NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ746006
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 27
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1468-7984
EISSN: N/A
Biliteracy and Trilingual Practices in the Home Context: Case Studies of Chinese-Canadian Children
Li, Guofang
Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, v6 n3 p355-381 2006
Although Chinese has become the third largest mother tongue in both Canada and the USA, Chinese/English biliteracy development has received little attention in educational research. This article explores three Chinese-Canadian first and second graders' biliteracy (Chinese/English reading and writing) and trilingual (Mandarin, Cantonese, and English) practices in the home milieu. Findings suggest that the home context is a crucial environment for success or failure in achieving biliteracy. All families expected their children to become biliterate and multilingual, but the three children vary in their preferences and use of different languages and literacies at home. Factors such as parents' perceptions of their minority status in the host society, their attitudes toward the role of heritage language and their own proficiencies in the dominant language, as well as several school and societal factors, such as quality of instruction in heritage language schools, language policies in the mainstream schools, and the media, played an important role in shaping the children's language choices and patterns of use at home. These multiple factors suggest that helping immigrant children become biliterate and multilingual is a challenging task that requires concerted efforts between parents, public schools, and community organizations. (Contains 2 figures and 2 notes.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 1; Grade 2
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada; Canada (Vancouver)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A