The Chinese reading competence of Taiwanese children

The English (L2) immersion programs in Taiwan, have expanded rapidly since 1999. However, there has been little research investigating the impact of these immersion programs on English (L2) immersion children’s Chinese (L1) reading competence. The purpose of the present study was to investigate to what extent Taiwanese children’s Chinese (L1) reading competence is affected by studying in English (L2) immersion programs from kindergarten onwards. Twenty-four Taiwanese children (Grade one to three), studying in two types of primary school programs (Chinese-English bilingual and regular Chinese) were studied. The children’s Chinese and English reading abilities were assessed through oral reading and retelling. As well, the twenty-four children, their parents, and twelve teachers were interviewed about their perceptions and experience in the two programs, in order to explore how environmental factors shape the children’s Chinese (L1) reading competence.