NCLL : printer friendly version [switch back to web view]

Literacy learning in Chinese and Sikh communities

Research officers: Urmi Chana, An Ran

Children's experiences of literacy vary a great deal from one culture to another. Early indications point to differences in teaching and learning styles and different values attached to the written word. For instance, in many communities, considerably more attention is paid to learning by rote and books are given as a reward for achievement rather than as an incentive to learn to read. There would seem to be a very low level of awareness among teachers as to the nature and extent of differences; and a certain suspicion among parents about approaches to teaching commonly used in schools.

Our information on the experiences of literacy in other cultures is, however, fragmentary. The aim of the project was therefore to increase our knowledge by focusing on two important minority communities: the Chinese and the Sikhs. Any work in this area has clear implications for increasing parental involvement in education and the raising of standards in literacy.

Research questions

The project sought to provide answers to the following questions:

What is the range of literacy experiences of children in these two communities?
To what extent are methods of teaching reading and writing at home and in the community different from those used at school?
To what extent are teachers in mainstream schools aware of children's out of school experiences?
What are the implications for mainstream teachers? The findings of this project are reported in the following publication:

An, Ran (2000) Learning to read and write at home: the experience of Chinese children in Britain. In M. Martin-Jones & K. Jones (eds.) Written Language and Literacy. Amsterdam: John Benjamins

For further information contact:

Professor Viv Edwards
National Centre for Language and Literacy
The University of Reading
Bulmershe Court
Reading RG6 1HY

Tel 0118 931 8820
Fax 0118 931 6801
Email V.K.Edwards@reading.ac.uk