Starting From Chinese:English Acquisition Of A Preschooler

This longitudinal study investigates the foreign language (i.e. English) acquisition of a Chinese speaking preschooler, Michael (aged 4; 10-5; 10), who is being exposed to English through bedtime story telling, playing games and interacting with a competent English speaker in some natural settings. This study focuses on his gradual acceptance of English as a means of communication, his acquisition of English phonology, lexicon and syntax as learned from his language production. The result of data analysis in the present study shows that motivation, interaction and mother tongue play an important role in Michael's English acquisition. These findings suggest qualitatively different benefits resulting from the use of different teaching strategies for the second language acquisition of Chinese children.