It is often assumed that pre-schoolers learn a second language (L2) with ease, even for structures that are absent in their L1, such as Mandarin-speaking pre-schoolers learning L2 English grammatical inflections (e.g., ducks, horses). However, while the results from Study 1 showed that such learners can imitate plural words (age = 3;5, N = 20),…

Word-initial stops in Mandarin and English show a distinctive phonological categorization but a similar phonetic realization along the VOT (Voice Onset Time) continuum. Previous research reported that native Mandarin adults produce measurably longer long-lag VOTs than native English adults. The present study examined whether and how the difference…

Translanguaging has opened up spaces to recognize the dynamic multilingualism of students in classrooms taught in dominant languages, and problematized concepts such as 'additive bilingualism'. This article aims to further explore two issues that remain little understood. First, translanguaging is often seen as simply the acknowledgement or use of…

Singapore's higher education history had students involved in anti-colonial movements. This study examines how historical discourses on state efforts to manage university student movements (1953-1980) unintentionally reproduce in the intercultural business practices of today's professionals. It explores how professional accounts of intercultural…

This study investigates the experiences of high school Chinese language teachers engaged in the development of interdisciplinary, school-based curricula during a period of national curriculum policy transition. Utilizing theoretical sampling, we conducted interviews with 50 teachers to elucidate the factors influencing the creation of…

Numerous studies have compared parents' and teachers' beliefs about school readiness. However, no known research has explicitly examined the alignment of school readiness skills between immigrant parents and early childhood teachers. As such, the current study examined differences in prioritized school readiness skills between Latine and Chinese…

In this exploratory mixed-methods study, we introduce and test our AI-powered vocabulary learning system--ARCHe, which embeds four AI functions: (1) automatic feedback towards for pronunciation, (2) automatic feedback for towards handwriting, (3) automatic scoring for student-generated sentences and (4) automatic recommendations. Specifically, our…

The study aimed to verify the psychometric properties of the emotional-style scale and explore different clusters of emotional styles. An emotional style scale was completed in three districts of western Taiwan using stratified random sampling. The study confirmed the reliability and convergent validity of each subscale in a sample of 712…

Researchers in the field of teacher knowledge have been attempting to delineate pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in different subjects and different levels of education. To date, there is a need to develop a nuanced understanding on the PCK of Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers who teach English as a foreign language (EFL). This study…

This paper explores the number marking challenges faced by L2 learners of English whose L1 is one of the classifier languages Mandarin Chinese (henceforth Chinese) or Bahasa Indonesia (henceforth Indonesian). It examines whether these groups differ in their marking of English number, and how the speaker's level of proficiency, as well as…

This study compared the effectiveness of two encoding strategies (peg system vs. conceptual understanding) on serial learning. Sixty Chinese 5th graders from a primary school in Hong Kong participated in training on the two strategies in two consecutive weeks. While half of the students learned peg system in the first week and conceptual…

Shared book reading is necessary for learning Chinese as a second language (L2), but its effectiveness requires further empirical exploration and support. Scholars emphasise considering parental and child characteristics alongside school-based interventions. Guided by the bioecological framework, this study included three groups: an experimental…

This paper explores family multilingualism through the lens of language ideologies upheld by parents within three Chinese transnational families living in Luxembourg. Following a linguistic ethnographic approach throughout the inquiry and analysis process, this study provides illuminating insights into the Chinese parents' language ideologies…

Situated in Hong Kong, this paper reports findings on intercultural communication between 43 participants engaged in collaborative translation and media production through a service-learning course at a local university. The participants are from diverse backgrounds and speak Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Czech, Hindi, and other languages as their…

Child development is a product of the combination of the experience provided by family/social context and their own. Both child and environmental factors are integral when understanding a child's outcomes. The current study mainly investigated the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and the relationship between the HLE and…