Durham E-Theses Bilingual preschool education: a comparative study between Hong Kong and Shanghai Koong, Maggie May Kay How to cite: Koong, Maggie May Kay (2007) Bilingual preschool education: a comparative study between Hong Kong and Shanghai, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3832/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Bilingual Preschool Education: A Comparative Study Between Hong Kong and Shanghai Maggie Koong May Kay The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. A thesis submitted on partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Education School of Education University of Durham 1 5 MAY 2008 2007 Declaration I declare that this thesis represents my work, except where due acknowledgement is made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis dissertation or report submitted to this university or to any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification. Signed ::]f.:#- ~ Maggie Koong Abstract Global and local factors have recently pushed English-Chinese bilingualism to the forefront of early childhood education in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Signaling new sociolinguistic alignments, each city is pursuing language policies according to its own political and economic imperatives. Using Bronfenbrenner 's ( 1977) ecological system's theory as a framework for analysis, this research study examines the contextual layers that shape the linguistic environments of the two cities, focusing on the macrosystem 's forces of globalization, the exosystem 's social networks, the mesosystem's institutions and human players, the microsystem's schools and homes, and the chronosystem's biology, acknowledging all factors that affect child development. In the hope of providing better strategies and interventions for developing second language learning, it looks at the stakeholders' attitudes towards, beliefs about, and expectations of English, as well as at parental involvement in children's English education, perceptions about NETs (native English-speaking teachers), and curriculum implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data collected (from four schools in each city and a total of 438 respondents) through questionnaires, interviews and archival documents are then triangulated to identify differences and similarities between the two cities. The results show that English is universally promoted for its economic benefits, both to individuals and society. The form of preschool bilingualism advocated by the governments of Hong Kong and Shanghai, however, is unduly influenced by political and nationalist considerations. This has lead in Shanghai to conceptualizations of bilingualism that allow only for the acquisition of English without its attendant cultural and philosophical dimensions. In Hong Kong, the government's attempt to arbitrarily reduce the size of English-medium education, has lead, due to blowback, to extremely high English literacy expectations for preschoolers, delivered through overly ambitious programmes. In both cities, attempts to safeguard the use of the mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction stand in the way of early bilingual development through immersion or partial immersion. In addition, the stakeholders' disparate ii expectations about when, how and why English at preschool is important have given rise to conflicts and dilemmas that distort the two cities' cultures of learning and the extent and form of their education reforms. The recommendations made seek to create for bilingual preschool education, sufficient space, given the current political, social, and economic conditions in both cities, to allow educators to pursue it with the most effective pedagogies. iii Acknowledgements I wish to express my special appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Anwei Feng, for his compassionate guidance and unwavering patience throughout the writing process. Without his expertise and encouragement, which have served as beacons, I may not have finished this thesis, whose completion has seemed at times impossible. I am also grateful to my second supervisor, Professor Carl Bagley, for his valuable suggestions during the final stages of the thesis. I wish to also acknowledge my indebtedness to Prof. Zhou Jing and Prof. Chien Chu Ying for their critical comments and insightful advice. My heartfelt thanks also go to Dr.Emma Pearson, Mr.Kevin Galalee, Ms.Gao Xiaomei, and Dr. Xi Juzhe for their editorial suggestions and help with the statistical analysis. Last but not least, my gratitude to my family, my husband and my two daughters, for their unconditional support, love and understanding. iv Table of Contents Contents Page Declaration Abstract II Acknowledgements IV Table of contents v Lists of tables and figures X I Chapter I Introduction 1. Purpose of the study 3 2. Rationale for research 4 3. Research questions 5 4. The Ecology of Bilingual Development 7 5. Bilingualism framed by ecological systems theory 10 CHAPTER II Literature Review 12 2.1 Definition of bilingualism 12 2.1.1 Notion ofbilingualism 12 2.1.2 Typology of bilingualism 13 2.1.2.1 Societal and individual bilingualism 13 2.1.2.2 Proficiency of bilingualism- minimalist/semilingualism vs. maximalist/ambilingualis 14 2.1.2.3 Primary vs. secondary bilingualism 15 2.1.2.4 Other categories 16 2.2 Bilingualism and age 18 2.2.1 Early/infant bilingualism vs. ascribed/late bilingualism 18 2.2.2 Consecutive bilingualism vs. successive bilingualism 18 v 2.2.3 Simultaneous vs. sequential bilingualism 19 2.3 Acquisition of first and second language 19 2.3.1 Acquisition from cognitive and intellectual perspectives 19 2.3.1.1 Piaget's theory of intellectual development 20 2.3.1.2 Jerome Bruner's cognitive theory 22 2.3.1.3 Vygotsky's theory of cognitive functioning 23 2.3.2 Theory of Bilingualism 24 2.3.2.1 Cummin's iceberg theory of bilingualism 24 2.3.2.2 Baker's threshold theory of bilingualism 25 2.3.2.3 Critical period of second language acquisition 25 2.4 Emergent literacy and the pedagogy of early childhood education 29 2.4.1 Areas of emergent literacy 30 2.4.2 Periods of emergent literacy 30 2.4.3 Two different perspectives of emergent literacy 31 2.4.4 The importance of reading in emergent literacy 32 2.4.5 Factors affecting emergent literacy 33 2.4.5.1 Instructional methods 33 2.4.5.2 Teaching style 33 2.4.5.3 Reading at home 34 2.4.5.4 Parental involvement 34 2.4.6 Approaches to literacy acquisition 35 2.4.7 Benchmarks for literacy concepts 36 2.4.8 Development of concepts of print 36 2.4.9 Phonemic awareness 38 2.4.10 The importance of literacy 39 2.5 Bilingualism to biliteracy 40 2.5.1 Ways of understanding literacy 40 2.5.2 Degrees and effects ofbiliteracy 42 2.5.3 Motivation and bilingualism 43 VI 2.5.4 Additive and subtractive bilingualism 44 2.5.5 Theories ofbiliteracy and bilingual development 44 2.6 Models of bilingual education 46 2.6.1 Elective vs. circumstantial bilinguals 46 2.6.2 Weak and strong forms of bilingual education 47 2. 7 Conclusion 51 CHAPTER ill Contexts of Bilingual Learning in Hong Kong and Shanghai 52 3.1 Introduction 52 3.2 Hong Kong 52 3.2.1 Political context 53 3.2.2 Economic context 54 3.2.3 Sociolinguistic context 57 3.2.4 Cultural context 65 3.2.5 Educational context 67 3.2.5.1 Typology of bilingual education 67 3.2.5.2 Linguistic environment of Hong Kong kindergartens 68 3.2.5.3 Penetration of English in preschool education 69 3.2.5.4 Rationale for English in education and bilingual 72 education 3.2.5.5 Implementation of English in Hong Kong's curricula 75 3.2. 6 Education reforms 77 3.3 Shanghai 77 3.3.1 Political context 78 3.3.2 Economic context 79 3.3.3 Sociolinguistic environment 81 3.3.4 Cultural context 87 3.3.5 Educational context 89 VII 3.3.5.1 Shanghai's Typology of bilingual education 89 3.3.5.2 Linguistic environment of Shanghai kindergartens 90 3.3.5.3 Penetration of English in preschool education 91 3.3.5.4 Rationale for English in education and bilingual education 93 3.3.5.5 Implementation of English in Shanghai's curricula 94 3.4 Conclusion 96 CHAPTER IV Methodology 100 4.1 Research questions 100 4.2 Methods Used 101 4.3 Role of Researcher 102 4.4 Qualitative approach -Questionnaires 103 4.4.1 Modification of Questionnaires 103 4.4.2 Pilot Study 104 4.4.3 Sampling strategy 105 4.4.4 Design of Questionnaires 106 4.5 Qualitative /Interpretative approach - Interviews 106 4.5.1 Interview Design 106 4.5.2 Design of Interview questions 107 4.5.3 Subjects 108 4.5.4 Settings and Participants 109 4.5.5 Language Usage of Parents 110 4.5.6 Language background of preschoolers 110 4.5.7 Background of