In recent years, there has been an increasing number of English immersion kindergartens In Taiwan. This reflects not only the importance of English in Taiwan's process of globalization, but also the fact that Taiwanese parents are more and more aware of the importance of their children's English education. These English immersion kindergartens are based on the assumption that the earlier children learn a second language, the sooner they will acquire English language abilities equivalent to those of native speakers. Therefore, these kindergartens employ native English speakers from abroad as teachers and promote an English-only environment. Children then learn English subconsciously, thereby acquiring the language abilities of native speakers.
This paper is part of a research project examining ""children's first and second language development in English immersion kindergartens"" by observing three beginner classes of children aged three to six at the Joy American School. After six months of preliminary observation, it has been determined that teaching methods, materials used, parents' use of language at home, cultural and linguistic differences between Chinese and foreign teachers in the schools, and the use of Chinese language in kindergartens by non-English speakers are all significant factors in children's language development. In order to delineate the problems that English immersion kindergartens face in Taiwan, this paper analyzes both children's codeswitching
between Chinese and English as well as how children acquire a second language through making mistakes.
Relation:
Foreign Language Education in the Times of Globalzation Conference Proceedings of English Sessions=國際化時代之外語教學國際會議英文組論文集,pp.59-76
