Young Chinese Learners Research Articles

越南汉语学习者低龄化趋势：成因与现状分析——以胡志明市商业华语培训中心为例

<p>In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of younger learners taking up Chinese globally. Since the Vietnamese Ministry of Education included Chinese as an elective foreign language in primary schools in 2021, the number of primary and secondary school students learning Chinese has significantly increased. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the current state of Chinese learning in Vietnamese primary and secondary schools, identify potential challenges in the process of younger learners taking up Chinese, and provide valuable data support for the formulation of long-term Chinese education development plans, this study uses the Hoavan SHZ Chinese Training Center as a case study. It explores the enrollment situation and operational status of young learners over the past ten years. Through data analysis and interviews, the study examines changes in the age groups of young learners, the causes of the trend toward younger learners, the prospects for development, and the challenges faced. The results show that the number of young Chinese learners in Vietnam has been steadily increasing, with the age of learners continuously decreasing, including preschool children starting to learn Chinese. National education policies and the deepening of China-Vietnam cooperation are the main driving forces. To respond to this trend and meet the needs of parents and students, this paper advocates cultivating students' interest in learning, improving the quality of teachers, and refining teaching materials and methods.</p>

The intersection of Chineseness and internationalism among Chinese millennials at an EMI university

Abstract This study investigates Chineseness and internationalism through the naming practices of young Chinese learners’ at EMI universities. Investigating the participants’ use of their English/Chinese names in their immediate study environment to start, our study delves into issues related to who can be defined as Chinese, what Chineseness involves, and its intersection with internationalism. A questionnaire was distributed at a Sino-British university in mainland China and a pre-sessional course in the UK via email in 2019. Data from the 357 questionnaire responses was followed by nine randomly selected respondents who were invited for semi-structured interviews. The data was coded using NVivo 10 and thematic analysis was utilized to understand the key themes. The study found rising confidence among the participants, represented by a rejection of the association between internationalism and westernisation. The participants proffered Chineseness as equal claims to internationalism as western culture, albeit being a continuing site of struggle and confrontation. Further, a distinctive ‘Chinese way of thinking’ is a key marker of Chinese identity, which alludes to an essentialist Chineseness rooted in mainland China.

The influence of a group of Chinese EFL teachers’ beliefs on lesson planning with video-based synchronous computer-mediated communication: A qualitative multiple case study

In recent years, Video-based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (VSCMC) has been applied in EFL education for young Chinese learners. VSCMC teaching, as distinctive from face-to-face teaching, brings numerous planning challenges for teachers using technology. Research has shown that teacher beliefs significantly affect lesson planning for technology integration. However, teacher beliefs towards VSCMC specifically have been insufficiently studied in the field of EFL education for young learners. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how teacher beliefs influence lesson planning regarding VSCMC teaching. Semi structured interviews were conducted with six Chinese teachers of young EFL learners. The results indicated that participants had transitional pedagogical beliefs, strong self-efficacy beliefs, and a complex set of value beliefs towards VSCMC teaching. Accordingly, these beliefs motivated them to teach in VSCMC settings in particular ways and influenced their lesson planning processes in terms of determining learning objectives, designing course content, and choosing teaching methods.

Measuring derivational awareness for Chinese-speaking adolescents

Chinese is a morphologically rich language and converging evidence demonstrates that knowledge of Chinese morphology holds significant relations to several literacy-related skills. However, an area of morphology that has been relatively under-investigated is derivational awareness. Investigations of Chinese derivational morphology have been limited by a lack of technically sound measures. To fill this void, we developed the Chinese Derivational Awareness Measure, which comprises twenty items based on six suffixes. We piloted this measure with Chinese adolescents (n = 174) from seventh and ninth grades to provide reliability and validity evidence. We conducted classical item analysis, nonlinear factor analysis, and bifactor modeling to evaluate the technical qualities of the measure. Results showed that the items were largely adequate based on discrimination indices and various difficulty levels for seventh and ninth grade students. While factor analysis revealed factors related to types of derivational suffixes, bifactor analysis indicated a strongly reliable general factor. These findings support the use of the total score from this newly developed instrument for research on young Chinese learners’ derivational awareness.

A Duoethnography of a Chinese Pre-Service Teacher’s Encounters with Young Learner Spelling Errors in the English Classroom

A large body of research has indicated that young second language (L2) learners often have problems with spelling, such as letter omission and mis-ordering. To give due attention to this issue, a duoethnographic study was undertaken by two researchers from different language education backgrounds. The data were collected by way of 18 conversations (86,213-word transcription). These transcribed conversations were then reconstructed in order to accurately present the dialogue that took place between the two researchers. The conversations centered around four themes related to young Chinese learners’ English spelling issues, namely: the roles of a practicum mentor and supervisor; factors resulting in young learners’ spelling issues; the relationship between spelling and reading; implications for future teaching. The findings of this study suggest that future English teachers of young learners should implement morphological instruction, encourage students to read more, instruct students on how to make and use word cards, and explain how delayed copying should be used for spelling practice. This duoethnograpy also suggests that mentors, supervisors, and pre-service teachers should engage in duoethnographic research in order to better understand mentoring, supervision, and teaching issues, whilst also promoting professional development.

A Bibliometric Analysis on Teaching Chinese as a Second or Foreign Language Outside Mainland China (2001-2020)

This paper analysed a total of 334 English language articles on teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language from the Web of Science, during the period from 2001 to 2020. By examining the bibliometric indices of the literature, the analysis found that: 1) The numbers of research publication and citation have gone through slow growth in the first decade and strong growth in the second decade. 2) Highly cited journals are mainly from four categories: educational technology, linguistics, education and psychology. 3) Highly productive authors are mainly from the fields of computing and education, with research interests focused on the use of digital technology to help Chinese language learning. 4) Highly co-cited articles include keywords related to young Chinese learners, foreign language, English context and character learning. 5) The topical trends in Chinese language education research have evolved from an early focus on Chinese writing, learning strategies and cross-cultural language teaching to a mid-term focus on issues such as classroom management and task-based teaching, and further expansion to a more recent focus on the integration of digital technologies and multimodal approaches to teaching and learning. By reviewing these five areas, this study aims to provide a complete picture of the research on teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language outside mainland China. It is intended to help build bridges of collaboration between researchers and institutions within and outside mainland China by highlighting the researchers who have made significant contributions and the wide range of issues being explored.

Directionality and developmental mechanism of cross‐linguistic transfer of phonological awareness to early writing skill in young Chinese learners

AbstractThe longitudinal study investigated the directionality and transfer mechanism of cross‐linguistic transfer of phonological awareness between L1 and L2 in predicting early writing (word dictation) in Chinese children learning English as L2. Ninety primary school Grade 1 (P1) students were assessed on phonological awareness in Cantonese (syllable deletion, onset deletion, rime deletion, and tone awareness), phonological awareness in English (syllable deletion, rime detection, and phoneme deletion), Cantonese word writing, and English word writing at Time 1. These students were assessed on the same measures 1 year later at Time 2 when they were in Grade 2. The results demonstrated bidirectional cross‐linguistic transfer of phonological awareness and early writing between Cantonese and English. It also showed that the transfers were achieved through same time writing skills (bidirectional) and future phonological awareness (from L1 to L2 only). No direct effect of earlier phonological awareness to later writing skill was found.

English as an International Language Project-Based Learning: A Focus on Young Chinese Learners’ Beliefs

This study explored young Chinese learners' beliefs about English as an international language through project-based language learning in a Chinese rural school. Three English teachers and 102 Grade 6 Chinese EFL learners participated in two separate phases. Phase 1 explored how teachers implemented the project-based language learning via classroom observation and semi-structured interviews. The findings from this phase were used to construct the six aspects of the EIL project-based language learning questionnaire in Phase 2. The questionnaire was developed to explore learners’ beliefs about EIL and project-based language learning in a Chinese rural school. The questionnaire revealed that the learners strongly believed in learning English as an international language through project-based language learning. Five aspects received similar positive responses, namely, collaboration, authenticity, intellectual challenge and accomplishment, and project management and reflection. However, only the aspect of public product received a more negative response.

Effectiveness of a CL-informed approach to English preposition acquisition by young Chinese learners

Abstract While increasing efforts have been made to teach English prepositions to EFL learners from a Cognitive Linguistics (CL) perspective, the bulk of the extant research has focused on adult learners at the advanced English proficiency level and reported only quantitative results. Limited attention has been paid to elementary learners, and there has been little qualitative evidence of the pedagogical effectiveness of CL-informed approaches. This study aims to address these issues with a quasi-experiment embedded in an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Twenty-two young Chinese learners received two types of instruction, respectively, to learn locative prepositions in, on, and at. A conceptual metaphor time as space that originates in CL was exploited as the intervention for the experimental group, whereas a data-driven approach was adopted for the control group. Quantitative data collected from the participants through a set of tests and qualitative data collected from the instructor with a semi-structured interview generally supported the effectiveness and, to a lesser extent, the efficiency of the CL-informed approach. The paper concludes with a discussion of the pedagogical implications derived from the empirical results.

The Assessment of Chinese Children's English Vocabulary-A Culturally Appropriate Receptive Vocabulary Test for Young Chinese Learners of English.

Millions of Chinese children learn English at increasingly younger ages. Yet when it comes to measuring proficiency, educators, and researchers rely on assessments that have been developed for L1 learners and/or for different cultural contexts, or on non-validated, individually designed tests. We developed the Assessment of Chinese Children’s English Vocabulary test (ACCE-V) to address the need for a validated, culturally appropriate receptive vocabulary test, designed specifically for young Chinese learners. The items are drawn from current teaching materials used in China, and the depictions of people and objects are culturally appropriate. We evaluated the instrument’s reliability and validity in two field tests with a combined sample size of 1,092 children (181 children for the first field test and 911 children for the second field test, age range from 3.1 to 7.7, mean age: 5.2. Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses show that the ACCE-V is sufficiently sensitive to capture different proficiency levels and that it has good psychometric properties. ACCE-V scores were correlated with Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test scores, indicating concurrent validity. We found that children’s age and English learning experience can significantly predict the scores of ACCE-V, but the effect of English learning experience is greater. The ACCE-V thus offers an alternative to existing vocabulary tests. We argue that culturally appropriate assessments like the ACCE-V are fairer to learners and help promote an English learning and teaching environment that is less dominated by Western cultures and native speaker norms.

Language ideologies and English in Chinese primary education

ABSTRACT English education has been promoted widely in China and has driven scholarly attention to young Chinese learners of English. However, not much has been done to address language ideologies embedded in English education oriented towards young Chinese learners from a perspective informed by the research on the global spread of English as a lingua franca (ELF). To narrow the gap, we adopt an ELF perspective to investigate textbook representations and teacher perceptions of English in relation to culture and identity in Chinese primary education. The findings demonstrate a Standard English ideology and an essentialist approach to language. We thus argue for a reconsideration of ‘English’ in primary education in order to empower young generations of English learners in China. While English is an essential language for international engagement, it is necessary to reconsider the relationship between English and China and to review the ownership of English.

English Vocabulary Attrition of Young Chinese EFL Learners

Language attrition, the reverse process of acquisition, is part of the field of language acquisition, and vocabulary is the first and most frequent linguistic unit that suffers attrition. Vocabulary attrition of young L2 learners deserves special attention because a successful language learning experience at the early stage facilitates learners’ later learning efficiency. However, research on young L2 learners’ vocabulary attrition seem scant in the current literature. Such being the case, this study investigates 72 Chinese primary school EFL learners’ English vocabulary attrition after an interval of a two-month summer recess through a repeated vocabulary test. Statistical results indicate that the young Chinese learners suffer significant attrition in vocabulary after the disuse of English during the holiday. In addition, verbs are found to be more vulnerable than nouns to attrition, but many words are partially remembered instead of being completely forgotten, as Retrieval Hypothesis proposed. Pedagogical implications for vocabulary teaching in Chinese primary schools and other similar L2 contexts are discussed.

The effectiveness of the Conceptual Metaphor Approach to English idiom acquisition by young Chinese learners

AbstractAlthough the Conceptual Metaphor Approach (CMA) has been claimed to be effective with respect to English idiom acquisition for EFL/ESL learners at elementary level, the claim awaits further investigation with empirical evidence (Beréndi, Csábi, & Kövecses, 2008;Boers, 2004). How CMA benefits these learners’ idiom acquisition and in what way it can best be implemented in their classrooms remain unknown. This study addresses these issues and sheds light on the effectiveness of CMA through a quasi-experiment, in which metaphor is exploited as an intervention that explicitly introduces the connection between idioms and the underlying Conceptual Metaphor theme. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 43 participants through questionnaires, tests and a semi-structured interview with the instructor. Results from an immediate post-test showed that participants under CMA scored higher than their counterparts who were undergoing a Memorizing Translation Approach, though the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.08). A one-week delayed post-test found that CMA facilitated idiom acquisition at a statistically significant level (p < .05). Findings from participants’ drawings and the semi-structured interview showed that CMA had contributed to an engaging and active learning experience. Pedagogical implications of this study are discussed further.

“I know English”: Self-assessment of foreign language reading and writing abilities among young Chinese learners of English

A growing number of studies have examined self-assessment (SA) of language abilities; however, SA has not been investigated extensively in the context of language teaching and learning in China. This study aims to explore SA of reading and writing abilities among young Chinese learners of English, and the relationship between SA and objective tests of reading and writing. 106 Chinese learners of English (ages 12 to 14) completed a Reading Comprehension Test (captured by Free Recall, Sentence Completion, and Multiple-Choice Questions), a Writing Task (a picture-based writing prompt), and criterion-referenced SA Items. Correlational analyses revealed a significant correlation between scores of SA reading and reading comprehension. The correlation between scores of SA writing and writing production was also found to be significant. Findings indicate that young learners tend to self-assess their foreign language reading and writing abilities accurately. Findings add some empirical information useful for a better understanding of the trajectories of SA with young learners. Young learners’ self-perceived strengths and weaknesses in reading and writing abilities are presented. The potential to use SA as a tool to promote foreign language instruction for young learners is explored.

An investigation of twenty-first century learners’ competencies in China

This paper reports a study on developing an assessment inventory of Chinese learners’ competencies as needed for the twenty-first century. In creating the instrument, three relevant twenty-first century competency frameworks were referenced: from the OECD, the European Council, and the USA. The preliminary version of this instrument, which consists of 55 items, was administered to 732 Shanghai students from three types of K-12 schools. To investigate the factors and the structure of the competencies that young Chinese learners’ in the twenty-first century should possess, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were employed. This resulted in a selection of 42 items in seven categories. These were conceptions of learning, competencies in ICT, problem solving, communication, critical thinking, cross-cultural communication, and advanced-level literacy. Based on these findings, the status of students’ twenty-first century competencies in Shanghai, were investigated in relation to gender, region, and grade. The implications of the findings were discussed, such as balancing the learning resource and teacher deployment in differently developed regions, as well as guiding the implementation of a competency-based curriculum in China.

Cultural hybridization in the globalized China: a case study of young university students

This paper aims to investigate the issue of cultural hybridization in contemporary China under the impact of cultural globalization through the voices of the young Chinese students studying at two Chinese Universities. Cultural hybridization is a continual process under globalization; however, the influence of the economy and cultural politics has increased the complications of cultural hybridization studies. Within the framework of globalization and intercultural hybridization between Chinese and other popular cultures, Western culture in particular has transformed cultural absorption and construction in modern China. Food, language, and cultural practices are the main components that are being highly hybridized through economic development and globalization. Western practices have become the new standards for young Chinese learners. Young Chinese individuals see Western culture as a method to develop themselves for better future.

The effects of a guided reading intervention on reading comprehension: a study on young Chinese learners of English in Hong Kong

This study investigates the development of reading in young Chinese learners of English in Hong Kong by comparing the effects of a guided reading intervention to an alternative treatment based on reading from e-books and a no-treatment control group. The key features of the guided reading intervention included: instruction on reading strategies and opportunities for interaction for negotiation of meaning with peers. The e-book reading focused on reading stories from CD-ROMs with embedded instructional features including opportunities to hear the stories and engage in routine word and text games but without any interaction with peers or any guidance from a teacher. Two hundred and five children, aged 9–10 years, from six primary schools in Hong Kong were stratified for gender and reading proficiency in English and randomly assigned to one of the three groups: the guided reading group, the e-book reading group and the no-treatment control group. The treatments were delivered as additional reading sessions on top of normal classroom instruction. Pre- and post-intervention tests revealed that children in the guided reading group significantly improved their reading comprehension and reading accuracy scores compared to the no-treatment control group. The children in the e-book reading group did not improve significantly compared to the no-treatment group in reading comprehension although there was significant improvement in reading accuracy. However, there was no significant difference between the children in the guided reading group and the e-book reading group ineither reading comprehension or reading accuracy scores. The pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed in the context of teaching English in primary schools in Hong Kong.