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The Other Side of Learning English as a Second Language: Why Isn't My Child Learning Chinese?

2001; Project Innovation Austin; Volume: 122; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

0013-1172

Huiping Ding, Robert M. Boody,

Multilingual Education and Policy

Language is probably the single biggest concern of schooling. Language learning is especially an issue in the earlier grades and for children who are not native English speakers. Much has been written about immigrant parents and children struggling with the language of their new country. But there is another side to this issue: what about non-native children that learn English so well, and want to use it so much, that their own first language-their parent's native language--is neglected? This might especially pose a concern for parents who value their native culture, or who are planning to return to their native country after completing their education in the United States. What follows is part of the story of such a parent, told in her own voice. Prologue It was a quiet, white Friday evening towards the end of January. Snow was falling heavily, making it difficult to see across the street, and the road was icy. My boy and I were halfway down the slippery stairs, ready to catch the shuttle bus, when my husband's voice halted me. Hi! It is so cold outside; where are you going? I responded in surprise, Why do you ask? Today is Friday. Remember the Chinese class for our son? He responded unhappily, Yeah, I remember, but I just don't understand why you take such pains to get him to the class every Friday evening. What's the use of going there anyway? He's been going there for almost two years, and what he has learned? He's forgotten almost all the basic characters he learned in kindergarten. He is not learning Chinese in that class. I don't know what they're doing there. And I don't understand how the teacher teaches. Why, our son cannot write even his own name correctly in Chinese. That's ridiculous. I just don't think the teacher's methodology is effective. She should use dictation and tests as we used to do when we taught English to our students. Skipping one class won't do him any harm. I think he'll be better off just staying at home with me, and I will read some Chinese stories to him. I stopped, halted by the feeling of unhappiness in my husband's voice, but then my son pulled my coat, telling me urgently, Mom, hurry up, or we'll be late. I looked at my boy and at my husband. Then I said to my husband gently, Honey, talk to you later. We need to catch the bus. With my boy dragging me along the icy road, we ran to the bus stop just in time to get on the bus, leaving my husband behind still complaining. Mr. Doubts, Mr. Doubts Such scenes occurred many times. I did not know how to answer my husband's doubts. Indeed, I also at times succumbed to doubts about what was going on in that classroom. The following questions kept going around my head: Why is my child not learning much Chinese? How about the other children in the classroom; are they learning how to read and write and speak? How does the teacher really teach? What do the other parents think about the Chinese class, and why did they send their children to the class in the first place? These questions haunted me, and I did not know how to put them to rest. Then fate lent a hand. As part of my graduate work in education I enrolled in a course in qualitative methodology, and in that course I had to do a small qualitative study. This struck me as just what I needed to respond to the doubts my husband and I had. I thus began my small study trying to find some answers to my doubts, and perhaps the doubts of other parents in similar situations as well. Go Away, Mr. Doubts I was already familiar, of course, with the instructor and the children in the class, since every Friday evening I brought my child there, and sometimes stayed in the lounge talking with another parent. But now I went with a different purpose. I observed the children both before and during class, taking fieldnotes, and I also interviewed several of the children and parents. The Chinese class was offered free at a church building near campus every Friday evening from 7:00 to 8:00 p. …