Perspectives on Struggling English Language Learners: Case Studies of Two Chinese-Canadian Children

Abstract

Chinese learners are often stereotyped as high achievers and overlooked in literacy research. This year-long, qualitative study in a combined Grade 4/5 classroom presents the cases of two struggling Chinese-Canadian learners. The study offers a new perspective on struggling learners by revealing a complex, multilayered understanding of these learners from different social members' viewpoints. I provide detailed descriptions of these learners' literacy experiences and dispositions of learning at school and at home, and their teachers' and parents' perspectives on their struggles with English literacy. The findings suggest that several home and school cultural discontinuities and pedagogical influences contributed to the children's difficulty with literacy. The discontinuities included (1) parents' preference for word-by-word decoding versus teachers' preference for semantic connections between pages, (2) parents' and teachers' different interpretations of what and how much homework should be given, (3) parents' and teachers' perspectives on the causes of the children's low literacy performance, and (4) lack of communication between the school and home. The pedagogical influences included (1) decontextualized literacy activities and lack of direct instruction, (2) instructional materials that were detached from the learners' cultural backgrounds, (3) insufficient recognition and utilization of students' resources in their first language, and (4) problematic assessment of these learners. The study raises critical issues in understanding the multivoicedness concerning struggling English language learners and provides educators with guidance for effective instructional planning and for building school-parent partnerships.

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