Literacy Matters Vol 24 Winter 2024

Examining the Chinese Book Corner in a Chinese-English Dual Language Immersion Elementary School Library

Shuang Du

Asian Americans read and use multicultural literature. Among Asian Americans, Chinese Americans are the largest Asian group in the United States (Budiman & Ruiz, 2021). Therefore, more studies should explore Chinese American literature books and how Chinese Americans read and use multicultural literature. Also, many schools, including dual-language immersion elementary schools, may not have enough multicultural books to support their students in learning about diverse cultures and developing language and literacy skills. School libraries are crucial places for children to find books to develop their language and literacy skills and learn about themselves, their families, their communities, and various cultures. Schools and teachers must know what book resources are needed and how to support their students’ language and literacy development and learn more about diverse cultures. It becomes more crucial and urgent for dual-immersion elementary schools where students come from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, few studies explore what book resources are available in dual-language immersion school libraries, and fewer studies examine Chinese-English dual-language immersion elementary school libraries. Thus, it is crucial to have studies that explore the Chinese-English dual-language immersion elementary school libraries to learn about their book resources. This study aims to examine the Chinese book corner in a Chinese-English dual-language immersion elementary school library to learn about the available book resources. This paper is written predominantly for dual-language immersion schools and teachers. This study can provide practical strategies for Chinese-English immersion elementary schools and teachers about improving their book resources. It can also be used for dual-language immersion schools of other languages. The research questions guiding this study are: What books are available in the Chinese book corner of a Chinese-English elementary bilingual library? What are the languages of the books? Who are the authors of the books? What cultures are represented in the books? Who is reflected in the books? Theoretical Framework and Literature Review Multicultural literature has literary and pedagogical definitions (Cai & Bishop, 1994). This study focuses on the pedagogical definition of multicultural literature. The pedagogical definition of multicultural literature defines it as literature that can break the monopoly of mainstream culture and be used to promote multicultural education (Cai, 2002). Short (2016) suggested a recent definition of multicultural literature,

ABSTRACT — This study examined the Chinese book corner in a Chinese-English dual language immersion elementary school to learn about the available book resources. The researcher visited a Chinese-English dual language immersion elementary school in a southeastern city in the United States multiple times from the spring of 2022 to the fall of 2023 to examine the available book resources. This study borrowed multicultural literature as the theoretical framework. The findings have shown that there were fewer books in Chinese or both languages compared to books in English. Also, finding Chinese books that match their interests and language proficiency levels may be challenging for students. In addition, only 32% of the books were written by Chinese authors, and many students may be unable to learn the Chinese language and culture from a Chinese author’s perspective. Only 29% of books are about Chinese culture, and most books about Chinese culture are situated in an ancient setting, which may make it hard for readers to learn what has been happening in China recently. Last, even though 5% of the students in this school were Asian American, only 1% of all the books in the Chinese corner were about Asian Americans. These findings can not only provide practical strategies for Chinese-English dual-language immersion elementary schools and teachers about improving and using their book resources to fit their students’ needs. It can also offer practical strategies for other dual-language immersion schools. Examining the Chinese Book Corner in a Chinese-English Dual Language Immersion Elementary School Library Literacy is the foundation of education. Reading is not only crucial for children to understand diverse cultures but also can support them to develop literacy and language skills. Bishop (1990) believed that children would engage themselves more in reading if they could find themselves in the books they read, and books can be doors, windows, and sliding glass doors for them. Multicultural literature is about people distinguished racially, culturally, linguistically, and in other ways from the dominant mainstream culture, and it is also a way to gain equity for non-mainstreamed cultural groups (Cai, 2002). However, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center’s (2023) data revealed a gap in children’s literature with too few multicultural books that allow children to read about people who belong to marginalized and underrepresented cultural groups. Also, not all cultural groups are equally represented in books and studies. There were few books about Asian Americans in children’s literature (Masuda & Ebersole, 2010). There were also limited numbers of studies that explored how

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Literacy Matters | Volume 24 • Winter 2024 | 19 |

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