When the Writers Met the Illustrators: Promoting Literature Experience for All Children

Submitted by: Wai Ming Cheung
Abstract: Wai Ming CHEUNG, PhD., Assistant Professor
Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Email address: ming338@gmail.com

Abstract

Context: Spoken by one-fifth of the world’s population, Chinese is the most widely used language in the world (Li, Tan, Bates & Tzeng, 2006). The languages spoken by non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in Hong Kong are mainly Urdu, Hindi, Tagalog, Nepali and English (Hong Kong Education Bureau, 2008). Chinese is the dominant native language in Hong Kong, therefore learning Chinese as a second language is essential to minimize marginalization. NCS students rarely have the interest to read or learn Chinese mainly because they think Chinese is a language too difficult to learn as Chinese uses logograms and represents meaning more than phonology (Ku, Chan & Sandhu, 2005; Tse & Cheung, 2010). Previous studies of second language acquisition have focused on oral ability, whilst reading and writing abilities were seldom emphasized (García & Pica, 2000). However, as a means to communicate in the local context, the literacy development of NCS students in Chinese should not be neglected. Second language reading might also be hindered when students lack the oral vocabulary to match the order of graphemes they see (Shiotsu, 2009).There is a significant relationship between working memory for reading and writing in the second language (Abu-Rabia, 2003). On the other hand, although the local fourth-grade students have laid a solid foundation of Chinese language as it is their mother language, students always lack a sense of readership when they write Chinese composition. This study aimed at bringing a sense of readership and enhancing the understanding and appreciation of literature in Chinese without losing the fun of reading it by linking up these two groups of students.

Method: Twenty-seven eighth-grade South Asian girls aged 13 from a NCS girl’s college and 129 fourth-grade Chinese students aged 9 from a primary school in Hong Kong were recruited to join the empirical study for 4 months. Core literature (Cox & Zarillo, 1993) was selected by teachers for both groups to provide a rich foundation in the best of children’s literature. The program was implemented through reading aloud to students and intensive instruction in skills and strategies for L1 and NCS learners. The teachers of the primary schools conducted writing workshops for the fourth-grade students and students were asked to write an adventure of the main characters. This gave fourth-grade students opportunities to make connections between events in their lives and what was happening to the characters in the book. They felt serious and excited about themselves as the writers to provide stories for the NCS learners to draw pictures. Three best pieces of writing were chosen from a total of 129 students’ work according to the idea units, total word numbers and creativity of the writing. Teachers conducted a reading buddies program between these groups by inviting the NCS students to draw the illustrations for the three best pieces of adventurous stories. As they read aesthetically, the eighth-grade students tried to picture the story in their minds. They put their imagined scenes, actions and characters into illustrations. The adventurous stories with illustrations were printed out in form of big picture books. The NCS illustrators from the college met the local writers in the primary school. The illustrators shared the big books with 129 fourth-grade students in Chinese. Students were given opportunities to read and discuss with their buddies in groups. The literature was shared, modeled, demonstrated, and practiced in a meaningful context.

Result & Discussion: Assessment was conducted through observation, interviews, and examination of samples of children’s work. The reading buddies program resulted in a deeper level of involvement for students in Chinese reading and writing. This program also showed that the use of core literature would also build a community of learners (Ford, 1994; Tierney & Pearson, 1998). It gave students from diverse cultural background a common experience, thereby providing the groups with common ground for conversations. It would also boost the self-esteem of the poorer readers in the NCS group.

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