Chan Stephanie W Y, Cheung Wai Ming, Marton Ference
Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Front Psychol. 2023 Jun 15;14:1142128. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1142128. eCollection 2023.
For culturally and linguistically diverse children, early second language (L2) development is important for school achievement and social inclusion. These children face challenges in acquiring L2, especially in Hong Kong, where the dominant Chinese language contrasts strongly with their home languages. Studies that compared the language abilities of first language (L1) and L2 students in English-speaking contexts have reported young L2 learners' disadvantage in using the dominant language in oral language and comprehension at school entry. The findings raise the question of whether L2 learners who fall behind their L1 peers in language abilities will be further disadvantaged, showing a weaker development gradient. This study used the Chinese Character Acquisition Assessment (CCAA) to compare character acquisition of 491 L2 children aged from 3 to 6 years against that of 240 of their L1 peers from Hong Kong kindergartens. The CCAA is comprised of six subtests and assesses children's abilities to make associations among character written form (orthography), sound, and meaning. Results showed that L2 learners had greater development in meaning and sound associations across class levels, implying that they may first develop oral language related abilities. In addition, results indicate that diverging gaps between L1 and L2 learners' Chinese character acquisition existed across class levels for the associations involving written character form, but not in regard to associations between character meaning and sound. This study highlights the Chinese learning needs of L2 preschoolers and provides understanding of their abilities in mapping among character written forms, sounds, and meanings. The findings suggest the importance of supporting L2 children's oral language at earlier stages of Chinese learning, and the need to provide instructional support to compensate for their relative weakness in literacy at school entry.
对于文化和语言背景多样的儿童来说，第二语言（L2）的早期发展对学业成绩和社会融入至关重要。这些儿童在习得第二语言时面临挑战，尤其是在香港，这里占主导地位的中文与他们的母语形成强烈反差。在英语语境下比较第一语言（L1）和第二语言学生语言能力的研究报告称，第二语言学习者在入学时使用主导语言进行口语表达和理解方面处于劣势。这些研究结果提出了一个问题，即那些在语言能力上落后于第一语言同伴的第二语言学习者是否会进一步处于劣势，表现出较弱的发展梯度。本研究使用汉字习得评估（CCAA），比较了491名3至6岁的第二语言儿童与240名来自香港幼儿园的第一语言同伴的汉字习得情况。CCAA由六个子测试组成，评估儿童在汉字书写形式（正字法）、读音和意义之间建立联系的能力。结果表明，第二语言学习者在各个班级水平上的意义和读音联想方面有更大的发展，这意味着他们可能首先发展与口语相关的能力。此外，结果表明，在涉及汉字书写形式的联想方面，第一语言和第二语言学习者的汉字习得差距在各个班级水平上都存在差异，但在汉字意义和读音之间的联想方面则不存在差异。本研究突出了第二语言学龄前儿童的中文学习需求，并提供了对他们在汉字书写形式、读音和意义之间建立联系的能力的理解。研究结果表明，在中文学习的早期阶段支持第二语言儿童的口语很重要，并且需要提供教学支持以弥补他们在入学时读写方面的相对弱点。
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