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Frontiers in Educational Research, 2020, 3(2); doi: 10.25236/FER.2020.030216.

A Study of Chinese Children' Academic Language Development in Multilingual Context of Shanghai

Author(s)

Xiaoyan Hu*1, 2, Huiping Liu2

Corresponding Author:
Xiaoyan Hu
Affiliation(s)

1 School of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China
2. Foreign Language Department, Heilongjiang Pre-school Education College, Mudanjiang 157011, China
*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Academic language is closely related to children's future academic achievements. This study focuses on the developme nt of Chinese children's academic language, explores the influence of multilingual environment on academic language, and reveals the essence of early Chinese children's academic language acquisition. Research tested total of 406 preschool children in Shanghai for their Chinese, English and academic language abilities. Regression model is established and through statistics and analysis, it is found that vocabulary functions as academic language which increases with children's age. Multilingual environment is conducive to the development of academic language and vocabulary is an important factor. The research suggests that early children should be exposed to bilingual environment to increase their bilingualism, and they promote their academic language by reading bilingual knowledge picture books and watching bilingual popular science documentaries.

Keywords

Early childhood; Academic language development; Influencing factors; Multilingual environment

Cite This Paper

Xiaoyan Hu, Huiping Liu. A Study of Chinese Children' Academic Language Development in Multilingual Context of Shanghai. Frontiers in Educational Research (2020) Vol. 3 Issue 2: 64-71. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2020.030216.

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