3 Language use patterns and strategies for children’s English language development: Insights from Chinese descendant mothers in multilingual Malaysia
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Teresa Wai See Ong
Abstract
Through the lens of bilingual first language acquisition, this study examines languages used by Chinese descendant children in various domains and home language strategies taken by their mothers to enhance the children’s English language learning. Data were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire answered by three Chinese descendant mothers living in Penang, Malaysia. The findings reveal an overarching trend of the children speaking English as their principal language of communication in the domains of home, extended home, and school, thus hampering the acquisition of Chinese dialects as their ethnic languages. Because their mothers see the importance of English in light of today’s competitive educational landscape, they provided reading materials, educational television, and tutoring programmes to improve their children’s English proficiency. The findings suggest that children’s simultaneous dual language acquisition and the resulting use of code-mixing is due to parental home language policies.
Abstract
Through the lens of bilingual first language acquisition, this study examines languages used by Chinese descendant children in various domains and home language strategies taken by their mothers to enhance the children’s English language learning. Data were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire answered by three Chinese descendant mothers living in Penang, Malaysia. The findings reveal an overarching trend of the children speaking English as their principal language of communication in the domains of home, extended home, and school, thus hampering the acquisition of Chinese dialects as their ethnic languages. Because their mothers see the importance of English in light of today’s competitive educational landscape, they provided reading materials, educational television, and tutoring programmes to improve their children’s English proficiency. The findings suggest that children’s simultaneous dual language acquisition and the resulting use of code-mixing is due to parental home language policies.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 The current role of children and adolescents in World Englishes research 1
-
Part I: Language in the family
- 2 Language among Trinidadian-heritage children raised in diaspora 13
- 3 Language use patterns and strategies for children’s English language development: Insights from Chinese descendant mothers in multilingual Malaysia 37
- 4 Family language policies in Thailand: Multiliteracy practices and Global Englishes 59
- 5 Parental language ideologies and children’s language use in Singapore – raising speakers of “Standard” English? 83
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Part II: Language acquisition and language learning in multilingual contexts
- 6 Syntactic and lexical complexity in CLIL and EFL written production: Evidence for ELF as a WEs paradigm in Turkey 111
- 7 Investigating child language acquisition from a joint perspective: A comparison of traditional and new L1 speakers of English 133
- 8 Speech rhythm in Cameroon English: A cross-generational study 159
- 9 From second to first language: Language shift in Singapore and Ireland 177
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Part III: Attitudes and identity
- 10 Children’s language attitudes in a World Englishes community: A focus on St. Kitts 205
- 11 Youth identity as linguistic identity: Political engagement and language acquisition and use in Hong Kong 227
- 12 Varieties of English and Third Culture Kids in Hong Kong 255
- 13 Variation and change in the NURSE vowel in Trinidadian English: An apparent-time analysis of adolescent and adult speakers 279
- 14 How linguistically tolerant or insecure are school-aged children? A matched-guise, gamified approach for 6- to 12-year-olds in Canada 307
- 15 Caught between languages and cultures: Exploring linguistic and cultural identity among Maldivian adolescents 335
-
Part IV: Summary and discussion
- 16 Conclusion and envoi: Language acquisition at the intersection of sociolinguistics and World Englishes research 361
- Index 379
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1 The current role of children and adolescents in World Englishes research 1
-
Part I: Language in the family
- 2 Language among Trinidadian-heritage children raised in diaspora 13
- 3 Language use patterns and strategies for children’s English language development: Insights from Chinese descendant mothers in multilingual Malaysia 37
- 4 Family language policies in Thailand: Multiliteracy practices and Global Englishes 59
- 5 Parental language ideologies and children’s language use in Singapore – raising speakers of “Standard” English? 83
-
Part II: Language acquisition and language learning in multilingual contexts
- 6 Syntactic and lexical complexity in CLIL and EFL written production: Evidence for ELF as a WEs paradigm in Turkey 111
- 7 Investigating child language acquisition from a joint perspective: A comparison of traditional and new L1 speakers of English 133
- 8 Speech rhythm in Cameroon English: A cross-generational study 159
- 9 From second to first language: Language shift in Singapore and Ireland 177
-
Part III: Attitudes and identity
- 10 Children’s language attitudes in a World Englishes community: A focus on St. Kitts 205
- 11 Youth identity as linguistic identity: Political engagement and language acquisition and use in Hong Kong 227
- 12 Varieties of English and Third Culture Kids in Hong Kong 255
- 13 Variation and change in the NURSE vowel in Trinidadian English: An apparent-time analysis of adolescent and adult speakers 279
- 14 How linguistically tolerant or insecure are school-aged children? A matched-guise, gamified approach for 6- to 12-year-olds in Canada 307
- 15 Caught between languages and cultures: Exploring linguistic and cultural identity among Maldivian adolescents 335
-
Part IV: Summary and discussion
- 16 Conclusion and envoi: Language acquisition at the intersection of sociolinguistics and World Englishes research 361
- Index 379
