When Learners Read in Two Languages: Understanding Chinese-English Bilingual Readers Through Miscue Analysis

Authors

  • Heather Blair
  • Jacqueline Filipek The King's University
  • Hongliang Fu
  • Xiaobing Lin
  • Miao Sun

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29451

Keywords:

bilingual redaing, miscue analysis, socio-psycholinguistic, perspective, multiple linguistic repertoires

Abstract

The number of Chinese-speaking students in Canadian schools is increasing dramatically. This article discusses a study in which we explored reading processes in Chinese and English through examining children’s reading in both languages. Based in a socio-psycholinguistic framework (K. Goodman, Wang, Iventosch, & Y. Goodman,2012; Kabuto, 2017) and through using miscue analysis, we examined how children apply their knowledge of language to Mandarin and English reading. This qualitative research included interviews with four Chinese-English bilingual children between grades 3 and 5 in an urban center as well as the analysis of their reading performance in both languages. From a comparative perspective, we discuss some of the similarities and differences between these two different orthographic language systems by offering syntactic comparisons of the two languages through psycholinguistic language cueing systems. We believe that knowing about how Chinese and English readers construct meaning in both languages will help English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers, in fact all classroom teachers, to teach reading to bilingual and biliterate children.

Author Biographies

Heather Blair

Dr. Heather A. Blair is a Professor in Language and Literacy Education at the University of Alberta.  She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in languages and literacy theory and practice, second languages education, curriculum, and assessment, as well as Indigenous languages revitalization, policy, and planning. Dr. Blair’s background is in sociocultural theory and ethnographic research methodology. Her work has been recognized nationally and internationally through publications, awards, and conferences. Her travel and work with international scholars from China has provided her many opportunities to explore this kind of bilingual and bi-iterate research.

Jacqueline Filipek, The King's University

Dr. Jacqueline Filipek is an Assistant Professor at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta. She teaches courses on literacy, reading, children’s literature, and educational technology. Her research areas are in place theory and digital literacies.

Hongliang Fu

Dr. Hongliang Fu holds a PhD in Elementary Education from University of Alberta. She is currently a Chinese language educator and researcher in BC. Her research interests mainly focus on bilingual language acquisition, early childhood education, and teacher education.

Miao Sun

Dr. Miao Sun is an Associate Professor at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China. Her field of research is English-Chinese bilingual education, teacher education and second language acquisition.

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Published

2022-08-19

How to Cite

Blair, H., Filipek, J., Fu, H., Lin, X., & Sun, M. (2022). When Learners Read in Two Languages: Understanding Chinese-English Bilingual Readers Through Miscue Analysis. Language and Literacy, 24(2), 245–266. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29451

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2022): Regular Issue

Section

Articles

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