Preschool English language provision in China under the government ban

Abstract

Delivery of English language programmes to children at younger ages is a remarkable phenomenon around the world. This research adopts a language-in-education framework to examine how kindergartens in China provide English teaching, and to identify what issues have arisen, in the context of the government ban on preschool English. Qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews with school stakeholders in three kindergartens. Two models of preschool English language provision were found. In one model, visiting foreign teachers deliver one or two lessons per week; in the other, the home-room teachers deliver an English lesson every day. In both models, English is an independent strand which is available to all enrolled children and full of play-based activities and games. The data also reveal issues of concern, in the current policy context, regarding the quality of English teaching and potential social inequalities in terms of access to English learning. The study recommends that the government reconsiders the rationale of the ban and its effects on preschool English provision, and that future research takes a more holistic perspective in studying the quality of early English language education and the implementation of language-in-education planning, particularly in the ‘low-exposure” context. Summary: This research is part of the author’s PhD study exploring how preschool English language education planning is played out at the local education authority level and the kindergarten level in China, in light of top-down reforms to remove English and other primary-level subjects from kindergartens. The major finding of the PhD study is that the interplay between local education authorities and kindergartens, and between government intervention and market mechanisms, has produced a situation where private kindergartens are still offering English classes while public kindergartens have stopped doing so. The present study compares and analyses English language provision and emerging issues in three private kindergartens. The findings point to the need for more attention to policy-making regarding early English language education and the “low-exposure” learning context.