Parental Belief and English-learning Fever

There are some studies that have explored the issue of parental belief towards bilingual education (Amaral, 2001; Lee, 1999; Lindhom-Leary, 2001; Schecter, Sharken-Taboada, & Bayley, 1996; Shannon & Milian, 2002; Shin & Gribbons, 1996; Shin & Kim, 1998; Shin & Lee, 1996; Young & Tran, 1999). The nationalities of participants of the studies are Spanish, Korean, Hmong, and Vietnamese.

The parental belief of Asian parents is influenced by Confucianism; the Confucian precept “a learned man is a good man” being the tenet that influences parental belief (Feng, 1994; Ho, 1987; Peng, 1993; Smith, 1981, 1992).

The exploration of parental beliefs of Asian parents should also consider, besides the cultural factor of Confucianism, the contemporary social context.
In recent years, some Asian countries experience rapid progress in economy and politics. The social influence on parental belief cannot be overlooked.

Some scholars pointed out that parental belief in childhood bilingual education in Asia is influenced by the following social factors: formal English education starting from an early age, as well as preschools implementing bilingual education.

And parents are inculcated with a strong doctrine — the Critical Period Hypothesis for Language Learning; that is, “language learning should be the sooner the better” (Cheung, 2005). Parental belief resulting from these social factors causes the phenomenon of English-learning fever among Asian children (Chang, 2002).

Few studies exist which have systematically discussed Chinese parental belief towards bilingualism. Some studies about Chinese parental belief are as follows: Lao’s (2004) study investigated the attitudes of Chinese parents in America toward Chinese-English bilingualism.

She concluded that: Schools need to work in concert with parents to establish more effective home-school partnerships to meet the different language needs and expectations of the parents and students, and to provide students with the necessary language and literacy experiences in a meaningful way. (p. 99)

From the above-mentioned statement, the impact of parental belief on bilingualism for children deserves attention. That means to say that the parents’ anticipations and involvements with regards to bilingual education can provide suggestions for the school guidelines to improve the quality of bilingual education.

The school can provide practical bilingual education, based on parents’ demands and opinions, to the immigrant children which are in line with their real needs.

References

Amaral, O. (2001). Parents’ decisions about bilingual program models. Bilingual Research Journal, 25, 1–23.

Lee, S. (1999). The linguistic minority parents’ perceptions of bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 23, 113–124.

Lindhom-Leary, K. (2001). Dual language education. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.

Schecter, S., Sharken-Taboada, D., & Bayley, R. (1996). Bilingual by choice: Latino parents’ rationales and strategies for raising children with two languages. Bilingual Research Journal, 20, 261–281.

Shannon, S., & Milian, M. (2002). Parents choose dual language programs in Colorado: A survey. Bilingual Research Journal, 26, 681–696.

Shin, F., & Gribbons, B. (1996). Hispanic parent perceptions and attitudes of bilingual education. Journal of Mexican American Educators, 6, 16–22.

Shin, F., & Lee, B. (1996). Hmong parents: What do they think about bilingual education? Pacific Educational Research Journal, 8, 65–71.

Shin, F. & Kim, S. (1998). Korean parent perceptions and attitudes toward bilingual education. In Endo, R., Park, C., Tsuchida, J. & Agbayani, A. (eds.), Current Issues in Asian and Pacific American Education. CA: Pacific Asian Press of Covina.

Young, R., & Tran, M. (1999). Vietnamese parent attitudes toward bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal, 23, 225–233.

Feng, J. (1994). Asian-American children: What teachers should know. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED369577).

Ho, P.K.K. (1987). Public education for high school Chinese students: Assimilation into American society. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

Peng, S.S. (1993). Fostering student discipline and effort: Approaches used in Chinese schools. Paper prepared for a presentation in the AERA annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED363562).

Smith, D.C. (1981). An island of learning: Academocracy in Taiwan. Taipei, Taiwan: Pacific Cultural Foundation.

Smith, D.C. (1992). The Chinese family in transition: An occidental interpretation of contemporary Taiwan. Asian Cultural Quarterly, 20, 40–73.

Cheung,H.張顯達(2005)．外語學習起點研究方法分析．專題演講發表於兒童外語發展與學習學術研討會．台北市立教育大學兒童發展研究所．台北市．

Chang, V. (2002). English goals too high for children. Taipei Times, 8. Retrieved February 8, 2006, from http:www.taipeitimes.com/news/2002/ 05/04/story/0000134547

Lao, C. (2004). Parents’ attitudes toward Chinese-English bilingual education and Chinese-language use. Bilingual Research Journal, 28, 99–121.

Originally published at http://poeticmindfulness.wordpress.com on August 15, 2020.