On Influence of Family Background on English Learning at Compulsory Stage in Shanghai, China

Autor/inn/en	Zou, Weicheng; Zhang, Shaolin; Shi, Taoyang; Chen, Siyi
Titel	On Influence of Family Background on English Learning at Compulsory Stage in Shanghai, China
Quelle	(2007), (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Family Characteristics; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Socioeconomic Influences; Cultural Influences; Family Income; Correlation; Social Change; Social Influences; Language Usage; Family Involvement; Teaching Methods; Cultural Background; Socioeconomic Status; Sociolinguistics; Language Proficiency; China (Shanghai) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Familieneinkommen; Korrelation; Sozialer Wandel; Sozialer Einfluss; Sprachgebrauch; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Soziolinguistik; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz
Abstract	The social reform and opening-up in Chinese society in the last three decades have resulted in overall changes in almost every aspect of social life of its people. As an important indicator in these changes, English has become an important tool in education for students to move ahead to a higher level of schooling, and better jobs in the employment. A new challenge, thus, emerges as English learning is controversially related to sociocultural and economic factors of the family. This study then aims to answer whether the family background in terms of social, cultural and financial status would affect the outcomes of English learning at the compulsory stage of education in Shanghai, and to what extent this influence works on the school education. The study, based on the surveys of 2034 students and 1640 of their families, together with interviews with students and teachers, has found that English language learning has become a highly commercialized subject in Shanghai and the students and their families were widely involved as the major part of the customer-base due to the defective quality of instruction in the school classrooms. The study has found that in general there are correlations between the family background and the learning outcomes. However, such correlations are not intrinsic in the process and mechanism of language learning. They affect the teaching and learning of English as foreign language within certain constraints. (Contains 14 footnotes and 5 figures.) (Author).
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10