Developing in a New Language-Speaking Setting

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of English-language acquisition on the learning experiences of a four-year-old Taiwanese immigrant child in a state kindergarten in New Zealand. Data was collected through child observations and parents' and teachers' interviews. The child's learning experience was analysed based on five behaviours—‘taking an interest’, ‘being involved’, ‘persisting with difficulty’, ‘expressing a point of view’ and ‘taking responsibility’—adopted from the child assessment technique of ‘Learning Stories’ utilised in many childcare services in New Zealand. Results suggested that, regardless of his English-language incompetence, the child demonstrated learning dispositions under two circumstances: first, there was little interaction required between him and the English-speaking children; second, there was a teacher participating in what he was doing. It is suggested that the child's learning outcomes were contingent on the situations in which he found himself.