Learning Chinese in multilingual contexts : cases of ethnic minority learners with high attainment in Chinese

Abstract

The ethnic minority (EM) students with rapid increase in number prefer studying in either local mainstream or designated schools, and they have to study Chinese language in compliance with the ‘biliterate and trilingual’ policy ever since the establishment of HKSAR Government in 1997. Recent researches indicate that majority EM students find the learning of Chinese very difficult.

This research is to study how six South Asian ethnic students can be comparably more successful in tackling the L2 Chinese learning in a designated high school. Ethnographic approach is adopted in the case study conducting a series of interviews with and unobtrusive observation on these students over time to understand their learning experiences, including their self-perception, L2 attitudes and motivation. An initial research model is set up to analyze how external factors of home, school and community interrelate with internal factors of identity formation and self-efficacy contributing to the motivation of L2 Chinese learning.

The findings indicate that the challenges of those EM learners in L2 Chinese learning are not only about mastering the language per se, but closely related to the formation of their L2 identities. The different learning paths at the early stage are shaped by the encouragement and support of their parents and teachers, as well as acceptance of their learning peers contributing to their L2 Chinese acquisition in varying degrees. In turn, the internalization of L2 motivation helps the EM learners persist and enhance their L2 motivation as well as plurilingual competence in the face of learning difficulties.