Case Three- Jacky, the Son of the New Resident from Vietnam

The third case to be presented is Jacky. The findings of his attitudes and motivation toward English learning are presented as follows.

Findings from Student Interviews and Post-Observation Interviews

Attitudes and Motivation toward English Learning

Jacky, the son of a Vietnamese mother, was a multilingual. He started to learn English when he studied in kindergarten. He restarted to learn it in the third grade of elementary school. As he stated, he could speak Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, and Japanese. His grandfather taught him Japanese since his grandparents took care of him. Although he could speak four languages, he still hoped that he could speak more languages.

Jacky considered that Mandarin was more important than English and Mathematics although he could benefit from English in the future. In his viewpoint, if he could speak English very well, he could communicate and make business with foreigners without obstacles. Therefore, learning English was not wasting his time. As he emphasized:

I think English is not that important for me. I think Mandarin subject is the most

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important subject. English subject would be the second while the Math comes as the third. To state its [English] importance, I would say it might help me communicate with foreigners and make business with them in the future (SIJ, 20100420)

Jacky was interested in English learning and sometimes was active to learn it. He normally studied English before he went to bed. During the English class, he always jotted down what his English teacher said. Moreover, he always corrected mistakes he made on the English student book and tests. However, when he needed to do English assignments, he usually finished it one day before the due day. He seldom previewed or reviewed his English textbook and assignments.

As Jacky stated, he always asked for clarification when encountering problems.

When he encountered problems at home, he would clarify his doubts by asking his classmates the next day. He always discussed with his classmates during the English class. He considered that understanding the content of the English class was important;

therefore, he would ask his classmates for help. If his classmates could not help him, he would turn to his English teacher.

Jacky was a concentrated English learner. When he studied at home, he always concentrated on his English assignments and never felt sleepy. He always tried to finish it quickly. When he was in class, he always concentrated on the content of English textbook for a whole class period and would not be distracted easily. When his English teacher was giving the lecture, he always patiently listened till the bell rang.

Jacky was confident on his English skills and was somehow self-demanding in his English tests. As he stated, he was not afraid to speak English or be corrected by his English teacher in the class. He did not feel the pressure of writing sentences or

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paragraphs when he was asked to do so. He also reported that he would only be satisfied with grades above 80 on his English tests.

In Jacky’s viewpoint, English grammar was the most difficult part which he needed assistance from others. Sometimes, he did not understand it well during the class. Moreover, he did not understand it sometimes even he had answered it correctly on the English tests.

Jacky considered that the English class of the cram school was more helpful than the one from school. In his viewpoint, English class of the cram school was more helpful since teachers explained more grammar usages than his English teacher from school. However, Jacky enjoyed both class of the cram school and school.

Integrativeness toward English learning

Jacky considered that learning English was important since he could know more about foreigners and their culture. In his impression, foreigners were kind. He would like to speak English fluently in order to communicate and make friends with them.

However, he stated that he would feel nervous if he spoke to them. He also reported that he could learn the knowledge about foreign cultures from the English class. He would like to know more about their language and to be assimilated into their culture when he got a chance. However, he did not have much expectation on it and was not active to know or discover it.

Parents’ Involvement and Perspective toward English Learning

The involvement of Jacky’s parents was low although they considered English was important. According to Jacky, his academic achievement on English subject was not related to his parents although they encouraged him to try his best to study. They considered that learning English was important; however, they never urged him to

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study English or helped him with his English learning. Moreover, they did not even have interest to know what Jacky had learned at school. In his viewpoint, his achievement of English learning was related to his English teacher rather than to his parents. His English teacher was the one who had great influence on his English learning since his English teacher was the one who taught him English.

Findings from Class Observations

Jacky’s attitudes toward English language during the class were normally positive. He always concentrated on what his English teacher said during the class period and followed her instruction to do exercises. He always wrote down grammar usages, vocabulary, the part of speech of a word, and verbal phrases on his English textbook. He underlined sentences that he needed to pay attention to and wrote its translation next to it. He also circled words which he needed to be careful with. When his English teacher wrote sentences or the grammar rules on the blackboard, he always copied it on his English textbook. However, he sometimes just read the content even his English teacher asked every one to underline certain sentences. When checking answers of the English tests, Jacky always paid attention to the explanation of his English teacher and checked it quickly. When Jacky’s English teacher asked questions to other classmates, he always paid attention on what they said. However, Jacky sometimes was distracted during the English class. Sometimes, he did not listen to his English teacher when she was giving the lecture. He sometimes played his pen or his liquid paper. He did not write any note or check any answer since he did not pay attention. However, this often only lasted for a few seconds and seldom happened.

Jacky was always cooperative in English class since he usually followed the instruction of his English teacher. When his English teacher asked the whole class to

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take out their English textbook or reference book, he always took it out quickly. When his English teacher asked questions to the whole class, he sometimes raised his hand immediately and responded to it actively. He always read paragraphs and vocabulary loudly with the whole class as his English teacher requested. He also responded questions with his classmates when the English teacher asked the whole class to answer. He always paid attention to his English teacher even when they were chatting.

He always smiled happily with his classmates and sat silently to listen. When Jacky was asked to stand up and make a complete sentence as the pattern requested by his English teacher, he could respond it correctly. Although he did not pronounce some words correctly, the sentence he made was correct.

Jacky sometimes interacted with his classmates who sat nearby during the class period although the interaction was mostly initiated by his classmates. Sometimes, his classmate talked to him actively and showed a piece of paper to him during the class.

They often talked for a few second and smiled. Mostly they talked when the English teacher was not giving the lecture. Sometimes, they talked when they waited in turn to take their paper back from their English teacher. They sometimes talked when the English teacher was discussing with the class about the school activities or things which were not related to the content of their book. Jacky always interacted more with boys than with girls. Sometimes, he just glanced at the book of a girl who sat behind him rather than had a short talk with her. When he sat near other masculine classmates, he had more interaction during the class period.

Jacky normally got high grades on the vocabulary tests; however, he got low grades on quizzes and exams. He usually got high grades on the vocabulary tests since he prepared for it as his English teacher requested. The students who did not pass the vocabulary tests were normally punished by the English teacher. Therefore, he often got full points on it. However, his grades on quizzes and exams were generally lower

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than the vocabulary tests since it included the multiple choice items, cloze tests, and translations. It seemed that these sections were difficult for Jacky to answer correctly.

Sometimes, he was punished for grades he got on those tests.

Jacky seemed uncertain when doing some activities in English class. When taking the English tests, he mostly could concentrate on it; however, he sometimes answered questions with hesitation. He seemed uncertain about it and had to think for a while before writing slowly on it. He seemed tired and yawned many times when taking quiz. When the test finished, he took out his English book immediately to check whether the answers he wrote were correct or not. Sometimes, he also did the exercise with the hesitation. Instead of answering questions rapidly, he was reading it and waiting the school bell rang. When the bell rang, he closed his book immediately and put it in his bag.

Findings from the New Residents’ Questionnaire

Jacky’s mother, a new resident from Vietnam, considered that her Mandarin proficiency and English proficiency were generally poor (See Table 34 and Table 35).

She reported that she graduated from elementary school in Vietnam and had lived in Taiwan for thirteen years. Her first language was Vietnamese, her second language was Mandarin, and her third language was Taiwanese. Generally, she spoke Mandarin and Taiwanese to Jacky. Due to her low level of Mandarin, she attended the Mandarin Literacy class in Taiwan for three years.

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Table 34

The Self-Perceived English Proficiency Level of Jacky’s Mother English Skills Proficiency Level

Listening Bad

Speaking Poor

Reading Poor

Writing Poor

Table 35

The Self-Perceived Mandarin Proficiency Level of Jacky’s Mother Mandarin Skills Proficiency Level

Listening Good

Speaking Poor

Reading Poor

Writing Poor

Jacky’s mother considered that the economic status of their family was poor although her husband and her provided the income to support their family. Jacky’s father worked as a technician while his mother was a goods inspector. Their family was not rich; therefore, Jacky sometimes had to help his mother to take care of his sibling.

Learning Situation

Jacky’s mother considered that Jacky’s attitudes toward English language were positive. She reported that Jacky had interest in English learning since he sometimes studied English actively. However, she was not sure whether Jacky encountered problems on English subject or not since she never helped him with it. She seldom discussed with Jacky about his English assignments. As she described, she generally only discussed 1 to 2 times in one semester. She did not know whether Jacky had

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confidence on it or not although he sometimes was anxious on English subject. She stated that Jacky normally studied English for less than one hour every day after school without anyone’s assistance. Jacky sometimes did not have time to study English at home since he liked to read novels and had to take care of his younger sister.

As Jacky’s mother reported, Jacky did not attend the cram school. However, he was suggested by his aunt to attend it before. Due to the need to reinforce Jacky’s English, he was sent to the cram school when he studied at elementary school.

Although the cram school could somehow give the assistance on Jacky’s English learning, the fee brought burden to their family.

Parents’ Expectation on the English Learning of Their Children

The expectation of Jacky’s mother on his English learning was low. She reported that she did not request Jacky to perform excellently in his English class. She sometimes cared about Jacky’s grades on English subject; however, she never asked Jacky to perform better on English subject than other subjects. She sometimes reminded him of the importance of English subject and its use in his future and asked him to know more about foreign culture. Although she sometimes hoped that Jacky could study abroad in the future, she never arranged extra English learning activity for Jacky after school or asked him to participate in any English competition. Moreover, she never requested him to practice his English speaking in his daily life.

Parents’ Participation on the English Learning of Their Children

Jacky’s mother seldom participated or helped Jacky to learn English. As she described, she never read English book or magazine with him or taught him strategies to learn English. She never helped him preview or review the content or to make

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correction on his English tests. Sometimes, she checked Jacky’s English assignments actively and asked him whether he encountered problems on his English subject or not. And then she tried to help Jacky solve the problem. However, she never created any learning opportunities for Jacky to learn English or the atmosphere for him to speak English at home. She never ordered any English books or magazines for him to read or arranged English learning activity for him to participate in during the vacation.

Moreover, she never tried to find a chance to communicate with his English teacher.

Findings from the English Teacher’s Interviews and Post-Observation Interviews

Jacky’s English teacher stated that she had taught English for three years;

however, she had never taught any new Taiwanese children before. This was the first time she taught a new Taiwanese child. She stated that she could not discern Jacky as a new Taiwanese child from his appearance or the frequent interaction between Jacky and his classmates. She stated that she did not know whether Jacky’s parents helped him on his English learning or if they cared about it or not. She did not know whether his parents provided him an appropriate learning environment at home or not. She reported that Jacky’s English grades were not very high and were normally around 50 to 70. His rank in class was in the middle (See Table 36).

Table 36

Jacky’s Academic Performance on English Subject

Exam Grade Rank

First

65 25/35

Second

53 27/35

Third

74 15/35

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Learning Situation

Jacky’s English teacher stated that Jacky’s attitudes toward English learning were generally positive. She considered that Jacky’s English skills were generally good (See Table 37). Nevertheless, when comparing Jacky’s English learning ability with other classmates, his ability was bad, particularly on the writing (See Table 38).

Table 37

The Level of Jacky’s English Skills Graded by His English Teacher

Skill Level

Listening Very Good

Speaking Good

Reading Good

Writing Good

Table 38

The Rank of Jacky’s English Abilities from the Highest to the Lowest Rank English Ability

1 Listening

2 Speaking

3 Reading

4 Writing

Jacky’s English teacher did not actively provide Jacky extra assistance on his English subject. She helped him only when he asked questions actively. As she stated, she encountered some problems when teaching Jacky. When she explained grammar and the content of the English textbook, Jacky could not understand it immediately as other classmates. She considered that this might attribute to Jacky’s Mandarin proficiency level and comprehension. Although she considered that Jacky had such a problem, she held a neutral position and did not have any comments on whether the

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school should hold an extra English assistance class for the new Taiwanese children or not.

Finding from the Documentary Collection

Jacky was a concentrated and hard-working student in learning English. He wrote many grammar rules on his English textbook and jotted down the verbal phrases or preposition usages which he should pay attention to. He underlined sentences as the pattern which he should memorize. He also circled prepositions which he should be careful with and wrote down the extra vocabulary which was not included in the vocabulary list of that lesson. Moreover, he wrote some extra sentences on his textbook as supplement and the translation of some words. Generally, the grades he got on his student book were good. He completed many exercises on his English textbook and made some corrections. He also stapled translation quizzes on his textbook as his English teacher requested. However, he sometimes daubed his English textbook. Mostly, he got good grades on his vocabulary test. However, he sometimes seemed not to be well prepared since some of his vocabulary tests were around 50. He made some mistakes on the spelling, and he did not do the translation section of the tests.

Commentary on Jacky’s Case: Overall Description

Jacky, the son of a new resident from Vietnam, was interested in learning English.

Generally his attitudes toward English were positive and his level of motivation was medium. As he stated, English was not the most important subject for him although he considered English was important for his future. He was very cooperative, confident, concentrated and sometimes active on English learning. His grades on English tests were medium. He had good interaction with his classmates although most of the time

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he interacted with boys more than girls. Jacky was positive and open-minded to the foreign culture. However, he did not have much expectation on knowing more about foreign cultures and tradition. Jacky’s mother did not have much expectation and participation on Jacky’s English learning. Jacky’s parents never helped him on his English although they encouraged him to learn more. They did not have the interest of knowing what Jacky had learned in his English class. Moreover, they never created the atmosphere or provided him a chance to enhance his English abilities. Jacky’s English teacher stated that Jacky’s English learning ability was bad. She reported that Jacky seemed to have some Mandarin comprehension problems, particularly when she was explaining the structures of grammar. However, she did not provide any help unless Jacky asked questions actively. She did not know much about the real learning situation that Jacky had at home.

在文檔中 新台灣之子在英文學習上的態度及動機－個案研究 (頁 101-112)