, 提升社會向上流動機會(Leung et al, 2017; Loh & Tam, 2016)｡ 是以為非華語學生提供適切的中文教學法, 成為當前急務(Shum, 2015)｡ 本個案研究針對以上情況, 以｢閱讀促進學習｣ 教學法(Rose & Martin, 2012)支援一所非華語學生比例較高的中學, 在初中中文作為第二語言課堂, 參照中國語文課程第二語言學習架構(香港教育局, 2014)及國際普通中學教育證書 (IGCSE)課程綱要, 修訂校本課程｡ 透過協作和共同備課會議, 課堂觀察, 師生聚焦小組訪談, 筆記及課業文本分析等方法, 了解此教學法能否提高學生說明文類的讀寫能力, 增強學習動機｡ 老師引領學生詳細閱讀範文後, 指導學生通過小組合作從範文提取並記錄關鍵字詞, 摘錄成筆記(Note Making)｡ 繼而學生藉着師生互動與鷹架輔助, 運用這些關鍵字詞, 句式及文步, 共同建構(Joint Construction)新篇, 最後讓學生獨立寫作｡ 本研究發現上述步驟能有效幫助學生理解文類語域變數(Eggins, 1994), 並能活用至不同通篇寫作活動；文本分析與小組訪談亦顯示該教學法能有效提高學生學習中文的動機, 增強學習信心｡ 本研究驗證｢閱讀促進學習｣ 教學法對改善學生說明文類讀寫能力及各教學步驟的實踐成效均具啟發性｡ (535字) 關鍵字 : 中文作為第二語言教學, 讀寫能力, ｢閱讀促進學習｣ 教學法, 筆記摘錄, 共同建構

Teaching the Non-Chinese Speaking Students Origami to Improve Their Interest and Concentration in Learning Chinese Language

Teaching the Non-Chinese Speaking Students Origami to Improve Their Interest and Concentration in Learning Chinese Language

Reading to Learn, Learning to Write Pedagogy: How Effective is it on Teaching Narrative Writing to Non-Chinese Speaking Students?

Reading to Learn, Learning to Write Pedagogy: How Effective is it on Teaching Narrative Writing to Non-Chinese Speaking Students?

Exploring inclusive pedagogical practices in Hong Kong primary EFL classrooms

ABSTRACTSocial diversity is now commonplace in many communities in today’s globalised world. This diversity can be seen in any classroom of learners, and international studies have shown the complex ways in which disabilities, race, ethnicity, gender and social class can determine a child’s opportunity to succeed or fail in the education system. In Hong Kong, like in many educational contexts around the world, teachers are grappling with increasing diversity amongst their students, including teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) and non-Chinese speaking students (NCS) living in Hong Kong. This paper examines how three primary TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teachers are constructing identities as inclusive practitioners as they grapple with enacting the inclusive education policy recently introduced into Hong Kong schools. The data are drawn from a small-scale collaborative reflective inquiry for teacher professional development. Drawing upon a sociocultural and critical framing of identity theory, we trace the three teachers’ identity construction as EFL teachers and inclusive education practitioners. We view the role of discourse, self-positioning and social context as key processes in teacher identity formation. Implications for furthering the development of inclusive education in EFL classrooms are offered.

Enhancing the Chinese writing skills of non-Chinese speaking students

Background A majority of the ethnic minority students living in Hong Kong acknowledge the importance of knowing the Chinese language for their future education and employment opportunities in Hong Kong. However, a survey revealed that 91% of respondents did not know how to write Chinese or considered their writing skills to be poor [1]. Another survey [2] found that 31% of those who had lived in Hong Kong for over 10 years still found the language barrier to be the greatest obstacle to finding a job. Despite acquiring basic spoken Cantonese, written Chinese was still difficult for them. Both reading and writing skills are often required for employment, but these skills are considered difficult to acquire in the current education system [3]. This study aimed to enhance the skills of non-Chinese speaking students (NCS), largely ethnic minority students, in writing Chinese. Methods

Needs analysis and curriculum development of vocational Chinese for NCS students

Background Drawing from the needs analysis approach in curriculum development research, this study focuses on improving the Chinese language learning experience of non-Chinese-speaking (NCS) students in the Vocational Training Council (VTC) through the use of systematic planning and review practices in all aspects of the Chinese language curriculum. As a cosmopolitan city, Hong Kong has about 340,000 ethnic minority residents, constituting over 5% of the population, according to the 2011 Hong Kong Population Census. Demographic data show that over one half of these NCS people originate from South Asian countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Nepal. Over the past years, the Hong Kong government has been considering ways to enhance and propagate a harmonious coexistence with these multi-ethnicities. Recent research has found that the NCS minorities have experienced difficulties in integrating into Hong Kong society, particularly in the fields of education and employment. This is largely due to their lack of sufficient Chinese language skills [1]. The current Chinese language curriculum for minority students in schools is not ready to accommodate the learning needs of NCS students. To this end, curriculum-based needs analysis research is urgently needed. The VTC is dedicated to providing quality Chinese language courses for NCS students. The research team has been carrying out comprehensive curriculum development research and promoting a ‘differentiated teaching’ approach since 2011 [2]. Curriculum development requires needs analysis to devise criteria and a rationale for specific groups of learners through extensive consultation [3]. Furthermore, Richards [4] elaborates that curriculum development is a cyclical process to ‘determine the needs of a group of learners; to develop aims or objectives for a program to address those needs; to determine an appropriate syllabus, course structure, teaching methods, and materials; and to carry out an evaluation of the language program that results from those processes’ .I n short, this study has two objectives: (1) to identify the learning needs of NCS students and (2) to modify and develop a suitable syllabus and learning materials accordingly. Methods