Transcript Mainland Chinese Undergraduates’ English

Mainland Chinese Undergraduates’ Englishlearning Experiences in Hong Kong: A Case
Study focusing on Learning Strategy Use
GAO, Xuesong (Andy)
English Centre/ Faculty of Education
[email protected]
Nov. 8th, 2006, HKU Constituent Theme,
“Languages, media and Communication: Language in
Education and Assessment” Seminar
Purpose
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A case study on one mainland Chinese undergraduate’s
language learning experiences in Hong Kong:
limited in generalization
Researcher’s background, position, and subjectivity
Drawing on a larger interpretative, ethnographic and
longitudinal inquiry
A sociocultural perspective on learning and learning
strategy
Background: Constructivist Learning
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‘Learning […] through cooperative social activity,
discourse, and debate in the communities of practice’
(Fosnot, 2005, p. ix)
‘The classroom […] seen as a mini-society, a community
of learners engaged in activity, discourse, interpretation,
justification, and reflection (ibid, p. ix)
The role of language: medium vs. means (Glaserfeld,
1998; Scheinder, 2006)
a shared repertoire of ‘stories, artifacts, tools, actions,
historical events, discourses, and concepts, and styles’ to
‘negotiate meaning without the constant need to compare
notes’ (Wenger, 1998, p. 84)
Background: Constructivist Learning
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Language problems related to constructivist learning in
Hong Kong (e.g. Jackson, 2002; Liu & Littlewood, 1997)
Causes of students’ apparent reticence (Liu & Littlewood,
1997):
Lack of experience in speaking English
Hong Kong as ‘input-poor’ learning environment
The dominance of Cantonese
The arrival of mainland Chinese students
Background: Language Learning Strategy
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Social turn in language learning research
Learning is ‘both a kind of action and a form of
belonging’ (Wenger, 1998, p. 4)
Learners are ‘able to reflect upon’ and ‘seek to
alter or reinforce, the fitness of the social
arrangements[…] for the realization of their own
interests.’ (Sealey & Carter, 2004, p. 11)
Background: Language Learning Strategy
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Learning strategy: Learners’ contributions to their
own language learning (Chamot, 2001)
Learning strategy: open up access within power
structures and seek cultural alternatives (Oxford,
2003, p.79)
Background: Language Learning Strategy
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Accounts of strategy use reveal the interplay of structure
and agency
Structure: anterior and enduring (Layder, 1991, 1993)
Structural constraints/facilitation (Norton, 2000; Norton &
Toohey, 2001; Palfreyman, 2003, 2006): discursive
resources, material resources, and social agents
The role of agency (Tseng et al, 2006; Wenden, 1998,
2002)
Agency: revealed in the use of power, the will and
capacity (Giddens, 1984)
Background: A Realist Perspective
Structure
Autonomy
Dependence
Structural power:
Constraints/facilitation
Strategic behaviors
Individual Power: the will and
capacity)
Agent
Individual Power: the will
and capacity)
Strategic behaviors
Emergent Structures
Autonomy
Dependence
Constraints/facilitation
Structure
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
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Cultural tradition: a pragmatic approach
Hierarchical worldview
Acquire academic and literacy skills, upward
social mobility, and personal development
(Thogersen, 2002)
Learning for earning or learning (Cheng, 1996)
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
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Contextual reality on the Chinese mainland
Overcrowded and competitive educational context
Search for better educational opportunities
The increasing importance of English
Motives for coming to Hong Kong for tertiary
studies: quality education, English and better
opportunities for social advance
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
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Mainland undergraduates in Hong Kong: social
and cultural vulnerability
Huge investment, uncertain results
Linguistic problems: Cantonese vs. Putonghua
Differences between mainlanders and Hong
Kongers may be diminishing but still ongoing and
enduring (Li, et al, 1995; Ho, Chau, Chiu & Peng,
2003)
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
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English is widely spoken by the foreign community and in
business circles, but not every Chinese person will
necessarily understand English, as many are new
immigrants from mainland China’ (The University of
Hong Kong, 2005, p. 39).
本地大学大量招收内地学生。不得不承认，内地生成绩
优秀，但少见参与活动，他们大都埋头苦读，对自身社
会以及文化认识不深，也可以说是无文化内容，对于两
地学生互相交流文化有用吗？(HKU Post, 2006, p. 4)
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
Background: Mainland Undergraduates
The Study
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It has three stages
1) Interviewed twenty-two mainland
undergraduates in 2004
2) follow-up ethnographic inquiry into 6
volunteer participants’ learning experiences
(2004-2006)
3) Interviewed 15 out of the original 22 in 2006
The Case Study Participant:Jo
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Born in a ‘middle-class’ professional family
Parents closely involved in her previous language learning
experiences
Use of rote memory strategies on the Chinese mainland
Studying in a faculty where there is a constant need for
defending her designs in English
Most of her time spent in a studio, working in groups
A desire to continue studying and working in Hong Kong
to acquire her professional qualification
The Case Study Participant
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Highly motivated
Positive perceptions of learning environment
Some disappointment with learning progress
Strategy use (from a questionnaire in the 3rd stage)
Memory
Cognitive
Metacognitive
Affective Social
Jo
3.2500
3.3077
3.0000
3.1667
2.8333
N=15
3.2000
3.4231
3.1333
2.6778
2.8889
Experiential Narrative: Learning Cantonese
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I try to communicate with my classmates in Cantonese
because local students, after all, like to use Cantonese. If I
use Putonghua or English, it will cause barriers in our
exchanges. They will not be too willing to talk to me. If I
use Putonghua, Putonghua will be too difficult for them
(Sept. 28th, 2004).
If I keep speaking Putonghua, maybe they (local students)
do not want to speak to me. (Because) They have a lot of
chances to speak to other students in Cantonese. So I will
have less chance to communicate with others. […] I speak
Putonghua to myself. And I speak Cantonese to my
classmates in order to be part of them (Nov. 20th, 2004).
Experiential Narrative: Learning Cantonese
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I do not feel good about it. (Interviewer: Why?) It was just
like this. If I do not speak, they cannot tell me that I am
not one of them. They cannot tell that I am actually not
from Hong Kong. The sudden change in their ways of
talking to me always reminds me of the fact that I am not
from Hong Kong. It is an act to differentiate my identity
from theirs. I feel annoyed for there is always someone
who wants to separate me out from them (May 30th,
2006).
[…] their lifestyle is a bit different from mine. They like
to sing KARAOKE. Sometimes they spent too much time
on doing something meaningless. I think that they are
wasting time (Nov. 20th, 2004).
Interpreting Narratives
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The need for learning Cantonese:
partially generated by constructivist learning on
the campus
a cultural fear of being isolated and marginalized
Experiential Narrative: Struggle for English
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In fact, English matters more to me than Cantonese
(Sept. 28th, 2004).
I watch TV in English. When I watch TV, I just want to
improve my English (Dec. 12th, 2004).
I watch TV, most of the time, English TV, on CCTV, ATV
world. I watch David Late Show. […] CCTV 9 is much
easier for me to understand. Maybe because of its accent
and the key words they chose. For the other English
channels, I have difficulty in understanding them. […]
(March, 3rd, 2005).
Experiential Narrative: Struggle for English
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Speaking English with teammates:
I cannot express myself in Cantonese efficiently. So I use English and
Cantonese at the same time (Nov. 20th, 2004).
I still made some progress in English, […] in spoken English. When
we (my partner and I) were designing the model, I kept talking
English (Dec. 18th, 2004).
Memorization:
I really need words helping me to understand other people’s English
[…] I just have one book on vocabulary and tried to remember words.
Everyday twenty words or so. Just go through it. Most of them, I have
already been familiar with. I just take out those difficult ones. […] I
also tried to memorize words from architecture textbooks (Nov. 6th,
2004).
Interpreting Narratives
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The struggle for learning English: English medium of
instruction the critical importance of English
Strategy use:
Contextual facilitation: rich resources, availability of
English speakers (limited)
Contextual constraints: learning without belonging
An intriguing question: to what extent watching TV
programs has benefited her learning English?
Experiential Narrative: GRE
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One of my classmates (mainland Chinese student) who is
from Beijing went to New Oriental School because she
wanted to take GRE or TOEFL. She wanted to go abroad
after her undergraduate study. I have not decided whether
to go or not. But I need to take it as well. […] I plan to
take the course in Beijing in August. I just want to push
myself to learn more English. […] Everybody else is
doing the same thing. If I do not do it, I feel that I am
losing something. […] They say that the school is very
good at this thing, guessing exam questions. […] a lot of
people have decided to take the course even they have not
decided whether to go abroad or not. They just said that
they wanted to improve their English (April 16th, 2005).
Experiential Narrative: GRE
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I spent about ten days trying to memorize all the GRE
words. […] I used the Red book and memorized most of
them. […] Ten days, I just memorized these words. And I
did nothing else. […] Our teacher told us that we did not
need to remember the words’ pronunciation. Because we
only used them in the exam and we did not have to read
them. I just read all the sample sentences for three new
wordlists for the day. For other lists that I should review
for the day, I just read Chinese and English. I did not have
time to read all the sample sentences if I had to memorize
twenty four lists on one day (Sept. 17th, 2005).
Interpreting Narratives
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GRE effort:
Exercise of learner agency
Anxiety over uncertain outcomes of educational
investment
Conclusion
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Learning is both doing and belonging
Language learning success lies at what levels learners
participated in particular communities of practice in the
target language (s) (at least partially)
Individual learners responsible for deploying strategic
efforts to create such communities and/or enhance their
participation in such communities
What about language teachers, administrators, policymakers, and…?
Questions and Answers
References
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