Early Biliteracy Learning in Canada: A Study of Mandarin- and Cantonese-Speaking Children's Receptive Vocabulary Attainment

• In Event: Early Literacy/Biliteracy Instruction for Early Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

Chinese bilingual children appear to have rapid growth in their English lexicon, while their heritage language (HL) vocabulary development shows early stabilization and decline. This study explores child, family, and school factors that influence the HL vocabulary development of 84 Chinese Canadian first graders from the two largest groups of Asian communities, Mandarin and Cantonese. HL receptive vocabulary was measured using the Chinese Peabody Vocabulary Test (C-PPVT-R) and home and school information was collected using the Alberta Language Environment Questionnaire (ALEQ). Statistical analyses indicated that overall Mandarin students outperformed their Cantonese peers. Both groups’ performance was significantly associated with their home language environments, but not with HL school attendance. Findings suggest the need to reform current HL school instructional practices.

Authors

• Guofang Li, University of British Columbia

• Lee Gunderson, The University of British Columbia

• Zhuo Sun, The University of British Columbia

• Zhen Lin, The University of British Columbia