Language Negotiation During Interactive Read-Aloud Activities in Preschool Chinese-Immersion Classrooms

• In Event: Examining the Impact of Multilingual Instructional Approaches and Language Orientations

Abstract

The past decade has seen rapid growth in the number of Chinese immersion preschools in the United States (Wang et al., 2021). Three- and four-year-olds enter these classrooms with varying degrees of exposure to languages (Gort & Sembiante, 2015). The current study seeks to examine how preschool teachers in a Chinese immersion context in the United States engage emergent bilinguals in extended discourse during interactive read-alouds. Findings indicate that teachers in the Chinese immersion preschool setting used a variety of discourse strategies to facilitate comprehension and elicit student responses. While some teachers recognized the full linguistic repertoire of students, others more strictly adhered to strict language separation policies. These divergent teaching philosophies reflect the tensions in Chinese immersion education.

Authors

• Robin E. Harvey, New York University
  Presenting Author

• Kevin M. Wong, Pepperdine University
  Presenting Author