L2 Preschoolers’ Communication Strategies for Vocabulary Building in Storytelling Activities: The Case of Chinese as a Second Language Learning
Submitted by:
Elizabeth Ka Yee Loh
Abstract:
This study aims to identify communication strategies of preschoolers in storytelling activities in the second language (L2) classroom, and their implications on the teaching and learning of emerging pragmatic language skills for vocabulary building. Video recordings of 15 observed lessons totalling 7.5 hours were studied, involving 52 preschoolers from five Chinese-medium kindergartens in Hong Kong. Through classroom interaction analysis and the discourse analytical approach, the current study identifies the most common communication strategies used by preschoolers learning Chinese as a second language in storytelling classroom activities and explores the theoretical and pedagogical implications in terms of language development and sociocultural interaction. The analysis of teacher-student interaction showed how storytelling provides a medium of literacy development where children are actively engaged in vocabulary development, comprehension growth and meaningful communication. Children’s willingness to learn was indicated by their gestures and utterances, from which a taxonomy of preschoolers’ communication strategies referring to Clarke’s (2009) stages of oral language development has been derived. Implications of the findings are discussed with reference to the role of motivation and vocabulary in the development of their L2 speaking ability.