Immersion Chinese language programs, key to language proficiency and cultural literacy

Author(s):  
Vivian Ling
2008 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 17.1-17.22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baohua Yu ◽  
David A. Watkins

The present study investigates the relationships among motivational factors, cultural correlates and second language proficiency. The participants, from both Western and Asian backgrounds, were learning Chinese at university level in the People’s Republic of China. 115 students (35 Western students and 80 Asian students) ranging from beginning to advanced levels of proficiency were surveyed. The results of the study indicated that the degree of integrativeness into Chinese culture and motivation was significantly and positively related to Chinese language proficiency, while language anxiety was significantly and negatively correlated to such proficiency. However instrumental orientation was found to have no statistically significant relationship with such proficiency. Multiple regression analysis indicated that integrativeness and gender were major variables predicting Chinese language proficiency. Significant differences between Western and Asian student groups were found in terms of motivational variables and Chinese language proficiency. Compared with the Asian student group, the Western student group tended to perform better in spoken Chinese proficiency as evaluated by their teachers and seemed to have higher levels of motivation and integrativeness but lower levels of instrumental orientation and language anxiety. Recommendations are made to enhance motivation and second language acquisition.


Author(s):  
Maja Stojanovic ◽  
Petra A. Robinson

The chapter examines how non-native English-speaking graduate students perceive academic success and possible linguistic and cultural challenges in graduate schools in the United States. Data were collected from six in-depth individual face-to-face interviews specifically to understand the complexities and nuances in the perceptions of non-native English-speaking graduate students related to their academic success and possible challenges they face that may be caused by the lack of native-like language proficiency. Students' perceptions revealed the importance of cultural and language training for key stakeholders. Graduate schools as well as those teaching multicultural classes, among other stakeholders, should utilize this information to help modify English language programs and curricula for current and new students.


2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Scrimgeour

While Chinese language learning in Australian schools is characterised by predominantly second language programs for learners who have had no prior exposure to the target language, there is increasing participation by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another dialect at home. Curriculum and assessment frameworks and syllabuses at senior secondary level have responded to the diversity in learner background through the provision of separate curricula and assessment schemes for different learner groups based on country of birth, prior educational experience and languages used at home. However the impact of learner background on learning and achievement as learners progress through Chinese language programs both in primary and secondary school remains under-researched. In particular, evidence of how the performance of second language learners differs from that of learners who a) speak the language at home and b) may have substantial community schooling experience beyond the school classroom, or c) were born and initially educated in Chinese, is very limited. This paper reports on the results of the Student Achievement in Asian Languages Education (SAALE) Project (Scarino et al., 2011; Scarino, this issue and Elder, Kim & Knoch, this issue) with regard to student achievement in Chinese. It focuses on the writing performance of Year 10 learners of Chinese and considers specifically the impact of language background by comparing performances between Australian-born students who do and do not speak Chinese at home. Scores assigned to students’ writing gathered on common test procedures confirms the expectation that background language learners perform at significantly higher levels and suggests that the two groups also differ in the nature of that performance. The implications of this data for the teaching, learning and assessment of Chinese in schools, and for the appropriate provision of programs for these different groups of learners is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Nikolov ◽  
Veronika Timpe-Laughlin

AbstractGiven the exponential growth in the popularity of early foreign language programs, coupled with an emphasis of evidence-based instruction, assessing young learners’ (YLs) foreign language abilities has moved to center stage. This article canvasses how the field of assessing young learners of foreign languages has evolved over the past two decades. The review offers insights into how and why the field has developed, how constructs have been defined and operationalized, what language proficiency frameworks have been used, why children were assessed, what aspects of their foreign language proficiency have been assessed, who was involved in the assessment, and how the results have been used. By surveying trends in foreign language (FL) and content-based language learning programs involving children between the ages of 3 and 14, the article highlights research into assessment of and for learning, and critically discusses areas such as large-scale assessments and proficiency examinations, comparative and experimental studies, the impact of assessment, teachers’ beliefs and assessment practices, young learners’ test-taking strategies, age-appropriate tasks, alternative and technology-mediated assessment, as well as game-based assessments. The final section of the article highlights where more research is needed, thus outlining potential future directions for the field.


1973 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120
Author(s):  
Frank Swetz

The People's Republic of China has attempted to use education as the main avenue for ideological, sociological, and technological advancement. In the educational campaigns that have taken place on mainland China since 1949, two disciplines have always received primary attention: the Chinese language and mathematics. Improved language proficiency was necessary for the processes of indoctrination, while mathematics provided a base for the scientific studies so vital to an industrial competency.


1990 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 228-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol E. Westby

Many schools are implementing whole language methodology in the teaching of reading and writing. Whole language programs assume that children have a certain degree of oral language proficiency. For language-learning disabled students, such assumptions may be incorrect. The whole language literacy movement provides an excellent opportunity for speech-language pathologists to work as an integral part of the school team seeking to build literacy. This article presents a framework for understanding the pragmatic, semantic, syntactic, text, and phonological aspects of language that underlie both oral and written communication and gives suggestions for ways speech-language pathologists can assess children's language skills that are essential for success in a whole language program.


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