Ej 899617

Second Language and Literacy Learning in
School and at Home:

An Ethnographic Study of Chinese Canadian
First Graders’ Experiences
Guofang Li
Michigan State University
Abstract
Based on the theoretical perspectives of socio-constructivism and language
socialization, this study reports two Chinese Canadian first grader’s experiences
of language and literacy learning in and out of school in a unique sociocultural
setting where they were “the mainstream.” The article examines the students’
reading and writing practices in school and at home, as well as their parents’
and teachers’ thoughts, beliefs, resources, and concerns regarding their literacy
learning. The findings suggest that there exists great linguistic and cultural
discontinuity between the Chinese children’s school and home language and
literacy experiences. The children view school and home literacies as separate
entities rather than a continuum. Such perceptions further widened the gaps
between their development of “school literacy” which is mediated through
English language and culture and that of “home literacy” which is mediated
through Chinese language and culture. These children’s learning experiences
were also influenced by the conflicts between the school’s cultural values and
those of their families, which include dissensions on biliteracy expectations,
homework, parenting, and instructional approaches (e.g., the use of drawing
and free play). Living between two separate worlds of school and home, the
students are often burdened with the consequences of the cultural clashes and
become “sites of struggle” between teachers and parents, and hence, are placed
in a dangerous position for potential failure at school.
Editor’s note: All names used in examples are pseudonyms.
Literacy Teaching and Learning

Volume 11, Number 2
pages 1–31
Volume 11, Number 2
Introduction
Research on minority and/or English as a second language (ESL) students’
home and school literacy practices has concluded that literacy is a part of stu-
dents’ lives in and out of school, and that their learning experiences in and
out of school need to be explored to inform educators about their particular
sociocultural backgrounds and educational needs (Li, 2001, 2002; McCarthey,
1997; Nieto, 2002). Students’ experiences, perceptions, and insights can pro-
vide valid and thoughtful information about learning and may directly or
indirectly influence teachers’ instructional practices. Banks (2001) points out
that historically public education has concentrated on school knowledge and
paid little attention to students’ personal and cultural knowledge—concepts,
explanations, and interpretations that students derive from personal experiences
in their homes, families, and community cultures. These experiences, perspec-
tives, and insights are significant in informing educators of the knowledge
and experiences that students encounter in schools and other educational set-
tings. However, very few studies have addressed young minority and/or ESL
children’s experiences, especially those of young Asian Pacific children, in their
particular sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts (Banks, 2001).
Research on students’ school and home literacy connection has predomi-
nantly focused on minority groups such as Latinos and African Americans
(e.g., McCarthey, 1997; Taylor & Dorsey-Gaines, 1988; Valdés, 1996, 2001).
Although Asian Pacific children have become one of the fastest growing popu-
lations in North American schools, they have received relatively little attention
in educational research due to their particular minority status (e.g., as honorary
whites who are willing to assimilate to the mainstream) (Lo & Reyes, 2004)
and/or the widespread model minority stereotypes (e.g., Asian children as high
achievers who can succeed on their own (Li, 2003, 2005). Within the limited
research on Asian student population, in the past few decades since the term
model minority was coined in the 1960s, scholars as well as the media have
devoted much research to the search for explanations of Asian high achieve-
ment (e.g., Peng & Wright, 1994; Kim & Chun, 1994; Sue & Okazaki, 1991).
Few studies have explored the everyday learning experiences of Asian children
in their particular sociocultural contexts inside and outside schools (Li, 2002;
Xu, 1999). With the large influx of Asian Pacific children who face the chal-
lenges of linguistic, cultural, and academic adjustment in today’s schools, such
explorations are particularly needed to better understand their learning needs.
To contribute to such an understanding, this study reports two Chinese
Canadian first graders’ experiences of language and literacy learning in and out
of school in a unique sociocultural and socioeconomic setting in a city called
Riverview, a Vancouver suburb in British Columbia, Canada. I seek to examine
the students’ reading and writing practices in school and at home and to under-
stand the thoughts, beliefs, resources, and concerns of these children when they

Second Language and Literacy Learning at School and at Home
Li
are socialized into different sociocultural discourses. This understanding might

help identify reasons for differential success and help educators implement
more effective instruction for such students. Specifically, I address the following
research questions: 1) What are the children’s learning experiences at home and
at school? 2) What are the teachers’ and parents’ perspectives of their learning
in these settings? 3) What are the factors that shaped the children’s learning
experiences at home and at school? 4) What are the implications of their experi-
ences for educators and learners?
Theoretical Framework: Socioconstructivism and

Language Socialization
Literacy as Sociocultural Construction

In this paper, I situated my understanding of the two children’s experiences and
their intersecting social relationships in the world of home and community,
and the world of school. I looked at forces that sustain their continuous engage-
ment with literacy and factors that deter their investment in learning. From a
socioconstructivist perspective, I look at second language learning as a dynamic
social process in which a learner is an active meaning maker (Vygotsky, 1978;
Wells, 1986). A learner makes sense of self, home and school experiences,
school practices, and her/his experiences in society at large (Wells). Therefore,
this dynamic process involves complex social relationships that a learner forms
with other coconstructors of knowledge in their everyday literacy activities and
events. These co-constructors are members of the learners’ particular socio-
cultural contexts—teachers, peers, parents, and community members. Each
of these co-constructors represents a voice of learning and knowing, and thus
forms a multivoicedness in which multiple layers of values of knowing and
learning are embodied (Bahktin, 1981, p. 272).
According to Gee (1989), a learner’s social world can be categorized into
two over-arching domains: the primary discourse of the home and community,
and the secondary discourses of the public sphere—institutions such as the
public school. Gee (1996, 1999) later defines the two sociocultural discourses
and the different social languages within the discourses as different cultural
models of literacy. That is, the different cultural beliefs in school and home
discourses can be seen as different cultural models that represent their under-
standings of how the world works shared within their respective communities
and groups (D’Andrade & Strauss, 1992; Quinn & Holland, 1987). According
to Gee (1996, 1999), a cultural model not only defines what is “normal” or
typical and to be expected but also sets up what counts as “non-normal” or
non-typical and threatening in certain contexts. Therefore, cultural models
often involve certain viewpoints about what is right and wrong and what can or

Volume 11, Number 2
cannot be done to solve problems in the world. Such functions of setting

up what count as right and normal, as Gee (1996) points out, often result in
rendering exclusionary actions and creating and upholding stereotypes.
Research has demonstrated that the dynamics and processes of different
cultural models of literacy practices can have significant impact on minor-
ity achievement and school reform (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Since
cultural models carry within them values and perspectives on people and on
reality, cultural models from different cultures can “conflict in their content, in
how they are used, and in values and perspectives they carry” (Gee, 1996,
p. 90). For minority students who come from different cultural backgrounds,
the cultural models of their own home culture can conflict seriously those of
mainstream culture (Gee). Studies on immigrant and minority groups’ literacy
practices suggest that immigrant parents differ significantly in their cultural
models of learning and their educated values, beliefs, and actions from their
mainstream counterparts (e.g., Gallimore & Goldenberg; Goldenberg &
Gallimore, 1995; Heath, 1983; Li, 2002; Valdes, 1996).
Language Learning and Language Socialization

How do children acquire these different cultural models of literacy practices?
Research on language socialization indicates that language and literacy learn-
ing is part of a process of socialization through which the learner acquires
particular values and relationships in the social context where learning takes
place (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). Ochs (1986) posits that children acquire a
worldview as they acquire a language. Since the process of acquiring language is
deeply affected by the process of becoming a competent member of a commu-
nity, language learning is intricately linked to the construction of social roles,
cultural affiliations, beliefs, values and behavioral practices (Schieffelin & Ochs,
1986). For second language learners who walk in two cultural worlds, the pro-
cess of acquiring a language(s) may involve the intersection of multiple/differ-
ent cultural values and beliefs and multiple contexts of socialization. For such
learners, as Lam (2004) observes, it is important to note that language practices
do not exist in isolation from each other just as cultures and communities
do not exist as discrete entities, but rather interact with each other in various
degrees of complementarity or conflict.
The multitude of interactions between different belief systems and social
languages define individual learners’ social identities and shape what their
voices can say (Wertsch, 1991). For example, power struggles between the
social languages in primary and secondary discourse may affect individual
learners’ choices of appropriating or “speaking” a particular social language
and becoming a member of that social community. In some cases, learners are
capable of repositioning themselves in contesting the official social languages
and re-creating their own social languages and identities (Gutierrez, Rymes, &

Li
Larson, 1995). Therefore, literacy learning as a social practice emphasizes the

relational interdependency of agent and world, persons-in-activity and situated
action; and learners’ participation in learning is inherently “situated negotiation
and renegotiation of meaning in the world” (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 51).
Thus, for second language learners who juggle between two languages and
cultures, language socialization can be seen as
a site of struggle where language practices are governed by and
used to produce configurations of power that determine the
norms of conduct and where diverse affiliations or socialization
experiences of the learner interact with each other to influence
how the learner is socially positioned in any specific language
learning contexts. (Lam, 2004, p. 47)
In this study, I explore how two Chinese Canadian first graders learn about
literacies and their use, and the cultural values and beliefs in ways of learning
within two social contexts (school and home). Viewing the children’s literacy
practices and learning experiences as social construction and as part of the
process of becoming culturally competent members of a community, I link
the analysis of the children’s literacy practices to more general ethnographic
accounts of cultural beliefs and practices of the families, schools, and the
communities into which children are socialized (Scheffelin & Ochs, 1986).
Researching Chinese Canadian Children’s School-Home

Literacy Connection
Settings of the Study: The School and the Classroom

The school in this study, Taylor Elementary (K–7), is located in the middle
of a quiet middle-class neighborhood. Before 1980, the city was a laidback,
White farming and fishing community. The high influx of Asian immigrants
since 1980, particularly Hong Kong and mainland Chinese immigrants since
the 1990s, has transformed the city into an urban, middle-class, Chinese com-
munity (Makhoul, 2000). Although they are a racial minority in Canada, they
are the majority in the multiethnic school with a total of 241 students. The
school’s 2001 demographics tally indicates that 158 students’ home language
is Chinese; 32 students’ home language is English; and 51 students speak other
languages at home. Altogether, the school has students who speak 20 different
languages. The school has 12 regular classroom teachers and three ESL/resource
teachers; all of them are nonChinese, English-speaking Caucasians. The school
has one Chinese employee, Mrs. Wong, who is a classroom assistant.
The ESL programs in the school follow a resource model. That is, ESL/
resource teachers are also special education teachers. Some ESL students are
pulled out of the regular classroom together with cognitively delayed, special

Volume 11, Number 2
needs children. The three ESL/resource teachers in the school are responsible
for 158 ESL students as well as all the special needs students in the school.
Although the mainstream teachers such as Mrs. Haines were not trained as ESL
teachers, they are defined as ESL teachers in Taylor Elementary handbook.
In the target combined first- and second-grade class, there are 23 students;
17 are Chinese, four are of East Asian origin; one is Caucasian; and one is
a student of African origin adopted by Caucasian parents. Mrs. Haines is a
White, middle-class woman in her 50s. She has been teaching in the school
district for 29 years. Although she has not had any training in ESL, she has had
1 year of experience teaching English in an elementary school in Japan about
10 years ago. Mrs. Haines volunteered to participate in the study because she
was frustrated by the resistance of Chinese parents to cooperate with the school,
and was eager to find out more about Chinese parents and their values on edu-
cation. Mrs. Wong is her classroom assistant.
The two focal Chinese Canadian children discussed in this article are Sandy
Chung and Alana Tang who are both six years old. Sandy was born in Canada,
and has an elder brother who is in the fourth grade. Her family immigrated to
Canada from Hong Kong in 1990. Both parents have high school educations
in Hong Kong. Sandy’s father operates his own landscaping business while her
mother stays home to take care of her and her brother. Different from Sandy,
Alana was born in mainland China. She came to Canada with her family in
March 1999. She also has a brother who is in the seventh grade. Both of her
parents have associate degrees from colleges in China. Her father, Mr. Tang,
had his own real estate business and was a multimillionaire, and her mother
was in business management in China. They came to Canada as investors.
Now Mr. Tang stays home, buying and selling stocks online and research-
ing new ideas for business in Canada and in China, while Mrs. Tang works
part time as a technician for a biochemical company in the area (operated by
Chinese-speaking people) to occupy herself.
Data collection with the children

During October 2000 and June 2001, I collected data in and out of the school
Sandy and Alana attended. I used a variety of ethnographic methods to col-
lect data including direct observation, participant observation, interviews, and
document collection (Fetterman, 1998; Spradley, 1979, 1980). My fieldwork
entailed weekly visits (1 school day per week) to their classroom. I also con-
ducted participant-observation of some of the classroom activities. During the
school visits, I observed the focal children’s interactions with peers and teachers
and took field notes of my observations in the school. I particularly paid atten-
tion to the literacy activities in which they participated, their language use and
choices in different settings, their interactional patterns with teachers and peers,
and the ways they used or talked about their home literacy experiences. I also
collected, read, and/or photocopied samples of their written work.

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In order to gain more information about the focal children, I conducted

semistructured interviews with their teacher, Mrs. Haines, at the beginning and
at the end of the research project. I also interviewed Mrs. Haines’s assistant,
Mrs. Wong. I asked them about their experiences teaching the Chinese chil-
dren, their insight into their children’s experiences in school, and particularly
their assessment of their literacy performance.
I had informal conversations with the children’s parents during the research
process. Towards the end of the research project, I also conducted a semistruc-
tured interview in Chinese with the parents at their home. I asked the parents
about their children’s home literacy practices, their perceptions of schooling
in Canada, and their beliefs and values of education. All the interviews were
audiotaped and later transcribed and translated into English if the original
transcripts were in Chinese.
Data analysis
Merriam (1988) suggests the process of qualitative data collection and analysis
is recursive and dynamic. Data analysis in this study was ongoing throughout
the data collection period. The ongoing analysis helped to identify emerging
patterns and themes (e.g., students’ different home and school literacy practices,
and uses of their first language in school settings). However, more systematic
analysis was conducted after the data collection was completed and the inter-
views were transcribed.
Following Wolcott’s (1994) approach to domain analysis, I developed
major domains such as parent’s, teacher’s, and student’s perspectives on literacy,
student’s home and school literacy experiences, student’s interaction with peers,
teacher’s and parent’s perceptions of the student, and cross-cultural differences.
These domains were further broken into smaller categories. For example, in the
domain of parent’s perspectives on literacy, four smaller categories were devel-
oped — literacy education, L1 use and maintenance, home literacy, and L2 use
and learning. These subcategories were used to code the transcripts and field
notes. After this stage of data analysis, I narrowed down key themes and catego-
ries that were relevant to this report and embedded the analysis in the research
findings that follow.
The Children’s Literacy Learning in School and Home

In this section, I provide a detailed description of the two children’s language
and literacy experiences in school and at home. In order to understand their
learning process and to represent language socialization in each child’s particu-
lar sociocultural context, I have also included the perspectives of their parents
and teachers. These different perspectives represented different layers of mean-
ing that are embedded in different cultural values and beliefs.

Volume 11, Number 2
Sandy: A Serious First Grader’s Literacy Learning

in School and Home
When I first met Sandy in Mrs. Haines’ combined first- and second-grade
class, I noticed one thing that was very unusual for a six-year-old child—she
appeared to be very serious and displeased with things around her as she always
looked at the others with disapproving eyes. What made a six-year-old girl so
intense? I wanted to find out more about her and try to understand her unique
attitude in and out of the school.
Sandy’s school literacy activities

At the beginning of the term in September 2000, Sandy was pulled out from
her regular class for four 40-minute periods per week to work with an ESL/
resource teacher, Mrs. Vincent, in a small ESL language group. In the small
group, she participated in activities related to Christmas, family, animals, and
winter in order to develop her vocabulary and to practice speaking, reading,
and writing skills. These small-group studies had helped her learn English.
From the beginning of February 2001, she started to attend the small-group
ESL study for one 40-minute period per week, and join the larger class group
for chapter book literature studies on the Elmer and the Dragon series. By
March 2001, Sandy was able to identify almost all of the letter sounds and was
able to read an increasing number of words.
Sandy tells me that she does not like the chapter book she is read to at
school, “It is not fun.” I speculate that she does not fully understand the stories
because of her limited vocabulary. I notice that during big group readings or
literacy activities, Sandy seldom raises her hand, or speaks up, and she often sits
quietly and appears timid. Although she is beginning to read picture books on
her own, she is not fond of reading—especially reading stories. I seldom see her
read in school. Even when she reads, she always claims that she does not like
the books.
Sandy likes drawing, particularly coloring her drawings. In one of her
journal entries she writes, “I like paiting Wha I gow up I will be a ats. [I like
painting. When I grow up, I will be an artist.]” Her favorite color is pink, so
she always uses pink to paint herself. She gave me many of her paintings of
hearts and friends as presents.
Although Sandy can complete her written work with support, she passively
resists independently completing the writing tasks such as phonics or journal
writing. For phonics, she has to write down the letters that are taught as well as
words beginning with those letters. Sometimes, she has to draw pictures about
the words and make sentences with them. For journal writing, she has to write
about stories read in class. She is able to finish the drawing part; however, when
it comes to printing and writing, Sandy often waits at her desk for help or
refuses to do it even if the words are provided for her on the blackboard.

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Sandy demonstrates the same resistance to learning math. She always waits
for help before trying anything on her own. When asked, she would often say,
“I don’t want to do it.”
Sandy also appears to be afraid in front of the class. Sometimes when she
is called upon to answer questions in front of the class, she appears to be timid.
During one of the math sessions, she was asked to do addition with her fingers.
She put out her hands, but was afraid to do it, and she lowered her head, star-
ing down, and was unable to speak up although she was able to count on her
own. Mrs. Haines notes that “she was afraid to take any risks” because she is
afraid to get it wrong, which is very common among Chinese children whose
families emphasize “getting everything, every word right.”
The classroom rule maintainer

Sandy’s unwillingness to undertake any new tasks may have to do with her
critical attitude towards things around her. She is too serious about classroom
rules and others’ behaviors, and therefore, she does not want to take any risks.
Sandy is known among the class as the classroom rule maintainer, and therefore
has very few friends.
Sandy is very particular about Mrs. Haines’ English-only rule in the
classroom. When I explain to Alana in Chinese some of the class activities,
Sandy often frowns and reminds us that we should not speak Chinese in the
classroom. Many times, I observe that she reminds the students who speak
Chinese that they should follow the rule. She often tells them, “I don’t want
you to speak Chinese because it’s English here.” Sandy maintains not only the
English-only rule, but also several other rules. Several times she complains to
me about students who do not follow the rules. For example, “Miss Li, Amy
had secrets. Mrs. Haines said that we are not supposed to have secrets here.”
Sandy is also eager to correct other students’ errors in speaking English.
For example, during one class, Kara was going to help Alana to spell a difficult
word, but the other students in the class suggested Alana do it on her own.
Due to the interference of their first language, Chinese, they mix up the use of
“him” and “her” as the two words have the same pronunciation in Chinese:
Other students: Kara, don’t help him [Alana]. Don’t help him. He can
do it.
Sandy: Not him, her. Don’t help her.
Sandy’s gradual change

Sandy’s consciousness of the English-only rule gradually diminishes as two new
Chinese-speaking students, Kara and Alicia, join the class. These two students
rely heavily on Alana and other Chinese students’ translation to understand the
classroom activities. Their constant use of Chinese among themselves in the
classroom has virtually shattered the English-only environment. Beginning in

Volume 11, Number 2
January 2001, I noticed that Sandy started to use Chinese (both Mandarin and
Cantonese) during free playtime when she played with her friend, Amy.
Sandy’s use of Chinese seems to have a positive effect on her attitude toward
others in the class. She is able to concentrate on tasks and even play activities
in which she is engaged, and she is able to express herself more in free play
situations. She appears to be happier than before and starts to have a smile on
her face. Mrs. Haines also notices that “she started to loosen up a little bit.” I
observe that Sandy also uses Chinese with Amy in many imaginative play situa-
tions during their play center time.
One time, Sandy and Amy pretended to be a family driving to Disneyland.
Sandy played the mother and child, and Amy played “婆婆 [grandma]”:
Sandy: You take the baby. 我们去 [We’ll go to] Disneyland.
Amy: Disneyland! Oh, 我们得带吃的 [We’ve got to take some food.]
You know where it is?
Sandy: Oh, I’d better bring a map! Map, 我得画一个. [I have to draw
a] map.
Amy: Ask Miss Li to draw us a map.
Sandy (after getting a piece of paper and a pencil):
“Miss Li, could you draw a map for me? 我们开车去
[We’re driving to] Disneyland.
Sandy not only starts to use Chinese during unstructured class time, she
also code-switches during this time. For example, in March 2001, when they
finished reading two versions of the story Pinocchio and watched a play about
it, they were asked to write a letter to the actors or actresses about how they felt
about the play. Sandy decided to write to the actress who played Pinocchio, but
she got stuck on the actress’s name:
Sandy (frowning): 她的名字是? [What’s her name]? Christine, Kristin,
or Christy?
Amy: 不是啦. [Not that].
Sandy: 哪个? [Which one]?
Amy: 不知道啦. [I don’t know].
Sandy: Maybe Mrs. Haines will tell us.
Sandy’s attitude change has had a positive impact on her in many ways.
Mrs. Haines comments that she “is gradually gaining confidence at school.” I
notice that she starts to read more during in-class free time. One day when I
saw her reading a book, Jack and Jill, by herself, I went over and joined her. I
asked her to read with me, and she was able read it with fluency although she
had problem with a few words such as that, time, those, and why. When Amy
came over to join us, and Sandy decided to play teacher, she held the book
open and asked Amy to read with her, “OK, Amy, it’s your turn.” When Amy
was reading alone, Sandy helped her with a few words. When it was time for
10
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chapter book reading, Sandy asked me, “Miss Li, we didn’t finish the book.
Can we put a bookmark in there?” And she turned to Amy, “We’ll finish
it later.”
Sandy’s learning at home

Sandy’s negative attitude may come in part from her home literacy experiences.
Many times Sandy tells me, Mrs. Haines, or the teachers’ assistant, that she
does not like weekends at home. On Mondays when the class is asked about
their weekends, Sandy always has similar stories about her home life, “My
mom would not let me play unless I finish my homework” or “My mom did
not want me to watch TV because she said it was a waste of time” or “I can’t
play because I did not finish my homework.” After a lot of informal chatting
with Sandy and a formal interview with her mother, Mei, I learned more about
Sandy’s home life.
Every day after school, Sandy and her brother would take half an hour’s
break to eat some snacks or watch TV. After the break, her brother, Billy, prac-
tices piano while Sandy works on her homework from her Chinese school or
math homework assigned by her parents, or reading homework from school.
Unlike her brother, Sandy refuses to take swimming and piano lessons as she
does not want others to watch her. Mei explains that Sandy is very shy and is
always conscious about how other people think of her, especially in public or
outside of their home setting. Mei does not know why Sandy becomes so sensi-
tive about how others view her and what shapes her personality. She speculates
that maybe she was too lenient or indulgent with her when she was a baby or
she has not educated her properly from early on.
Since Sandy does not take any piano or swimming lessons, Mei asks her
to put the time into her studies. “She has a lot of more time to study than her
brother,” Mei says. Mei enrolls Sandy in a math tutoring school for a while as
she finds that many other kids in the school take extra classes and perform bet-
ter in math. But later she withdraws Sandy from the math school because of
Sandy’s protest.
At home, Sandy likes to play with Barbie dolls and her Hello Kitty toys,
and watch cartoons. Like many young girls, she likes to act like the mommy
of her dolls and change the dolls’ clothes. She does not like the fact that her
mother asks her to study all the time. “Study is boring,” she says. Mei always
insists that Sandy do her homework first before playing, which always makes
Sandy very unhappy. Mei tells me of her frustration, “I always have to get mad
at her if I want her to study!”
Consistent with her practices at school, Sandy dislikes reading at home.
Mei seldom reads stories to Sandy; most of the time Mei asks her to read by
herself. The best way to learn to read, according to Mei, is to learn to pro-
nounce and spell words and then make sentences using the words. So when
11
Volume 11, Number 2
Mei asks Sandy to read the storybooks sent home by Mrs. Haines, Mei always
feels that Sandy does not master the books:
I asked her to read the books sent from school, and she picks
them up and flips through them and tells me she can read
them. And she does not like to read those storybooks…I have
to fight with her about her study all the time. It is always such
a headache.
In Sandy’s reading record (see Figure 1) submitted to school, I notice that
many of the books Sandy reads are recorded on several consecutive days or for
quite a few times at different dates. This may indicate that Sandy is asked to
read and recite these books over and over again by Mei, as it is the custom in
Chinese education to learn through repetition and rote-memorization.
Figure 1. A sample of Sandy’s home reading records
12
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Despite her dislike of reading at home, Sandy does express a more positive
attitude towards writing at home. When Mrs. Haines asked her to draw about
her writing, she drew a picture of her playing and writing at home. She writes,
“I like to write.”
Like her elder brother, Billy, Sandy is becoming trilingual and she code-
switches between three languages at home, especially when they visit their
grandparents’ house. Every weekend she goes to study Chinese in a Chinese
school for 3 hours, and she also visits her grandparents. She speaks Mandarin
with her grandparents and Cantonese with her parents. She also watches
Chinese TV and reads Chinese books. But she often converses with her brother
in English when they talk about school events.
Sandy’s parents’ perspectives on her learning

Mei wants Sandy to study more because of her brother’s experiences in his first
3 years in school. She believes that Billy’s difficulty in school is a result of the
teaching methods in the primary grades that focus more on play. On one of the
field trips for which she volunteered as a parent, she told me why she was wor-
ried and had to put pressure on her daughter:
From Grade 1 to 3, there is no homework, just play. Some
kids do not know whether it’s play or study. Some end up
not learning much. All of a sudden, when they get to Grade
4, they have a lot of homework and they get an exam, and the
kids can’t handle it.
Because she thinks that homework is very important to strengthen the
children’s learning and make it easier for children to make the transition from
Grade 1–3 to Grade 4, she went to his son’s teachers when he was in Grade
1–3 to demand more homework. The teachers did not make any changes, so
Mei does not think it is worthwhile to ask again. “They told me they would
consider my suggestions, but they didn’t.” Therefore, she has to force Sandy to
study more at home.
Mei already notices Sandy’s resistance to learning. From her experience
with her son who has also resisted learning since he was in first grade, Mei
thinks it might be better not to be as rigid with Sandy as with her brother.
Another factor that Mei thinks is not advantageous to Sandy’s learning is
the combined class; she prefers single-grade classes like the ones in Hong Kong.
She believes that combined classes are too distracting for students. “It is hard
to learn when you have two grades together.” Also, the school gives them too
much freedom and is not strict with the students, which makes it hard for her
as a parent to discipline her at home, especially when it comes to changing her
attitude toward learning.
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Volume 11, Number 2
Mrs. Haines’ perspectives on Sandy’s learning

Mrs. Haines describes Sandy as “a sour little girl,” who “seemed to resist every-
thing.” She speculates that Sandy’s negative attitude toward her surroundings
may be the result of pampering and indulgence by her family:
I think that might be a part of results of this sort of pamper-
ing. They just sit and wait for the world to come to them.
They don’t go out and meet the world. There seems to be a
percentage of children that are like that.
Mrs. Haines observes from Sandy’s talk in the classroom that like many
other Chinese children, Sandy’s after school life is quite sheltered and protected
and there is not enough socialization and play with other children. “They tend
to shop a lot, and go to the restaurant, but there is not enough meaningful
play,” Mrs. Haines says, explaining that this isolation after school is detrimental
to children’s psychological and emotional well-being:
These children just don’t have opportunity to run and play,
and it’s becoming more and more a suicidal thing, not just for
immigrant children but for all children. [They are] so pres-
sured and I just think that it’s dangerous that they are trapped.
Mrs. Haines believes that the pressure from parents often results in stu-
dents’ fear of making mistakes and consequently their reluctance to try:
They have fear of making mistakes and not getting it right.
I’m always pushing them and trying to inform them that you
can [make mistakes]. When they are trying to write a big word
like, Menorah, and [they] only miss a couple of letters, I say,
“This is an excellent mistake.” So the whole idea that making
a mistake can help learning, and sometimes that’s a stronger
learning experience than if you just stay within that comfort
zone and get everything right. The cultural importance of
education—“I want to do well” is a strength, but I think that
strength can be a weakness too because some of the children
are so over-programmed.
Mrs. Haines believes that the quality and depth of learning, and children’s
ability to think, make connections, and problem solve, will be far more effec-
tive when they are taught in an integrated and activity-based setting than if
they are given a set of rote memory activities in each subject area with no inter-
relationship between those areas. She suggests that children’s learning needs to
be embedded in their everyday meaning making, and how this kind of embed-
ded learning can make a difference to Sandy:
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We had the story last week called Gilbert in the Frogs Pond. It
was about the frog that tricks some cook by giving them a rec-
ipe offered for bugs, a recipe to prevent them from eating him.
From that we have the kids make their own menu, restaurant
menu that bugs would like. So they would come up with all
sorts of things that would be of interest to a frog. Sandy came
to school today, and she had been to the restaurant on the
weekend, and came back and she said, “Oh, you have to put
dots before you put how much.” She obviously had been moti-
vated by that activity, and then carried this learning out there
into the environmental print of the restaurant and noticed
on the menu that there’s a menu item that has dots and she
knows the price. And she came, budding with smiles on her
face and was excited about that. So it was really nice to see her
excited because she was very, very sour in the beginning of
the year.
Sandy’s experience suggests that there is a disconnection between school
and home in terms of how language and literacy is learned and should be
learned. In the next section, I turn to the experience of Alana Tang who, unlike
Sandy, was born in China, and now lives in Canada.
Alana: Adjusting to the New Environment

Unlike Sandy, six-year-old Alana is more outgoing. She has been in the school
for over 1 year, but has not achieved the expected level of proficiency in
English. She is a beginning Level 1 ESL student, and is pulled out of class every
day to work with two ESL teachers in small language groups for
40-minute periods. Mrs. Haines observes that Alana can complete her journal
writing with support and is beginning to spell some words on her own. She is
able to name all the letters and almost all of the letter sounds, and read some
simple words.
Though Mr. and Mrs. Tang want Alana to become literate in both English
and Chinese so that she will be prepared for living in both countries, their
uncertainty about whether to stay in Canada has had an impact on Alana’s
learning. During the first school year she was frequently absent from class
because she went back to China several times, and this discontinuity was
believed to have resulted in her slow progress in English. She also failed to
submit complete home reading records, despite the fact that Mrs. Haines sent
notes home to request the parents’ help to fill in and sign the record forms.
Mrs. Haines wondered whether her parents were at all involved in Alana’s
learning at home.
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Volume 11, Number 2
Alana formed an instant bond with me when I started the research study
because she found out that I could speak Mandarin. She told me that she
missed her kindergarten in China, “我喜欢中国啦. 我老师最喜欢我. 她总
是叫我做事情. 可是这里不是这样一来的. [I like China a lot. My teacher
liked me the best. She always asked me to do things. But it is not like
that here.]”
Alana at school
Alana loves reading at school. I note during the 15 minutes’ morning reading
time she often appears glued to her book—she gazes so intently and closely at
the book as if the world around her does not exist. She looks mostly at the pic-
tures, as she cannot yet sound out most of the words. Mrs. Haines tells me the
story about the day when she first started to read the letters:
Alana was reading on Ten Apples Up On Top. And all of a sud-
den one day she made that connection between the print on
the page and the words we were saying out loud. It was a for-
mal reading process that started for her, and she was so excited
about that. She came to read the book to me, and then to
Mrs. Gambell [the principal]. It was a real transition for her. I
photocopied the page and put it in her file.
Although Alana begins to make sense of the words on the page, she is
struggling with listening and speaking. Her lack of ability in these two skills
prevents her from fully participating in classroom activities. Mrs. Haines tells
me that most of the assessment on Alana has been focused on her understand-
ing English, and it is hard to assess her other curriculum areas. During the
whole-class reading time, she often appears quiet and confused and often looks
at other students to try to understand what is going on. Sometimes, she looks
around her and appears to have lost interest in the activities. For example, when
they were listening to a story on tape, or listening to songs like “Junk Food
Blues” and “Canada in My Pocket,” Alana appeared lost and was unable to fol-
low the activities. And often during these activities, she is unable to ask Mrs.
Haines’ classroom assistant or me for help, so she just sits there and watches the
students around her.
Alana also appears to have trouble understanding some of the writing activ-
ities. During their Christmas unit, one of the tasks was to write a letter to Santa
about one’s wishes for presents for Christmas. Alana took a piece of paper and
sat down at her desk, but she did not know what to do. Mrs. Wong went over
to help her, “Alana, do you know what to do?” Alana answered pointing to
the blackboard, “No.” Mrs. Wong explained in English what the task was. But
Alana turned to tell me in Chinese, “我不知道要干什么. [I don’t know what
I’m supposed to do.]” I explained to her in Chinese and she understood.
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I speculate that her confusion about the task may be related to the con-
cept of Santa rather than simply language. She does not appear to understand
who Santa is and why she has to write a letter to him to ask for things. In a
subsequent conversation with Mrs. Haines, she speaks about her wishes for her
mom, which differs from other children who express wishes for themselves.
Alana appears to dislike drawing in school. She often complains that her
drawings are ugly and does not want to show them to classmates or adults.
Sometimes she draws the picture, erases it, then draws it again. She tells me
in Chinese,“我觉得我画得很难看. [I feel that my drawing is really ugly.]”
Sometimes she tells me that she does not know what to draw.
Although Alana is critical about her drawings, she can complete them with
some help. Mrs. Haines or Mrs. Wong will normally sit down with her to talk
about her drawing, and to write down her stories for her. Her writing is not
just about school readings, but also about her home life. She even uses Chinese
characters in her writing. For example, in her writing about her Chinese New
Year dinner, she added traditional Chinese antithetical couplets (often posted
on Chinese doors during the Chinese New Year) “对联 [safe journey wherever
you go]” to her drawing.
Alana brings in her home experiences not only in her writing, but also
through different events. She is always very excited when she can recognize
Chinese characters. In January 2001, she brought her math book from home to
show me. The math book was for Grade 1 students in China and was brought
over by her parents to teach her math at home. Another day she brought in her
personal phonebook and wrote down our telephone numbers. Other times, she
likes to teach me different things she learns from home. One day she played the
role of a teacher with me:
Alana: 你会画兔子吗? [Do you know how to draw a rabbit?]
Guofang: 不会. [I don’t know.]
Alana: 我教你吧.[I will teach you how.] She took a pencil and drew
a rabbit step by step, and at the same time explaining to me,
“这样,再这样. [This way, and then this way.]”
Although Alana is a cheerful child, I find that she is not socially content
in the classroom. In September 2000, Alana first befriended Shivani, an East
Indian girl with autism. Since it is hard for Alana to understand Shivani’s
speech, Alana does not play with her that much. As Mrs. Wong has observed,
Alana does not make many friends in school. Many times Alana tells me that
she has no friends and nobody to play with and that she misses her friends in
China.
In December 2000, when Mrs. Haines was doing the Christmas unit,
Alana asked me to read Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to her in Chinese
because it had too many words in it. I started to translate the story from
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Volume 11, Number 2
English into Chinese for her. When I got to the part when no other reindeers
would play with Rudolph because he had a red nose and he was small, he felt
lonely and sad, Alana started to relate the story to her own feelings:
没有人跟我玩了. 我不会说英语. 我以前有个朋友跟我
玩了,但是她不再跟我玩了.我还有其他的朋友在柳州. [I
have nobody to play with because I can’t speak English. I used
to have a friend to play with me, but she doesn’t play with me
anymore. My other friends are also in Liu Zhou.]
To have a change, I continued reading the book in English, and she
appeared to have lost interest in the book, “啊呀, 太多字了.[Oh, too many
words.]” She took the book, closed it, and put it back on the shelf.
When I informed Mrs. Haines of Alana’s expression of loneliness in school,
Mrs. Haines speculated that it was a combination of her family who did not
like their children to be out of their supervision, and Alana’s lack of socializing
with other kids:
The kids in this neighborhood rarely had out of school play-
time, so any friendships they form are just the school friend-
ships… I don’t think she has a lot of friends out of school,
like playing time away from the family, and there is very little
after-school socialization amongst the children that I’m aware
of. The families do a lot going out in the evenings to restau-
rants and that sort of thing, but it is with the family, not with
other children, so that might make friendship difficult.
In early January 2001, Alana befriended a Cantonese-speaking girl,
Melinda, who was much better at English, and this friendship greatly helped
Alana. During one of the sessions about the Gingerbread Man, for example,
they were required to write their understanding of the story in their notebook,
and they copied some of the big words such as gingerbread from the black-
board. She was not sure she was copying correctly. Melinda explained to her in
Cantonese that “这个应该大写了. 看黑板了. [This letter should be capital-
ized. Look, it shows it on the blackboard.]”
Alana’s constant use of Chinese is, however, against the unofficial English-
only rule. Regardless of Sandy’s protest, Alana continues to code-switch
between Chinese and English with Melinda. Her status in the classroom has
changed dramatically when in mid January 2001, a new student, Kara, joined
the class from China. Kara could speak Mandarin and Cantonese, but could
not speak any English, and Alana immediately took on the role of assisting
Kara and translating for Kara. When I walked into the classroom on Kara’s
first day, I saw Alana and Kara sitting on the floor with a book open in front of
them, and Alana was translating some words for Kara. Other students who also
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saw the change in Alana came to report to me, “Alana is helping Kara!” And I
went over and praised her, “What a good girl, Alana!”
Alana becomes more active in class activities and is always eager to make
Kara understand what is going on around her. For example, if there was a
drawing and writing activity, Alana would explain to Kara what to do in
Cantonese: “你先画幅画, 然后再写句子. 如果你不知怎拼写. 再看
黑板. [You draw a picture, and then you write a sentence. If you don’t know
how to spell the words, they are on the blackboard. See there.]” During free
play time, Alana and Melinda fully embrace Kara into their group, and they
code-switch between Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. Alana also takes up a
teacher’s role during their play station time. The following conversation took
place in Mandarin:
Alana: 我来教你. 八减一等于多少? [Let me teach you. How much is
eight minus one?]
Kara: 七. [Seven.]
Alana: 再来一个. 这个很难啰! 八加一加二等于多少? [Let’s do
another one. This one is very hard! How much is eight plus one
plus two?]
Kara: 十? [Ten?]
Alana: 不对! [Wrong!]
Kara: 十一! [Eleven!]
At the end of April 2001, another new student from China, Alicia, came
to class. Alana also took her into their group. She enjoyed her new friends and
wrote about learning different things at school with these friends. Mrs. Haines
commented that it had been fruitful for Alana to have some new students come
into the class:
She is really acting as a translator for them, which is good
because she has to understand English… She is happy and
relaxed in school and she is probably socializing a lot with the
whole group now… She gravitates toward them, and she is the
leader in that group now because she had more experiences
than them.
Alana’s home literacy practices

Alana’s home is a distinctly different world from school, although their home
is located across the street from the school. Every day, Alana’s father comes
to pick her up from school at around 3:00 p.m. when he finishes his lunch
and some work online. At home, Alana generally watches TV for a few hours
until supper time. She usually watches English cartoons such as Sailor Moon,
Digimon, Pokemon, and Power Ranger. These are the only hours that Alana
has contact with English at home. Mr. Tang is not happy that Alana spends
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Volume 11, Number 2
so many hours in front of the TV (as it is bad for her eyes), so sometimes he
takes her to play in nearby parks, or he asks her to play outside the house for
a change. Occasionally, Alana plays video games on the computer and watches
Chinese TV. On weekends, Mr. Tang takes her along to go shopping and to
get together with some Chinese friends they have made in Canada. He also
drives Alana to her weekly piano lessons.
Since Mr. and Mrs. Tang cannot speak English and are not sure they
want to stay in Canada long term, they are very serious about Alana’s Chinese
development. They teach her Chinese reading and writing at home and require
her to speak Chinese at all times. Although they understand that there are cul-
tural differences between school and home, Mr. Tang expects their children to
“act in Canadian ways at school and follow Chinese ways at home.” He feels
strongly about the importance of keeping the Chinese language and culture:
As a Chinese girl, she has to learn her mother tongue to
maintain Chinese culture and tradition. I ask them that if we
come back to China ten years later and they cannot speak any
Chinese and cannot communicate with their grandparents,
what should they do then?
He also believes that it is important for his children to learn English as,
“since we came to Canada, they have to learn both English and Chinese. Some
aspects of Chinese culture and traditions are really good and we have to keep
them. We also need to learn the good aspects of Canadian culture.” Mr. Tang
perceives his role as a parent is to “teach them Chinese at home.” He does
not think he can do much to teach his children English, “They have to learn
English themselves for our English is poor. It depends on themselves to learn
it [English].”
Every evening after supper, Mr. or Mrs. Tang would teach Alana Chinese
characters using Chinese textbooks they brought over from China. Mr. Tang
tells me that Alana is already studying at a second-grade level in Chinese and
can read many words. They follow the textbook instructions and other Chinese
literacy instruction methods they are familiar with, such as copying. Mr. Tang
explains:
We are not as strict with her as we were in China. We used to
ask her to copy a lot, but now we are here in Canada, and we
still require her to finish all the assignments, and learn more
new words, and that’s OK. But we were not as demanding as
we were in China, strictly monitoring her progress every day.
In March 2001, Alana told me that her mom changed her schedule so that
she came home from work at around 4:00 p.m. to teach her Chinese charac-
ters. She said, “我做中文作业. 还要练钢琴. 中文很难呢. [I have Chinese
homework. I also have to practice the piano. Chinese is hard.]”
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They also bring many Chinese children’s storybooks from China. Alana has
read many of them with Mrs. Tang at home (Figure 2). Mr. Tang believes that
Alana’s skills in Chinese will help her in learning English. However, Alana’s
extensive Chinese reading at home is not communicated to Mrs. Haines who
thinks that Alana does not read at all at home. Mrs. Haines asked me to talk
to Alana’s brother twice and later once with Mr. Tang about the home reading
records. After my conversations with Alana’s brother and parents, I realized that
they did not know they were supposed to record Alana’s readings (in Chinese
or English) on a reading record form, sign it, and return it to Mrs. Haines.
Once they understood this requirement, Alana began to bring these records to
the class regularly on time. These readings demonstrate that Alana is a sophis-
Figure 2. A sample of Alana’s home reading records
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Volume 11, Number 2
ticated and avid reader in Chinese. Alana draws a picture of her reading in her
bed and tells me that she enjoys reading stories at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Tang teach Alana not only Chinese, but also math at home.
Like many new Chinese immigrants, they quickly learn from their son’s sev-
enth-grade experience that math in Canadian schools is 3 years behind that in
China. Mr. Tang comments that “what is taught in eighth grade math is the
fifth-grade level in China.” And like many parents from China, they already use
Chinese textbooks to teach Alana math, and she has already finished working
on the first-grade math textbook.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Tang cannot understand much English, they try
their best to watch Alana’s progress by listening to her talk about school. They
notice that Alana’s English has improved and they are pleased that she is mak-
ing progress. Since they are new to the country, they rely on their new Chinese
friends to understand the differences between Canadian and Chinese schools.
They have asked many of these friends about Alana’s progress in English. Mr.
Tang observes:
One year ago when I was worried about my daughter's prog-
ress in English, one of my friends told me that I needed not
to worry about that and that my daughter would catch up in
a couple of years. I have asked many friends, not just one, and
they all had this experience. So with Alana, if her teacher did
not say she was not doing well, I would just pay some atten-
tion her report card. If one area is really bad or not meeting
the standards, I will be very worried. I feel that she is doing
OK, and she is also slowly making progress as my friends
have predicted.
Mr. Tang feels that as long as his children are performing well in school
without failing any subjects, he does not need to communicate with the teach-
ers. For example, although he does not like the fact that the school emphasizes
drawing, he chooses to adjust it at home rather than talking to the teacher
about it. “They do draw too much at school, so at home we emphasize more
academic aspects. I think the teachers just want students to have more freedom
to choose what they want to do.” Mr. Tang reiterates that he is not worried
about Alana’s studies so far as she is still young.
Understanding the Children’s School-Home

Literacy Experiences: A Discussion
Although Sandy and Alana differ in their personalities, home literacy experi-
ences, knowledge of English and native language Chinese, and socialization
experiences in school, they share some similar adjustment barriers in school.
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The findings suggest that there exists great linguistic and cultural discontinuity
between the Chinese children’s school and home language and literacy experi-
ences. For both children, they have two schools: an English school in which
they learn the language through integrated reading and writing activities and
free play; and a Chinese-style school at home where they learn Chinese, math
(and English) through more direct instruction and supervision from their par-
ents. Their distinct experiences in school and at home mirrored the influence of
different cultural beliefs and practices that the parents and the teacher held (Li,
2002, 2003, 2004; Xu, 1999). From the perspectives of both parents and the
teacher on the children’s learning, tension also existed in their views on goals
for biliteracy, homework, parenting, and instructional approaches (e.g., the use
of drawing and free play).
In terms of goals for biliteracy, the discrepancy lies in the school’s mono-
lingual orientation and the parents’ bilingual and biliteracy expectations of their
children. While the school employed an English only policy in order to facili-
tate the children’s faster mastery of English, the parents tried to support their
children’s learning of both Chinese and English at home and expected their
children to become bicultural and biliterate. Understanding that their children
would learn English reading and writing in school, the parents actively
supported the development of Chinese literacy at home. Such discrepancy
between school and home expectations no doubt had influenced the children’s
understanding of the two discourses (Li, 2002, 2005). As I will discuss later,
the children’s initial choices of language in school suggest that they view the
school and home as separate social situations in which a certain language is
used and valued.
The incongruencies are also reflected in the parents’ and the school’s
understandings of beginning literacy approaches. While the teachers empha-
sized learning through play, story-reading, and drawing as an effective begin-
ning writing activity, the parents wanted to begin with basics, with more
focused explicit instruction on reading and writing and more independent
homework from school. Different from the teachers’ view, they viewed free
play as “non-learning” and drawing as a “nonacademic” activity. Their different
perceptions are influential in their respective practices that they socialized the
children into the distinct discourses. At home, the parents emphasized more
homework and academic activities (e.g., practice on oral reading and print-
ing/writing), while in school the teacher emphasized more integrated activities
with ample opportunities for free play and drawing. The different ways the
parents and the teacher socialized the children are also related to their percep-
tions of each other’s approach to educate the children. For example, the teacher
saw Chinese parenting as too rigid and as applying too much pressure on the
children, and therefore enforced more play and drawing at school. The parents,
on the other hand, saw too much play and drawing in school and, therefore,
enforced more homework and academic learning at home.
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Volume 11, Number 2
These discontinuities between school and home have had a profound

impact on the children’s language and literacy learning. From early on, the chil-
dren viewed school and home literacies as separate entities rather than as a con-
tinuum. Such perceptions further widened the gaps between their development
of school literacy, which is mediated through English language and culture and
that of home literacy, which mediated through Chinese language and culture.
Both Sandy and Alana were quite aware of the differences between school and
home discourses. While Sandy became the English only rule maintainer in
class, Alana tried to follow the rule even though she was not able to converse
fluently in English. Both became very frustrated in different ways, as they could
not fully express themselves. Sandy, for example, became very resistant to read-
ing and writing in school in the beginning. And Alana became very lonely and
isolated without being able to play or understand the classroom activities. Their
understanding of the English only rule in school that is different from their
Chinese homes suggest that when they acquire the English language in school,
they are also acquiring the “code knowledge” or the hidden curriculum that is
embedded in school discourses (Ochs & Schieffelin, 1984).
However, the children did not become passive recipients of the code
knowledge; instead, they recreated “counterscripts” to the hidden curriculum
through their choices of first language use in the classroom (Gutierrez, Rymes
& Larson, 1995). The changing dynamics of the classroom composition after
the arrival of new coming nonEnglish speaking students afforded both Sandy
and Alana the opportunities to realize the importance of their ability to speak
both Chinese and English, particularly Chinese. In Sandy’s case, her tentative
use of Chinese in the classroom helped her bridge the school and home separa-
tion that she initially held. Such a bridge gradually transformed her attitude
towards school work and learning in general, her relationships with other stu-
dents, and her ability to be able to play freely in play centers. For Alana, her
Chinese ability afforded her opportunities to help the new students, and her
assistance to the students empowered her to become a legitimate participant of
the classroom community rather than remain as an outsider at the periphery
(Lave & Wenger, 1991). In both cases, the children’s first language use have
changed their social roles and identities in the classroom; and elucidated their
different understandings of the “symbolic associations” of the two languages
with their values in the classroom settings (Schecter & Bayley, 2004, p. 610).
For them, their use of Chinese at school becomes the media of school and
home continuum, and such a continuum allowed them to reconstruct and re-
create their own social roles and spaces in which they can rely on their native
language to learn a new tongue (Townsend & Fu, 1998).
In summary, classroom and community contexts are complex, and becom-
ing a competent member requires navigating the competing agendas of its
subcultures (Willett, 1995). Both Sandy and Alana lived between two separate
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worlds of school and home and were often burdened with the consequences
of the cultural clashes. They have become sites of struggle between teachers
and parents, and hence, are placed in a dangerous position of school failure.
However, they exercised their agency by reconstructing their identities through
their language choices and renegotiated the meaning of becoming a competent
member of both worlds.
Conclusions and Implications

This ethnographic report has focused on the school and home literacy practices
of two Chinese Canadian first graders. The two children, one born in Canada
and one in China, both came from families that do not speak English at home.
Their literacy practices and experiences in school and home may be similar
to many immigrant and/or minority children who have to make adjustments
between the two discourses (Li, 2001, 2002, 2004; Purcell-Gates, 1996; Valdés,
1996; Townsend & Fu, 1998). Their experiences have significant implications
for understanding Chinese and other Asian immigrant children who are learn-
ing to become bicultural and biliterate in cross-cultural contexts. First, the
discontinuity between home and school suggests that developing a genuine
school-home partnership is critical in addressing minority children’s develop-
mental needs. Both the teachers and parents invested a fair amount of time
and effort to ensure the children’s language and literacy learning, but their
efforts were not coordinated. Rather, their actions were sometimes contradic-
tory because of their assumptions about each other’s practices (e.g., the issue
of homework, free play, and drawing). This divide was counterproductive to
the learners’ development. A connection needs to be built between parents and
teachers/school so that they can work together to ensure the success of English
language learners.
There are many ways to build this school-home connection. One of the
first steps is to involve parents in the classroom to learn firsthand about teach-
ers’ instructional practices. Teachers can bring parents into the classroom
periodically to lend a hand, to demonstrate a talent or skill, or to present some
cultural activities (Tabors, 1997). Tabors points out that involvement, such as
lending a hand in the classroom, is a low-demand task that allows parents (who
may or may not be proficient in English) to get a firsthand look at what goes
on in the classroom so they can begin to feel more comfortable with the activi-
ties that occur there. For parents who have more confidence in their English
ability and more comfort level with being in the classroom, demonstrating a
talent or skill is a good parental involvement activity. Teachers can arrange with
parents to work with a small group of children first and then move to activities
for a whole group. Teachers can also invite parents to come to the classroom to
present some cultural activities such as teaching songs in their native language,
demonstrating national/ethnic dress, or developing an ethnic cooking project.
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Volume 11, Number 2
Once parents are comfortable coming to school, more formal activities

that specifically address the issues of discontinuity between school and home
in terms of literacy practices and beliefs can be organized. These activities can
include thematic parent nights that address how mainstream schools work, how
early literacy is taught in school, and key issues such as play, homework, and
the processes of learning a second language. Parents can also be included in
planning and presenting similar issues from their point of view. These kinds of
activities emphasize sharing information and knowledge about each other’s
cultural practices and learning from each other and, therefore, will empower the
parents to become real partners in educating their children and will help build
reciprocal relationships between school and home (Li, 2006).
Li (2006) also suggests that teachers could reach out to the community,
rather than always ask the parents to come to school. Teachers could do home
visits to get to know the parents’ concerns on a personal level. Though this may
be time consuming and hard for the teachers to achieve, it is the most powerful
and effective way for teachers to get to know the students’ home literacy prac-
tices and to build trust with parents (McCarthey, 1997). Teachers could also
visit the private tutoring institutions that the children attended in order to gain
firsthand experiences about what the parents want for their children. Learning
about the practices that the parents valued would significantly facilitate the
teachers’ understanding of the parents’ concerns and beliefs and their repertoire
to accommodate the parents’ needs. If necessary, teachers (and the school) then
could use community resources or parents as consultants to explore ways and
strategies to make such accommodations (Li, 2006).
Another implication calls for school pedagogical practices that support
English language learners’ bicultural and biliteracy continuum (Cummins,
2000; Hornberger, 1989; Hornberger & Skilton-Sylvester, 2003). The two
children’s transformative use of first language in the classroom suggests that
it is of paramount importance for mainstream teachers to value and build on
their knowledge in their first language, especially for beginning learners. As
Townsend & Fu (1998) point out, for children who are developing their com-
petence in a second language, demanding standard language forms in their
talk and writing creates barriers to exploration, risk taking, and motivation.
To avoid creating such barriers for children’s learning, teachers should not
only allow students to make use of their knowledge in their first language as
resources for learning a new language, they should also develop instructional
practices that help students build such school-home biliteracy continuum.
Teachers, who may not understand their students’ home languages, can create
situations in which students’ first language can become uniquely meaning-
ful and valuable, planning activities to expand the range of language use, and
providing consistent opportunities for developing literacy in the two languages
26
Li
(Cummins, 2000; McCarthey, 1999; Moll & Ganzález, 1994; Wong-Fillmore,

1991). For example, teachers can create opportunities for students to share
literature in their first languages, create a multiliterate project (e.g., dialogue
journals, weekly individual literacy meetings) to be conducted by a community
member in the native language with students, or invite community members as
active participants in the class (see Schwarzer, Haywood, & Lorenzen, 2003).
In addition to pedagogical practices that build children’s biliteracy contin-
uum, teachers can also make pedagogical accommodations to parents’ beliefs in
early literacy instruction through developing an integrated curriculum. Gibbons
(2002) suggests that an integrated curriculum can help children learn about the
language and through the language; therefore, there is a place for teaching the
basics such as phonics, spelling, and grammar in the curriculum, and this can
be done without compromising interactive and meaning-driven classroom
practices. She maintains that explicit teaching of phonemic awareness and
spelling (as well as reading and writing) are of particular significance for ESL
students, especially those of younger grades. Gibbons recommends three prin-
ciples for teachers to integrate the teaching of language as an “object”—moving
from whole to part, from meaning to form, and familiar to unfamiliar, and
back again.
Lastly, teachers can utilize different pedagogical strategies to help learners
make school and home connections and to become legitimate members of the
classroom community. One such strategy is to use communication and class-
room organization to support second language learning (Tabors, 1997). To do
so, teachers first need to gather information about the cultural and linguistic
backgrounds of second language children (e.g., basic demographic information,
linguistic practices in and outside of the home, and relevant cultural practices).
Gaining this background information will help teachers better communicate
with the children to facilitate their initial adaptation to the classroom com-
munity. Teachers can start with what the children know and combine different
techniques, such as the use of body language and repetition, to help children
feel comfortable about the learning community and reduce their frustration
from the beginning. Teachers can also change the classroom setup to ensure
their adaptation occurs more smoothly. Classroom organization includes the
physical setup that provides spaces where second language children can feel
comfortable, competent and occupied; classroom routines that give second lan-
guage children cues as to what to do and when even before they can understand
language around them; and small-group activities that mix second-language
children with first- language children who can provide not only linguistic input
but also social support for second language learners (Tabors). These strategies
will lower second language learners’ affective filter and allow them to be suc-
cessfully integrated into the classroom community.
27
Volume 11, Number 2
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© 2007 Reading Recovery Council of North America (RRCNA). All rights reserved.
Literacy Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Reading and Writing
(ISSN 1538-6805) is published by the Reading Recovery Council of North America as a
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Second Language and Literacy Learning in

School and at Home:

Editor’s note: All names used in examples are pseudonyms.

Literacy Teaching and Learning

are socialized into different sociocultural discourses. This understanding might

Theoretical Framework: Socioconstructivism and

Literacy as Sociocultural Construction

cannot be done to solve problems in the world. Such functions of setting

Language Learning and Language Socialization

Larson, 1995). Therefore, literacy learning as a social practice emphasizes the

Researching Chinese Canadian Children’s School-Home

Settings of the Study: The School and the Classroom

Data collection with the children

In order to gain more information about the focal children, I conducted

The Children’s Literacy Learning in School and Home

Sandy: A Serious First Grader’s Literacy Learning

Sandy’s school literacy activities

The classroom rule maintainer

Sandy’s gradual change

Sandy’s learning at home

Sandy’s parents’ perspectives on her learning

Mrs. Haines’ perspectives on Sandy’s learning

Alana: Adjusting to the New Environment

Alana’s home literacy practices

Figure 2. A sample of Alana’s home reading records

Understanding the Children’s School-Home

These discontinuities between school and home have had a profound

Conclusions and Implications

Once parents are comfortable coming to school, more formal activities

(Cummins, 2000; McCarthey, 1999; Moll & Ganzález, 1994; Wong-Fillmore,

Kim, U., & Chun, M. B. J. (1994). Educational “success” of Asian Americans:

Ochs, E. (1986). Culture and language acquisition: Acquiring communicative

Children’s Books Cited

Requests for reproduction of articles must be made in writing by letter to Publications

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