i THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE “IDEAL CHINESE CHILD”: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TEXTBOOKS FOR CHINESE HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS by Lorita Yung Lin Chiu B.A., University of Calgary, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2011 © Lorita Yung Lin Chiu, 2011 ii Abstract Although previous research has demonstrated that textbooks are laden with explicit and implicit cultural, moral, and ideological values, too few studies have examined language teaching materials, and particularly heritage language textbooks, for such messages. This study is a critical analysis of Chinese as a Heritage Language (CHL) textbooks commonly used in community Chinese schools in North America. Materials from both China and Taiwan were analyzed. Specifically, research questions addressed in the present study are: 1) What are the topics and themes in these textbooks? 2) What are the moral and cultural values embedded in the texts? 3) How are "ideal identities" constructed and conveyed through the reoccurring characters used in the textbooks? Based on discourse analysis, as well as content analysis, this study builds on the notions of D/discourse, literacy, identity and language socialization to explore the construction of the “ideal Chinese child” in the textbooks and how this might impact students’ identity (re)construction. The findings show that the world constructed by the CHL textbooks is distinct from the world most CHL learners reside in. Until CHL textbooks can create meaningful intersections between those worlds, many students may feel ambivalent about or even alienated from the textually constructed heritage and about their own identities. iii Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ viii Dedication ................................................................................................................................. x Chapter 1: Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study ................................................... 4 1.3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 10 1.5 Organization of the Thesis ......................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Discourse, Literacy, Identity and Language Socialization: ............................12 A Review of the Literature ....................................................................................................12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Key Terms ................................................................................................................. 12 2.2.1 Heritage Language ........................................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Chinese as a Heritage Language ...................................................................... 13 2.2.3 The CHL Learners ........................................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Community Chinese Schools: Background and Issues ................................... 15 2.3 Theoretical Frameworks ............................................................................................ 18 2.3.1 Ideological Nature of Textbooks ..................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Textbooks and Language Teaching/Learning ................................................. 20 2.3.3 Discourse(s) and Literacy(ies) ......................................................................... 22 2.3.4 Multiple Discourses ......................................................................................... 24 2.3.5 Identity ............................................................................................................. 25 2.3.6 Language/Literacy Socialization ..................................................................... 27 2.4 Summary .................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 3: Methodology ........................................................................................................31 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 31 3.2 Research Design ........................................................................................................ 31 3.3 Data Sources: The Two Textbook Series .................................................................. 34 3.3.1 Huayu .............................................................................................................. 35 3.3.2 Zhongwen ........................................................................................................ 35 3.4 My Position (Reflexivity) as a Researcher ................................................................ 36 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion .....................................................................................38 iv 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 38 4.2 Research Question #1: What are the Topics and Themes of the CHL Textbooks? .. 38 4.2.1 The Background Themes of the Lessons: Huayu ............................................ 39 4.2.2 The Background Themes of the Lessons: Zhongwen ...................................... 43 4.3 Research Question #2: What are the Moral and Cultural Values Embedded in the CHL Textbooks? ....................................................................................................... 47 4.3.1 Cultural/Moral and Ideological Values ........................................................... 47 4.3.2 Huayu .............................................................................................................. 48 4.3.3 Zhongwen ........................................................................................................ 49 4.3.4 Perseverance and Tolerance ............................................................................ 51 4.3.5 Filial Piety and Family Values ........................................................................ 55 4.3.6 Patriotism ......................................................................................................... 59 4.3.7 Education (The Importance of Learning) ........................................................ 62 4.4 Research Question #3: How are Desired Identities Constructed, and Conveyed Through the Recurring Characters Used in the Textbooks? ..................................... 66 4.5 Discussion and Implications ...................................................................................... 76 Chapter 5: Conclusion ...........................................................................................................82 5.1 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................ 82 5.2 Limitation of the Study .............................................................................................. 85 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research ............................................................................... 85 References .............................................................................................................................. 87 Appendix A: Complete Lists of Cultural and Moral Values ................................................ 101 v List of Tables Table 4.1 List of Unit Titles in Huayu (Books1-9) ................................................................. 39 Table 4.2 Cultural and Moral Values in Huayu ...................................................................... 48 Table 4.3 Cultural and Moral Values in Zhongwen ................................................................ 50 vi List of Figures Figure 4.1 Background Themes of the 108 Lessons in Huayu ............................................... 41 Figure 4.2 Background Themes of the 126 Lessons in Zhongwen ......................................... 43 Figure 4.3 Comparison Between Huayu and Zhongwen—Embedded Themes ...................... 44 Figure 5.1 The Role of Community Chinese Schools: From Separate to Intersecting Cultural and Linguistic Worlds (Third Spaces) .................................................................................... 84 vii List of Abbreviations CCS – Community Chinese School HL – Heritage language CHL – Chinese as a heritage language SLA – Second language acquisition LS – Language socialization PRC – People’s Republic of China ROC – Republic of China (Taiwan) viii Acknowledgements I am indebted to the many people who have encouraged me along the bumpy journey of my academic pursuit. First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and respect to my supervisors Dr. Duanduan Li and Dr. Patricia Duff who have helped direct and channel my passion and enthusiasm in the field of language education in the right direction and guided me to find answers that I sought. Thank you for your invaluable encouragement, guidance, support and patience throughout my study. You have helped me grow as a researcher, and inspired me to look at life with new perspectives. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation for Dr. Rebecca Chau who enthusiastically shared many insights of language teaching as a member of my thesis committee and who was (and is still) so gentle and kind in various exchanges and encounters. It has been a great privilege to work with and learn under such a knowledgeable, supportive and understanding committee who truly devoted their time and caring for their students. I would also like to extend my thanks to the Vancouver Beijing Chinese School who kindly loaned me their textbooks for analysis. Also, I bid my thanks to the staff of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Vancouver, who have generously complied with my various requests and sponsored me textbooks to work with. Thanks to the CRCLLE members and colleagues for sharing exciting insights of their own research interests and experiences; Rachel Wang for sharing her rich and knowledgeable teaching experiences; Jiang Hong, for guiding me and giving me advice throughout my study. The experience of my graduate study was also made much more enjoyable with the support and caring of the friends that I have met in this beautiful city of Vancouver. To Elsie Lee, thank you for been a good friend. You were always there when I needed; you made Vancouver feel like home. I thank all the friends I’ve met through TGSA, especially Karl Wu, Trisha Hsiao, Allen Liu, Saiviq Pasasuwan, and Weiting Guo, thank you all for understanding my grumpiness (especially during the period of thesis writing) and support. You have punctuated my life in a very fascinating way and inspired me to live with optimism. Lastly and most importantly, I would like to thank family. Thank you, Steve, you gave me the strength and courage to go on. You picked me up countless times when I had no strength to get up by myself. You infused me with hope when I thought I had lost all my passion. Words cannot even represent the slightest fragment of my appreciation and gratitude I have for you; without you, I would have been lost. I would like to thank Kawaii, for always being by my side. She forced me in a positive way to get out of the house and exercise everyday to keep up my health. To my little sister, although she may not be aware of it, she was the inspiration of this thesis. I would also like to thank my mother, who has never questioned my path of graduate school. She respected my choice from the very beginning and supported me ix emotionally in every aspect. Mom, you are the bravest woman I have ever known, your strength and perseverance taught me to continue on, and never give up. This journey was not an easy one, and it made me an unpleasant person with ugly tempers at times. Thank you all for your infinite understanding and patience. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten this far. Thank you. x Dedication To my mother, 一位勇敢的母親,帶著兩個孩子, 在這個陌生的國度裡堅強地孤獨著。 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background August 25th, 2011 marked the fourteenth anniversary of my family’s immigration to Canada. The struggle to assimilate into the Canadian mainstream—the journey of “fitting in” while “remembering who you are”—is still an ongoing process and a constant conflict I face. As a young immigrant from Taiwan at the age of fourteen, I still remember the two objectives that were laid down for both my sister and me. The first was to acquire English as fast as possible and the second was to stay rooted within our Chinese heritage. The first objective was accomplished through attending regular public school in the morning and intensive English tutoring sessions in the evening. As for the latter objective, Community Chinese Schools (sometimes referred to as Chinese heritage schools) seemed to be the ideal solution, from my parents’ perspective, especially for my sister who had just finished kindergarten prior to moving to Canada. Since the Chinese school’s curriculum and the teaching materials were designed for young learners who possessed little background learning Mandarin in their home countries, usually those lower than grade 6, I was over- qualified to attend those classes as a student; rather, I was more suitable as a “class assistant.” As a young immigrant who has had certain years of formal school experience in Taiwan, I was familiar and comfortable with the teaching methods utilized by the Chinese school. The teaching methodologies employed in these classes were usually teacher-centred. The teacher was the only one allowed to speak in class and opportunities for students to speak up or interact with the rest of the class were minimal. The means of assessment were also very similar to ones used in Taiwan: quizzes, dictations, midterms and finals were used to evaluate students for all grades. Although the teaching materials were designed by the 2 Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission, Republic of China (Taiwan) specifically for overseas Chinese language education, the content did not seem to differ from my previous textbooks in Taiwan. To a certain degree, Chinese school was teaching Mandarin not as a second language or a heritage language; it was teaching Chinese as a first language. The problem was that the children being taught were situated in a host country where Chinese was no longer their “first” language. Of course, I did not reach this realization until much later; at the time I joined Chinese school this type of educational environment was normal to me. I volunteered as a class assistant in Chinese for a few years and then advanced to become a cultural class teacher and taught cultural activities such as dance and music for all grades. Finally, at the age of twenty I was asked to become a formal class instructor and I then taught grade four for three years. While Chinese school was mostly a teaching experience for me, I had observed my little sister’s trajectory of learning Chinese for almost ten years. Whereas I had grown more interested in and close to the Chinese language, my sister grew further and more distant from it. The more time she spent in Chinese school the more alienated and resentful she became towards the Chinese language. In the end, after 10 years of being “forced” by parents to attend Chinese school, as she described it, she quit learning Chinese. Today, she is able to speak Chinese proficiently, since Mandarin was always spoken in our home, but she could hardly write her own name using Chinese characters. She left the written Chinese language behind, along with its values and traditions. At the time, I felt she had abandoned her heritage. I was always baffled by how two siblings growing up in the same household, and immersed in the same Chinese values, turned out to be so different in their attitudes toward their own 3 heritage. Why was her own heritage language driving her away from the rest of us, from Taiwan, and from all things Chinese? This question became even more troubling as I witnessed some of my own students grow less and less interested in learning Chinese. Throughout my career, I had numerous opportunities to obtain feedback from parents and students about their thoughts on Chinese school. One of the most memorable comments was from a boy in my Grade Four class. He expressed that he wanted to learn Chinese, but he simply did not understand and did not connect with the textbooks. His comments were echoed by a second-generation Chinese- Canadian parent who did not speak Chinese. Her daughter was doing very well in my class, but even they felt one of the biggest challenges they encountered was for her to be “interested in the textbooks.” It was after hearing their comments that I began to study the very textbooks I had used for so many years. I eventually realized that within the content of the textbooks, there was a strong underlying ideology about constructing an authentic Chinese cultural identity, which conflicted with the new reality of at least some immigrant learners in Canada and their families. It was from there that I came to conclude that many Chinese as a Heritage Language (CHL) learners, including my own sister, were lost with--and indeed rebelled against--the concept of “being Chinese” in a society where the mainstream culture is about not only being “Chinese.” To an extent, the curriculum used by Community Chinese Schools was and still is attempting, whether overtly or covertly, to socialize its students to be Chinese as if students were situated in a monolingual, monoethnic society (He, 2004). Being an authentic Chinese therefore entails “performing” their Chinese identities in “mundane everyday practices” (Kang & Lo, 2004, p.105). Textbooks were the tools used to reinforce, and to construct, a 4 single Chinese identity for the CHL students while negating (or ignoring) their other possible identities. As a novice researcher in the field of CHL and perhaps because of the personal struggles I encountered while growing up in Canada as an immigrant youth, I find myself strongly interested in and almost obligated to investigate and understand how language socialization and identity issues (see review in Chapter 2) can affect Chinese learning experiences for students attending Community Chinese School, using those above-mentioned textbooks. 1.2 Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study The increase of immigration to Canada has led to an increasing number of Canadians who report speaking a mother tongue or first language (L1) other than the two official languages, English and French. Among the 6.1 million Canadians reported to speak other L1s, Chinese is now the third largest language group (Statistics Canada, 2007a),1 making Chinese the largest non-European ethnic group in Canada. The recent census also reveals that while there has been a constant decrease in the number of children whose mother tongue is English or French, Canadian children in the age groups 0-4, 5-10 and 11-14 who reported speaking other mother tongues have increased by 25.9%, 12.4% and 19.6% respectively from 2001 to 2006, as illustrated in Figure 1.1 below (Statistics Canada, 2007b). 1 According to the 2006 Census, Chinese languages are categorized in seven major languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shanghainese, as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified). Figure 1.1 Percentage Increase of Children in Mother Mother tongues are now commonly referred they are not the same as the dominant language in society of heritage language schools maintain their culture and language in the earliest establishment of Chinese heritage language schools can be traced back nineteenth century (Chao, 1997; Lee, 1967; Wang, 1996) Chinese now residing overseas, the enrolment of Chinese heritage schools is growing as well. This type of community more often than not the only source heritage language and culture in an educational setting. However, CHL learners, the studies pertaining to the subject of Chine in a Community Chinese Sch 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% Ages 0-4 Percentage Increase of Children with Non Mother Tongues in Canada (2001 -tongue Groups to as heritage languages, especially when . The long history of represents immigrant parents’ aspirations for their children to their new host country. In both Canada and the U.S., . With the growing number of -based weekend school is seen as a major site of instruction, for immigrant children to maintain their for the large number se as a heritage language (CHL) ool (CCS) environment is too few. Ages 5-10 Ages 11-14 -English and Non-French - 2006) % Increase from 2001 5 establishment to the rapidly , and in fact of - 2006 6 The paucity of studies concerned with Chinese schools can be attributed to an inequality in language education in the earlier mainstream educational system (e.g., in Canada and the U.S.) where acquiring English and assimilating into the host country are deemed to be the first and chief priorities for immigrant children (e.g., Hinton, 1999; Zhang, 2010). Learning one’s own heritage language was assumed to be an “at home” practice which was not regarded as the responsibility of mainstream education. Worse yet, maintaining a home language different from that of the mainstream was seen not only by many educators but also by immigrant parents as an impediment to acquiring English and academic success (Cummins, 2005; Guthrie, 1985, cited in Zhang, 2010). Fortunately, heritage language (HL) education is now emerging as a new field of inquiry and is drawing much more scholarly attention than it did previously (Brinton, Kagan & Bauckus, 2008). HL education is now moving from being viewed as a hindrance to assimilation to the mainstream to being viewed as a resource (Campbell & Peyton, 1998; Peyton, Ranard, & McGinnis, 2001). Simultaneous with the trend of revitalizing and promoting HL education, CHL education has also started to receive much more scholarly attention. For instance, the edited volume by He and Xiao (2008) is dedicated to the discussion of CHL education. Within the growing body of literature pertaining to CHL education, few have begun to investigate Community Chinese Schools and their impact and influence on CHL education (Archer, Francis, & Mau, 2009; 2010; Francis, Archer, & Mau, 2009, 2010). Past research has introduced the core structures, and some have identified issues within these schools (Li, 2005; Wang, 1996; Wu, 2006) such as the unsatisfactory outcomes in CHL development and maintenance due to weak school leadership, limited time and resources, inappropriate teaching materials, volunteer-based teachers with minimal training, poorly designed 7 curriculums and out-of-date teaching methods (Li, 2005). Among the many factors contributing to the poor outcomes of CHL development and maintenance in both community programs and credit-based public institutions, the use of inappropriate teaching materials is always highlighted and mentioned as a key factor (Li, 2005; Li & Duff, 2008). There is, however, little empirical research focusing on the issue of Chinese textbooks, a topic I happen to be particularly interested in. Scholars such as Jia and Aaronson (2003) have looked at the differences between CHL learners’ learning trajectories based on several factors including their home background and age of arrival. Students arriving in the U.S. at a very young age, typically before age 9 would have a greater chance of switching their dominant language from Chinese to English within a year of arrival. Maguire and Curdt-Christiansen (2007) also discovered that students demonstrated different levels of affiliation and attitudes towards Chinese school depending on their years spent in Canada and their place of birth. Young immigrants who have immigrated to Canada prior to receiving formal education in their home countries typically share similar tendencies with second generation Chinese children and grow to be more distant toward Chinese culture and language. On the other hand, learners who have received part of their education in their home country and immigrated to a host country in their early adolescence usually have a good foundation in the Chinese language, and tend to possess a strong sense of belongingness in relation to Chinese culture. From my own teaching experiences in a CCS, these two types of students (young immigrants and second generation Chinese vs. adolescent immigrants) indeed exhibit very distinctive attitudes towards the Chinese language and culture. 8 However, textbooks used in the CCS setting do not seem to take into account the dynamics and complexity of CHL learners attending Community Chinese School. Thus, the content of the textbooks is written with a fixed type of audience in mind. This study will examine the content of the textbooks and their impact on these two particular groups of students. I chose to focus my research on textbook analysis to explore how textbooks are used to socialize CHL learners as “ideal Chinese children”. Language socialization (LS) plays an important part in the success of CHL development and its maintenance (Duff & Hornberger, 2008). LS refers to the way in which novice learners of a language are socialized by teachers, relatives, peers, and media to be linguistically and culturally competent members of the target society (Li, 2008; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). The process of LS occurs in many ways. While the school itself is a major site where language socialization takes place, textbooks are another major tool used for LS. Secondly, in the case of CCSs, textbooks are especially important due to the lack of a well-designed curriculum and properly trained teachers. Teachers end up relying heavily upon textbooks to teach and CHL students end up being socialized primarily through the content, activities, images, and ideologies contained in these books. As Sleeter and Grant (1991) write, “Many students may internalize what they are taught in textbooks, although others may marginalize it with their own thinking or reject it outright” (p. 97). One of the main issues is that many CHL learners lose interest and motivation in learning Chinese because they reject the knowledge and ideologies conveyed in the very textbooks that their teaching is centred on. In order to effectively teach CHL students, the source material that instruction is based on must be investigated. 9 In most cases, CCSs are supplied with free textbooks from government offices such as the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC, China). Textbook reformation is the most effective method of improving the quality of CCSs since textbooks have such a tremendous impact on students and due to its nature, can be widely distributed to CCSs established in North America. Finally and most importantly, as a youth from an immigrant family who has experienced Chinese school as both a student, sibling, and teacher, and who also understands the significant impact it has on immigrant children, I believe that I can offer an insider’s perspective to help textbooks bridge the two worlds CHL learners are experiencing in order to bring about more effective CHL education and better the bilingual (or multilingual) life experiences of Chinese- Canadian youth. 1.3 Research Questions The main purpose for this study is to examine how language socialization through textbooks is used to construct a particular identity for CHL learners and how this idealized identity impacts CHL learners’ lives and learning experiences. Current textbooks used in CCSs offer a coherent, static and fixed Chinese identity which potentially conflicts with CHL learners’ identity formation processes. I seek to understand how CCSs socialize their students into proper Chinese values, ideologies, and sociocultural roles, and worldviews through the readings and literacy activities in textbooks and the extent to which textbooks influence and impact students’ identity (re)construction. More specifically, the following questions are addressed in my research: 1) What are the topics and themes in CHL textbooks used in CCSs? 10 2) What are the moral and cultural values embedded in the texts? 3) How are “ideal” Chinese identities constructed and conveyed through the recurring characters used in the textbooks? 1.4 Significance of the Study Most of the applied linguistic research pertaining to CHL has focused on student motivation and language maintenance. Few pioneer studies such as He (2006, 2008) have worked on the development of identity theory and its relationship to CHL education. However, most of the findings in these studies have yet to be applied to the Community Chinese School environment. This study will also use the constructs of discourse, literacy, identity, and language socialization in order to understand the process of HL learning. It is hoped, furthermore, that the study can also provide some concrete implications for improving CHL textbooks to better CHL education in the CCS setting. 1.5 Organization of the Thesis Having contextualized the current study and the rationale for undertaking it in this chapter, Chapter 2 will first introduce the constructs I have used to guide my thesis: discourse, language socialization, language learning and identity, and literacy. It will then provide a literature review on the current state of HL education. I will pay particular attention to issues of language socialization and identity formation in Chinese textbook analysis, also drawing on studies done in Japanese, Korean and Spanish heritage contexts. The review also demonstrates the need for further investigation of this topic as it identifies the gap in existing literature on Chinese community schooling. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the research methodology I have employed for this study. The following chapter, Chapter 4, is an analytical chapter that presents an explanation 11 of how I broke down the selected sets of textbooks for analysis. I also present my findings and discussion. Chapter 5 is the concluding chapter, which summarizes the findings of this research and discusses the contributions of this study. This chapter also presents pedagogical implications and suggestions for future CHL textbooks targeting CCS as well as awareness- raising for current teachers and parents of CHL learners. 12 Chapter 2: Discourse, Literacy, Identity and Language Socialization: A Review of the Literature 2.1 Introduction In this chapter, I first provide definitions for the key terms I have used throughout this thesis, such as heritage language. Second, I discuss the nature of textbooks and I review literature focusing on language textbook analysis. Finally, I introduce important theoretical constructs that framed and guided my research: discourses, literacy, identity, and language socialization. In particular, I focus on the linked phenomenon of literacy-identity-and- language as found in language textbooks. Together, these concepts have guided and inspired me to understand CHL learning as a holistic, sociocultural and potentially transformative process. 2.2 Key Terms 2.2.1 Heritage Language Fishman’s (1964) proposal for establishing language maintenance and language shift as a field of inquiry is one of the most influential studies on heritage language maintenance in the United States in the 20th century. While the notion of heritage language and the practice of learning one’s heritage language has existed for a long time, heritage language education has only emerged in the past two decades as a new field of inquiry due to its recent recognition as a valuable national and personal resource (see Brinton et al., 2008). The term heritage language is reported to have originated in Canada in the 1970s, and in the Canadian context, heritage language refers to languages other than the two official languages, English and French, and the indigenous languages. The exclusion or inclusion of indigenous language 13 as heritage language depends on the writer but from a Canadian Government perspective, they belong to different categories (Duff, 2008; Duff & Li, 2009). On the other hand, in the United States, the meaning of the term heritage language resonates with its previous forms such as “home language” and “mother tongue,” which denote languages other than English spoken by Americans at home. Now scholars in North America in general have begun to use the term heritage language to replace all the other forms, though other designations exist in Australia and the United Kingdom. Researchers have proposed several definitions for heritage language and its learners. Fishman (2001) divides heritage language into three groups: indigenous, colonial, and immigrant language. These categories are useful in defining heritage language and speakers in terms of giving a broad sense of the different groups of each heritage language and their historical ties (Hornberger & Wang, 2008). Polinsky (2008) further defines heritage language as the language that an individual first acquires but which has not been completely acquired because of the switch to another dominant language (p. 149). Having defined HL, I then draw on the most widely accepted definition from Valdés (2001) to define HL learners. According to Valdés, an HL learner is a language learner who is raised in a home where a language other than English (e.g., Chinese) is spoken and who is to some degree bilingual in English and in the HL. 2.2.2 Chinese as a Heritage Language The word Chinese, from my perspective, is a contested term. To avoid confusion, I use the term Chinese in this thesis as a cultural or ethnic term rather than denoting a specific nationality. It is important to note that Chinese is an umbrella term encompassing various dialects that can be grouped into seven major categories: Mandarin, Wu, Yue, Min, Xiang, 14 Hakka and Gan. These dialects are often mutually unintelligible, even within the same dialect group. These dialects are spoken all over the globe across different graphical locations in the Chinese Diaspora. Here, the language Chinese refers to Mandarin, which is now the most widely taught language in overseas Community Chinese Schools (CCSs), public and post- secondary institutions and the bilingual education system. 2.2.3 The CHL Learners As discussed in Chapter 1, the student population in CCSs can largely be grouped into two categories. Their characteristics are as follows: 1. Students who immigrated to Canada with some years of formal education experience in their home country. They are, to a degree, bilingual and biliterate in Chinese and English. Typically, they attend Community Chinese School as volunteer class assistants (e.g., myself), or enrol in classes that are a few grades higher than their usual mainstream school grades. 2. Students who are also immigrant children but immigrated to Canada at a relatively young age and who have no previous or minimal schooling experience in Chinese. This category also includes second-generation overseas Chinese children who were born in Canada and whose parents may or may not possess the ability to speak Chinese. Generally speaking, these children may be bilingual but in most cases are not biliterate. Whether or not a student is literate in Chinese is a crucial factor that may have tremendous impact on their identity formation. That is because not only “is language seen as an integral part of the development of the self, the mind and the society” (He, 2008a, p. 4), 15 but through the process of becoming literate a person can further develop his/her cultural identity, which will facilitate his/her sense of belongingness. The concepts of language, literacy and identity will be discussed in the later sections. 2.2.4 Community Chinese Schools: Background and Issues In a Diaspora situation, home is usually the earliest site where a CHL learner is exposed to Chinese. As a child enters mainstream education, Chinese parents typically enrol their children in CCSs to learn Chinese. Aside from home, CCSs are usually the major site where CHL learners obtain their Chinese schooling experience overseas. However, because CCS classes are usually run on Saturdays and Sundays in rental schools or churches (Chao, 1996) and are deemed as unofficial schooling, many students perceive this education as less important or even burdensome (Archer et al., 2009). This unfavourable aspect, coupled with insufficient government aid, resulted in the relatively low status of such “education” in the society, hence few studies of the pedagogy, environment or “ecology” of CCSs in the research field. This oversight may also reflect a failure of the current mainstream educational system in most parts of Canada to recognize the value of HL education. In the small body of research concerning CCSs, a collection of essays edited by Wang (1996) offered insight into the structure and background of CCSs in the United States. Topics include administrative structures, school curriculum and teaching materials, pedagogy, teacher development, and relation with mainstream education. This discussion provides readers with a general understanding of the infrastructure of a standard CCS, as well as some of the key issues and problems faced by Chinese schools in the United States. Typically, Chinese schools are operated by local communities and are usually founded and funded by parents who are interested in developing and maintaining children’s 16 Chinese language ability and cultural traditions (Wang, 1996). These schools usually offer classes for three hours on Saturdays or Sundays (Chao, 1996). While some schools are supported by government sectors from Taiwan or Mainland China that promote Chinese learning, parental collaboration is usually the major source of support for the operation of Chinese schools. Wang (1999) also provides a historical development of Chinese language schools in the U.S. She points out that although parents have tried to maintain the Chinese heritage and reverse language shift through organizing Chinese schools, it is simply not sufficient, because without aid and recognition from the mainstream culture, “Chinese school alone cannot elevate Chinese from the weak diglossic domains of home and community in an American context” (p. 278). Wang argues that poor curriculum and pedagogical deficiencies are not the sole reason for the seemingly low achievements by the CHL students in CCS. When the access to power, in the larger social context, points to English, language shift becomes inevitable. In the U.K., Archer et al. (2009) conducted research using an ethnographic approach to investigate students’ perception of the teaching and learning in Chinese schools. The study revealed that while students did express some negative comments that are stereotypically associated with Chinese schools, there was also substantial positive feedback from students. Many students perceive Chinese school as an “idealized” learning environment where learning is taken more seriously and students are less disruptive compared to mainstream schools. They also suggest that Chinese school seems to have a “holistic” approach to teaching as it tries to incorporate more cultural activities. Unlike in mainstream education where there is a tight agenda to follow, teachers in Chinese schools are able to adopt different 17 teaching styles. However, Archer et al. (2009) suggested that despite some students’ enthusiasm towards Chinese school, there “seems to be little evidence currently of a cross- fertilisation of views and expertise between the two spheres” (p. 494). The “two spheres” refers to the Community Chinese Schools and the public, formal education systems. Archer’s findings coincide with Wang’s (1999) argument that only by establishing a linkage (“a bridge” in her term) between both systems of education—the “weak side” [Chinese schools] and “the strong side[mainstream education],” where Chinese language is recognized and valued—can we elevate the status and reverse the language shift of Chinese. Their findings strongly suggest that a bridge needs to be built for students to make connections between Chinese schools and mainstream schools in order to maximize the benefits of Chinese schools and to minimize the “marginalized” status of CHL learners. Jiang (2010) also provides a history of heritage language schooling in British Columbia and exampled the textbooks and materials used as well as some of the political ideologies inculcated in the schools during different periods of Canadian and Chinese history and how they served to positioned young learners of Chinese in Canada. In the preceding section, I have discussed the status and difficulties Chinese schools face within the larger social context. Issues within Chinese schools, however, cannot be overlooked. While I agree with Wang’s argument that poor curriculum design and pedagogies are not the only source fuelling the less than satisfactory results in language learning in Chinese schools, improvement on some salient issues is needed in order to increase the effectiveness of Chinese schools. Wang (1999) and Li and Duff (2008) have identified inadequate teaching materials such as textbooks as one of the major issues CHL education faces. Although a variety of textbooks designed for teaching and learning Chinese 18 as an additional language can be seen in the market today, there is still a dire need for suitable materials written for CHL learners (Wang, 1999). To improve the quality of CCSs, textbooks are an important area I wish to explore. In the section above, I have provided definitions of key terms used in this thesis as well as the background and issues of Community Chinese Schools. It is against this particular backdrop that I based my research. 2.3 Theoretical Frameworks 2.3.1 Ideological Nature of Textbooks I begin this section by introducing the nature of textbooks in a general sense. I take the position that only by understanding the seemingly simple but in fact complex nature of textbooks can educators in the CHL field further realize the importance and make the best use of textbooks in CHL language teaching. Textbooks and other teaching materials are an essential part of education. They are one of the key components in the constitution of a good curriculum. Even within a well- developed curriculum, most teachers rely on textbooks as the basis of their structuring of class content, such as lesson plans and class activities. Educators have long recognized the power of textbooks; textbooks are essentially the dominant forms of curriculum and teachers more often than not rely solely on textbooks (Goodlad, 1984; McCutcheon, 1980, 1981, 1995, cited in Yen, 2000). But what makes textbooks so important? From a critical curriculum perspective, it is the nature of education that assigns textbooks such a crucial role, because a school curriculum is itself a deliberate organization and sites for the selection of and transmission/reproduction of the dominant culture, and the textbooks selected become the 19 major ideological transmitter for conveying the dominant beliefs and values of the society (Apple, 1992). In the early work of critical curriculum, scholars such as Luke (1988) and Apple (1991) argued that in any give era, the organization and selection of knowledge that constitute school curricula is an ideological process which exercises a form of social control, which in turn serves the interest of a particular social group and class—those in power. Luke (1988) argues that the modern corpus of school knowledge is no longer “imposed in an unmediated and coercive manner” but rather “the process of cultural incorporation is dynamic, reflecting both continuities and contradictions of that dominant culture and the continual remaking and relegitimization of that culture’s plausibility system” (Luke, 1988, p. 24). Although the knowledge embedded in textbooks may have moved from “imposition” to “negotiation” in recent decades, at least from a curriculum theory perspective, textbooks are a far cry from being neutral. The incorporation of perspectives and knowledge of the less powerful (the dominated) exists only under the umbrella of the discourse of the dominant groups (Apple & Christian-Smith, 1991). In other words, by presenting “dynamic, fair, and integrative” perspectives in textbooks, the dominant culture and knowledge retains and claims its legitimacy. Apple and Christian-Smith (1991) further point out that although textbooks are designed in ways to reflect “what a society has recognized as legitimate and truthful” (p. 4)—or what “we” have decided as official knowledge—the fact is that “we” includes only specific groups of people from the dominant culture. What is presented in textbooks is merely “selective tradition” (William, 1989). Studies following this framework are mostly seen in social studies analyses of history 20 textbooks. Barnard (2001), for example, examined how Japanese textbooks portray controversial topics such as “the rape of Nanking.” Chen (2002) and Su (2007), on the other hand, studied how state-controlled and published history textbooks have been used to establish, maintain and legitimatize the control of the Kuomintang regime in Taiwan. Maslak (2008) conducted research which examined textbooks used for Tibetan students in India and her findings suggested that even though tailored for Tibetan students, the textbooks still supports the national ethos of the majority (Indian) while Tibetans (people) are neglected, making the image of Tibetans marginalized in the Indian educational system. In sum, since textbooks themselves are authoritative—authorized by the state and the schools (Olson, 1989), they are used by the state or those in power to transmit selected information, “facts” and contending ideologies to maintain balance and needs between the dominant cultures and the subordinate or minority cultures (Apple, 2003). 2.3.2 Textbooks and Language Teaching/Learning Language textbooks are no exception to the ideological nature of textbooks. Because textbooks are imbued with the culture, values and ideologies of the target-language society, researchers in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), especially those in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) areas, have undertaken a series of investigations examining the relationship between textbooks and language learning. Culture is often one of the most discussed and depicted topics in the classroom and in textbooks. In a Japanese EFL context, Duff and Uchida (1997) highlighted that “cultures manifested and constructed in each classroom represented many elements, created by teachers, students, and others and shaped to a large extent by other factors, such as institutional goals and course textbooks ” (p. 479). They argued that fostering crucial awareness regarding issues of cultural identity and 21 the curriculum is essential in both EFL and ESL contexts. This view is shared by much research in ESL/EFL textbooks analysis. Ndura (2004), in her analysis of six ESL textbooks, discovered that omission, invisibility and stereotyping of certain cultural elements are often embedded in the texts. She argued that only by presenting multiple cultural perspectives in the textbooks can students learn to uncover and confront cultural biases in their daily surroundings and to facilitate their intercultural learning. Case, Ndura and Righettini (2005) echo Ndura’s findings by placing emphasis on increasing language teachers’ critical language awareness so that teachers may become more acute in evaluating the embedded ideologies in textbooks so as to address discourse in the lives of students. Textbooks not only convey culture and ideology, they also offer another important site for students to construct, negotiate and reflect their identity. Gender identity is one of the most examined topics in terms of identity issues relating to textbooks. Numerous studies have set out to investigate sexism embedded in language textbooks and the findings all point to the implicit sexism manifested itself in textbooks in their portrayal of boys and girls, males and females engaging in stereotyped activities that may not reflect the actual diversity of their social roles (Evans & Davies, 2000; Hartman & Judd, 1978; Lee & Collins, 2008; Porreca, 1984; Rifkin, 1998; Suaysuwan & Kapitzke, 2005). Similarly, scholars such as Matsuda (2002) and Taylor-Mendes (2009) have examined racial stereotypes in EFL/ESL textbooks used in Japan and Brazil, respectively. It is worth noting that in his study, Taylor- Mendes focused his analysis of images used in textbooks, which also contain a tremendous amount of racial stereotyping. Liu (2005a, 2005b) examined a series of L1 Chinese language textbooks for Chinese children used in China. His findings suggest that language textbooks are also used as a 22 medium for the government to maintain social control, for example by providing content that instils patriotic identities in students rather than content that suits the interests of the children. In the case of textbooks tailored to the needs of overseas CHL students, most textbooks have toned down the political messages that are commonly seen in their counterparts in the countries in which the books were produced and published (e.g., Taiwan, China). However, CHL textbooks are still not neutral. One important study by Curdt-Christiansen (2008) analyzed a series of CHL textbooks used in Montreal, Canada and discovered that they were laden with Chinese values. The problem with textbooks that feature only Chinese values is that immigrant Chinese students were situated in a context where different values and ideologies (mainstream Canadian and Chinese) were constantly clashing and being negotiated. Therefore, students should no longer act as silent, empty vessels awaiting ideologies to be poured into their minds, as promoted in traditional Chinese culture. Rather, according to Curdt-Christiansen, educators should “instil in children the ability to read, to critically analyse texts and to use language in an efficient way to convey their viewpoints and express their thoughts and opinions” (p. 111). However, Curdt-Christiansen did not explicitly link her findings to how textbooks may impact CHL students’ identities in a multicultural setting such as Montreal. As CHL education is a relatively new field, there is an obvious gap in the literature on CHL textbook analysis. The importance of textbooks and the gap in research have inspired me to select textbooks as the focus of this thesis. 2.3.3 Discourse(s) and Literacy(ies) Gee’s (2008) notion of Discourse has guided my understanding of the complex relationship between language, literacy, and identity and their connection to the larger social, 23 cultural context. Discourse (with a capital D) and discourses (lower case d) can be understood as context and language, respectively. In Gee’s argument, in order to examine “discourse” we need to understand the “Discourse” (with a capital D) in which the discourse (language) was situated. While discourses denote the actual spoken or written utterance of a language, Discourses refer to the background, the social, historical context in which the discourse is produced, comparable to ideologies. Gee defines Discourses as: ways of acting, interacting, valuing, feeling, dressing, thinking, believing, with other people and with various objects, tools and technologies, so as to enact specific socially recognizable activities. (p. 155) Therefore, discourses are just part of larger prevailing Discourses—and Discourses are not formed arbitrarily but instead constitute and represent a set of beliefs, values, and ideologies; they are a set of acts, which have been repeatedly demonstrated and performed within a given sociocultural context, that became the core of a particular society. Hence, every society has its preferred and valued Discourses and discourses. In other words, Discourses are always more than languages, and while Discourses operate on the macro level, discourses represent the micro level—in this case at the level of language use. Literacy then, just as discourse, is situated, woven into the fabric of a particular time and space. If we take discourse or literacy apart from the larger Discourses, then literacy and discourses serve no meanings or functions. Language learning and literacy practices are sociocultural practices that are tied to a particular worldview shared by many members in society. Therefore, language learning and literacy practices are not ideologically neutral since they always reflect the values and cultures of the social context that produces them. In other words, when learning a language or reading a book, a text, or a passage, not only are learners acquiring the linguistics elements but also they receive cultural knowledge, information, 24 social bias, privileges and appropriate ways of acting that are embedded in the language or text (Curdt-Christiansen, 2008). Through literacy practices, learners are being socialized into a set of values, beliefs of the Discourses. Building on Gee’s notion of discourse and literacy, Freire and Macedo's (1987) concept of “reading the word and the world” has helped me to reach a further understanding of literacy, language and identity. I understand words and world not as two separate entities, but rather as a concurrent process: acquiring words through reading (and sometimes writing) facilitates the construction of a particular worldview. By understanding words, learners also project themselves in that particular world and in which allow them to “understand themselves in their relation to their world” (Curdt-Christiansen, 2008, p. 96). Therefore, an “identity process” (Lo-Philip, 2010) can also take place through literacy. As readers construct their place in relation to the world they are reading, they take up, form, negotiate or transform different social identities. 2.3.4 Multiple Discourses As discussed above, Discourses comprise the rough skeleton we rely on to build our conception of the world around us. However, it is important to note that there is not a coherent, singular, mono-form of Discourse, literacy, or identity. A society can encompass different Discourses just as a learner can be exposed or have access to different literacies depending on which domains they are associated with (Barton & Hamilton, 2000). When we are born, the first Discourse we are exposed to is called the primary Discourse (Gee, 2008). We are then socialized into this primary Discourse, which in turn gives us our initial sense of self, a “culturally specific vernacular identity” (Gee, 2008, p. 156). Gee describes primary Discourse as a fluid entity that changes over time and calls it “life world Discourse” 25 (Habermas, 1984 as cited in Gee, 2008, p. 157). All the Discourses we acquire later in life, beyond our primary Discourse, such as through schools, institutions, communities, and so forth, are called secondary Discourses. Gee explains that As we are being socialized early in life, secondary Discourses very often play an interesting role. Primary Discourses work out, over time, alignments and allegiances with and against other Discourses, alignments and allegiances that shape them as they, in turn, shape these other Discourses. (Gee, 2008, p. 157) The concept of primary and secondary Discourses is very crucial to the education of CHL learners. At home, CHL learners are exposed to a primary Discourse typically laden with Chinese values, language and knowledge. However, as they grow up and are exposed to secondary Discourses—also known as the mainstream, dominant Discourse in Diaspora contexts such as Anglophone western Canada—CHL learners’ primary Discourse will change. In the more successful cases, CHL learners grapple to learn, fuse and integrate these two often conflicting Discourses and produce a hybridized Discourse where they can find themselves in both worlds. Unfortunately, more often than not, the primary Discourse, in conflict with the dominant non-Chinese one, gets marginalized and eventually lost (Fillmore, 1991). Discontinuity and disconnection with HL literacy amongst Chinese immigrants often occurs as a means to gain acceptance in mainstream schooling (Li, 2003, 2006). What comes with the loss of HL literacy is often the loss of cultural identity associated with HL. Thus, the price to pay for integration and admission to the mainstream society is often the renunciation of self (Cummins, 1997). 2.3.5 Identity In this section I further explore my understanding of the term identity. Before I began to pursue my journey towards a master’s degree, I understood identity as fixed, singular and 26 static. In my perception, identity was linked to one culture, one society, or to use Gee’s notion, one Discourse—and one integrated, stable sense of self. However, when a person encounters multiple cultures or Discourses, his or her identity is consequently fragmented and confused. In my own case, as a young Taiwanese immigrant, I spent the last fourteen years wondering who I was—not able to completely perform my Taiwanese identity, yet at the same time not able to find my place in this new country (Canada) I have called “home” for more than half of my life. Because I clung to the thought of one identity, I could not negotiate or transform myself; I could not find peace. However, a poststructural approach to identity allows me to view identity not as a fixed entity, but rather as an evolving, changing self concept. Moreover, it is multiple, fluid and a site of struggle (McKay & Wong, 1996; Menard-Warwick, 2005). With these characteristics of identity in mind, I also adopted Peirce’s (1995) notion of investment to further understand and expand my knowledge of identity and language learning. I find Peirce’s notion of investment and identity particularly helpful. The notion of investment sees a learner as having a complex identity and multiple desires. How much a learner invests in an identity will ultimately influence language acquisition. Drawing on Peirce’s notion of investment, McKay and Wong (1996) stressed that: When language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with target language speakers, but they are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world. Thus, an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner’s own social identity. (p. 579) Hence, the relationship between identity and language is bi-directional; how much learners invest in a language will affect the social identity that connects with the target language, while on the other hand investment in a particular social identity will influence 27 target language acquisition. Scholars who have adopted Peirce’s notion of investment in both SLA and HL education have yielded similar findings that suggest the existing identities learners bring into the classroom and the identities learners are asked to assume all have an impact on their language learning (McKay & Wong, 1996; Menard-Warwick, 2005; Potowski, 2004; Tse, 2000). 2.3.6 Language/Literacy Socialization Language socialization (LS) is a concept that explores how individuals are socialized though the use of language and how they are socialized to use language (Ochs, 1986; Ochs & Schieffelin, 2008; Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). Socialization through the use of language is implicit (Cook, 1999; Duff, 2007); it is by participating in daily routines, activities and social interactions in the target society that novices learn to act a certain expected way—they become culturally competent members of the target society. On the other hand, the explicit socialization usually takes place when explicit instructions of the expected social (and linguistic) norms of the target community are given to the novices (Cook, 1999; Duff, 2007). Since learning languages is intrinsically linked to the construction of social roles, identity, cultural affiliations, beliefs and values, acquiring a language always means acquisition of a particular worldview (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). Language socialization, however, is not always a smooth and peaceful process. As discussed before, a society usually constructs and is constructed by multiple Discourses. When children are exposed to different cultures the “process of acquiring a language(s) may involve the intersection of multiple/different cultural values and beliefs and multiple social contexts of socialization” (Li, 2006, p. 358). Depending on their socialization, learners may 28 encounter either complementarities or conflicts during the process of multiple language socialization, and the result will have a significant impact on their identity development. In their research examining teachers’ negotiation and socialization of sociocultural identities in an EFL classroom, Duff and Uchida (1997) noted that due to time constraints, teachers are not able to design their own syllabus; thus, “the table of contents in the assigned commercial textbooks was the de facto course syllabus” (p. 469). The same situation is seen in CCSs, as the reliance on textbooks by teachers inadvertently elevates textbooks’ curricular status and importance from a guide to a source or even the curriculum itself. The rich cultural and linguistic messages (Risager, 1991 as cited in Duff & Uchida, 1997) embedded in textbooks are used by the teachers to socialize students into a “domain of knowledge, beliefs, affect, roles, identities and social representations” (Duff, 1995, p. 508). It is noteworthy that language socialization, like social interaction, is not unidirectional. Cultural and linguistic knowledge is not only transmitted and communicated from the experts of the target society to the novice, it is also negotiated, contested and sometimes transformed between the experts and the novices (He, 2003). One difference between a language socialization perspective and Gee’s perspective described earlier, however, is that in the former, scholars tend not to differentiate primary and secondary socialization, particularly in multilingual environments where children may be negotiating multiple Discourses from birth. Furthermore, in most language socialization work, it is assumed that one is constantly being socialized, throughout one’s entire life, into new ways of using one’s first language and literacy skills (discourses) as new contexts require new uses. The same is true for additional languages such as CHL (Duff & Hornberger, 2008). 29 2.4 Summary Gee’s notion of D/discourses lays out the overarching theoretical framework which provides me with a lens to examine the intricate relationship between language, literacy and identity. The sense of identity is formed and (re)constructed through the process of becoming literate (Ferdman, 1990; Li, 2000; Norton, 1997). A person’s affiliation with a particular language either empowers or disables his/her sense of belonging to the group that uses the language. There is a rich body of research on how language and literacy socialization impacts learner identity in the field of SLA (Bell, 1997; Duff, 2010; Lam, 2000; McKay & Wong, 1996; Norton, 1997; Peirce, 1995; Siegal, 1995; Tse, 2000, 2001). However, as reported by Lynch (2002), He (2008b, 2008c) and Lo-Philip (2010), HL learners’ process of acquiring HL, although sharing many similarities with second/foreign language learners, cannot be fully captured by earlier theories in SLA or foreign language acquisition. Studies have borrowed lenses from SLA to examine HL education by investigating issues such as literacy and the impact of identity for CHL learners. A few scholars have worked on linguistic aspects of literacy development in CHL learners (Koda, Lu, & Zhang, 2008; Koda, Zhang, & Yang, 2008). Xiao (2008) provided an overview of a CHL home literacy environment and concluded that literacy practice is generally insufficient and inadequate in most Chinese homes. Xiao’s finding reflects why many CHL learners are so disinterested in learning Chinese. Because CHL learners in the home are often not exposed to age-appropriate reading materials in Chinese, a sense of Chinese cultural identity cannot be fully developed through the process of Chinese literacy. In this case, I argue that the textbooks provided by Chinese schools are one of the major sources of literacy exposure of CHL learners but they may not 30 be effective either. It is therefore even more imperative to examine the literacy processes embedded in the textbooks used by CCSs. Unfortunately, no studies thus far have connected literacy and identity with CHL textbooks. This review, in addition to introducing theories I have adopted for my analysis in later chapters, also illuminates the current discrepancy in the CHL literature which serves as part of my rationale for embarking on this research. 31 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Introduction The main subject of my research is the analysis of the textbooks currently used by CHL students in the CCS setting. From my own experience teaching at Chinese schools, due to underdeveloped curricula coupled with ill-prepared teacher training programs, CHL teachers rely heavily on textbooks and generally teach in accordance with the textbooks. In fact, the reliance on textbooks as the sole source of knowledge was documented in a survey conducted by Mikk (2000). According to Mikk, teachers relied on textbooks when structuring about 90% of each lesson. As the knowledge carriers, CHL textbooks become CHL learners’ primary source of Chinese literacy exposure since most CHL students are reported to have few other reading materials at home (Xiao, 2008b). Thus, content and ideas conveyed in the textbooks have a dramatic effect on the shaping of their identities. Students generate value systems according to the knowledge they acquire—whether this knowledge is accepted or rejected. As Sleeter and Grant (1997) wrote: “Even if students forget, ignore or reject what they encounter in the textbooks, textbook content is still important because it withholds, obscures or renders unimportant many ideas and areas of knowledge” (p. 97). Taking the importance of textbooks and their impact on CHL education and CHL learners into consideration, I decided to investigate the two textbook series that are the most broadly distributed and widely used by CCSs (described under Data Sources, Section 3.3). 3.2 Research Design My three research questions are: 1) What are the topics and themes of these textbooks? 2) What are the moral and cultural values embedded in the texts? 32 3) How are “ideal” Chinese identities constructed and conveyed through the recurring characters used in the textbooks? These research questions guided my analysis. First, I explored the topics and themes included in the textbooks because they reflect “what the author or publisher wants to foreground, or what she thinks will make the book attractive to instructors and students” (Leeman & Martines, 2007, p. 38). In this sense, we get an understanding of what values and ideologies, besides the importance of language skills, the authors or publishers deem important for CHL students, whether there are differences in these values between the two sets of books, and whether these values and ideologies reflect those valued in the real worlds of CHL learners in Diaspora contexts. Second, I examined the actual content of these textbooks, paying particular attention to reading sections for their cultural, moral, and ideological-related values or Discourses. This analysis further highlighted cultural and moral ideologies embedded in the textbooks. I also selected representative excerpts from each set of textbooks to illustrate how cultural and social themes are portrayed to the readers. Finally, I examined recurring characters (roles) to see how these cultural carriers reflect cultural and moral values. In order to understand the major cultural, moral and ideological values (Discourses) embedded in the textbooks, I first applied content analysis. According to Krippendorff (2008), content analysis allows a “researcher to analyze relatively unstructured data in view of the meanings, symbolic qualities, and expressive contents they have and of the communicative roles they play in the lives of the data’s sources” (p. 44). Furthermore, content analysis can also be done qualitatively as researchers need to be culturally competent to decode and understand latent or implicit messages. Thus, utilizing content analysis has allowed me to 33 illuminate the key cultural values in texts to see where the emphasis lies generally within the textbooks. However, as suggested by Pingel (2010), content analysis “can tell us a great deal about where the emphasis lies and about selection criteria, but nothing about values and interpretation” (p. 67, emphasis mine). Hence, in order to examine the values embedded in these textbooks, I then used discourse analysis to examine outstanding features qualitatively. In the area of textbook research, various kinds of discourse analysis are commonly used as an instrument to: Find out what the author regards as important, what he or she feels needs to be explained and what he or she takes for granted. Which topics are supported by visuals, which are summarised and which are selected for inclusion in the exercises for students. (Pingel, 2010, p. 71) In particular, I chose Gee’s (2011) version of critical discourse analysis to guide the thesis. Gee argues that all discourse analysis needs to be critical because, Their [critical discourse analysts’] goal is not just to describe how language works or even to offer deep explanations, though they do want to do this. They also want to speak to and, perhaps, intervene in, social or political issues, problems and controversies in the world. They want to apply their work to the world in some fashion. (p.9) He stresses that the way we use language determines how social goods are distributed. Social goods in a society, according to Gee, refer to “money, status, power, and acceptance on a variety of different terms” (p.7). Therefore, by understanding the language in the textbooks that is taught to CHL learners, we get a sense of the relationship between the language they are taught and the social goods that come along with this language. I want to stress that my goal is not to criticize nor assess the quality of these textbooks. There is no doubt that these books represent the great effort of the editors and authors to promote Chinese language learning. Rather, my intention is to explore and understand the discourse of these textbooks, and how these D/discourses serve as sites of reproduction of Mainland or 34 Taiwanese Chinese identities for CHL students and how they may impact CHL students’ identity transformation—or in Gee’s term, how this identity may impact the kinds of social goods CHL students receive, and ultimately, how we can develop more effective textbooks for CHL education. 3.3 Data Sources: The Two Textbook Series The data used in this research are from two sets of textbooks, Huayu and Zhongwen. Although both were published for the purpose of CHL education in CCSs, they were published by different foreign affairs offices, Huayu in Taiwan and Zhongwen in China. The inclusion of textbooks from both Taiwan and China makes the analysis more comprehensive and at the same time allows this research to achieve more credibility since most of the weekend Chinese schools in North America are either Taiwan-based or China-based. Furthermore, both textbook series are currently widely used in Western Canada. These two sets of textbooks share some commonalities in terms of the organization of the textbooks. Each set contains twelve textbooks that range from levels 1-12, and two workbooks are supplementary for each level. Each textbook comprises several units consisting of one core text coupled with supplementary reading passages, as well as exercises in speaking, reading and, mostly, writing. Mini-activity games are common to both sets of textbooks, while their corresponding workbooks share similar exercises to promote reading and writing skills. On the surface, the most obvious difference between these two sets is in the writing systems used: Huayu is written in original (traditional) characters (zhengtizi) whereas Zhongwen utilizes simplified characters (jiantizi). While Huayu has yet to be published in simplified form, Zhongwen has produced an original-character version as well. 35 Each set of textbooks has clearly laid out objectives in its preface: Huayu explains that “This series is designed and written for Community Chinese Schools all over the world” (p. 2). Similarly, Zhongwen states that “the course materials [of Zhongwen] were written for Overseas Chinese and their children” (p. 3). Furthermore, Huayu states that the design of the textbooks sought to find a balance between “teaching second foreign language” and “first language” (p. 2). Zhongwen also claims that it is designed “based on pupils’ age, milieu and physiological characteristics” (p. 3). Both textbooks were designed with an intention to suit the needs of CHL learners learning Chinese in the Community Chinese Schools. In the following section, I provide a short background for each set of textbooks. 3.3.1 Huayu Huayu is published by Liou Chwan Cultural Publishing in collaboration with the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan). The first edition of Huayu was published in 1978. The second edition was published in 2000 and the series was renamed Revised Huayu (Xiudingban Huayu). In 2003, this series underwent a further revision and was renamed All New Huayu (Quanxinban Huayu). This series has now been adopted and is currently being used by most overseas Community Chinese Schools with a Taiwan-based establishment in North America. 3.3.2 Zhongwen Zhongwen was published collaboratively between the Chinese official sector (PRC, People’s Republic of China) of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and Jinan University. This series was first published in 1997 as Zhongwen: Trial Version (Zhongwen: Shiyonban). The series underwent a revision afterwards based on the feedback and suggestions the editors received during the trial version period. It was renamed Revised 36 Zhongwen (Xiudingban Zhongwen) and published in 2007. Many of the China-based Chinese schools are currently using Zhongwen as the major source of their teaching materials, but most are still being supplied with Zhongwen: Trial Version despite the Revised Zhongwen being the more recent edition. For instance, the Vancouver Beijing Chinese School, one of the leading Chinese schools in Vancouver, has provided me with copies of the Zhongwen textbooks that are currently being used by the school and they were the trial edition of the series. All in all, Huayu and Zhongwen have very similar backgrounds. First, they are all published and edited by the joint work of official government sectors and private publishing companies. They are not, however, a collaboration between Taiwan and China. Nowhere in their prefaces, websites or editorial notes was it suggested that works or ideas were exchanged between the two government sectors. They also share identical layouts, as both sets consist of twelve core textbooks and two workbooks for each level. Finally, they are provided to CCSs free of charge by the governments of Taiwan and China. It is based on their seemingly identical backgrounds and features (in terms of organization) that I selected the first 9 books of each set as the object of my research. 3.4 My Position (Reflexivity) as a Researcher As I have mentioned in Chapter 1 and the introductory paragraph of this chapter, my own relationship with and experiences in the CCSs served as my core motivation for undertaking this research. As a classroom assistant and teacher myself, I have used Huayu for many years in my classes. There were many occasions where students expressed dissatisfaction with these textbooks’ lack of “reality” or lack of usefulness in the context of real life and how they didn’t understand the point of the texts. For example, Book 4, Lesson 6 37 is about two children, a boy and a girl climbing a mountain. The text is written as a poem personifying the mountain with gestures of friendliness and encouragement. When I taught this lesson, students found the notion of a smiling and nodding mountain ridiculous and the message portrayed by this chapter was not taken seriously nor well received. There were also cases when parents expressed their concerns and questions about these textbooks, alluding to how “childish” the lessons were and how irrelevant the material covered was to their children’s lives. I realize my personal history, family background and involvement with CHL education may be seen as a concern for this study, as now I bring a certain “bias” and “baggage” with me into the research. However, I also bring the perspectives of someone who has worked with these materials and with Canadian (Chinese) children and for me this research does not simply represent an academic exploration. It is a personal and professional one, too. I am well aware that it is inevitable for me to draw on my past and the associated experiences when conducting my analysis, which might potentially affect what is analyzed and described in this research. However qualitative analysis “rel[ies] more on the reviewer’s own value system and understanding of the text itself” (Pingel, 2010, p. 68). Indeed, I see my past experience as a strength rather than a weakness because I am both an observer of, and participant in the journey of CHL learners’ identity (re)construction and I believe the insider status can enrich and enhance the quality of the thesis. 38 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion 4.1 Introduction In this chapter, I present my findings on the selected textbooks, utilizing the three initial research questions to guide and organize my analysis. Topics and themes presented in lessons are explored first to understand both the overt and covert ideologies in these textbooks. Second, discourse analyses are employed to examine selected excerpts to illuminate the salient cultural and moral values embedded within the texts. I then examine the roles of recurring characters that appear in the texts and offer my interpretation of how these characters are used as cultural carriers or role models, or even as agents of socialization, intending to impact the construction and socialization of identities that are deemed desirable as an ideal Chinese person for CHL learners. In the final section, I discuss how these values and ideologies impact CHL learners’ identities and their relation to Community Chinese Schools. 4.2 Research Question #1: What are the Topics and Themes of the CHL Textbooks? The first phase of my analysis involved a general reading of both sets of textbooks, followed by a thorough examination using titles and content layouts to identify major topics and themes of the main text in each lesson. In the proceeding analysis, topics refer to the foregrounded topics, while themes refer to backgrounded themes which are usually latent and hidden. I selected nine textbooks, each with four units, in both Huayu and Zhongwen. In Huayu, each unit contains three lessons. In Zhongwen odd-numbered units are divided into three lessons while even-numbered units are divided into four lessons. 39 Units in both Huayu and Zhongwen focus on particular sociocultural aspects: social life, family values, proper behaviours, life attitudes, cultures, etc. However, Huayu is more specific as it assigns different titles to each unit. Zhongwen’s units are only numbered without named titles (e.g., Unit 1, Unit 2, etc.). Table 4.1 lists the unit titles in Huayu Books 1-9. Note that these textbooks are not categorized according to grades as some schools use two textbooks per year (e.g., in Grade 1, semester 1 uses Book 1 and semester 2 uses Book 2), on the other hand, some schools (the one I had previously worked for) uses only one volume for the entire year (e.g., grade 1 uses Book 1, grade 2 uses Book 2). As specified in the preface, these textbooks are purportedly fashioned such that they can be adapted to various schools’ usage according to each school’s needs and pace. Table 4.1 List of Unit Titles in Huayu (Books1-9) Book 1 1. Numbers 數字 3. Family Members 家人 2. Playing with Characters 玩一玩 4. Spring 春天 Book 2 1. I Love my School 我愛學校 3. Friend(s) 朋友 2. New Year 新年 4. Leisure Activities 休閒活動 Book 3 1. Summer夏天 3. Holiday Celebration 過節 2. Interesting Conversation 有趣的對話 4. Different Days 不一樣的日子 Book 4 1. Growing Up成長 3. Adaptability應變 2. Friendship友誼 4. Good Habits好習慣 Book 5 1. Change改變 3. Cooperation互助 2. Happiness快樂 4. Holiday Living假日生活 Book 6 1. Good Behaviour 好的行為 3. (I) Like Reading喜歡讀書 2. Methods of Learning學習的方法 4. Enlightenment啟示 Book 7 1. Humour幽默 3. Familial Bond親情 2. Invention發明 4. Observation of the Nature觀察自然 Book 8 1. Perseverance 毅力 3. Affection 感動 2. Reflection思考 4. Nostalgia懷念 Book 9 1. Master of Life生命的主人 3. Beauty of Arts藝術之美 2. Sights of the World世界風光 4. Wisdom of the Ancestors古人的智慧 4.2.1 The Background Themes of the Lessons: Huayu Unit titles indicate the general topics covered by each units; whether they are about arts, life attitudes, or a set of preferred behaviours; however, different themes are hidden in 40 each lesson. For example, in Book 5, Unit 2 is categorized as “Happiness”, so the topic is about happiness. This unit consists of three lessons: “Father’s Cooking”, “Sister’s Closet” and “Remember to Say Thank You” to illustrate what happiness is about. The background themes of these lessons revolve around family. “Father’s Cooking” is a story about a busy father who takes up the task of cooking dinner on a weekend, and the whole family experiences lovely family time by going to the grocery story with the father and watching him cook. In the “sister’s closet”, the older sister is unhappy about not having the right dress for a date she is going on. The problem is resolved after her mother steps in to help her choose something, after admiring how well the dress complements her beauty. In both lessons, happiness is portrayed as generated by being with family members. The third lesson is about proper behaviour, including linguistic (pragmatic) behaviour (e.g., saying thank you and being thankful). All these three lessons suggest how happiness is associated with family, and proper, respectful behaviour. There are various ways to introduce and interpret happiness, and it is through how happiness is interpreted and represented that we get a message of the valued cultural and moral ideologies. Therefore, in Unit 2 in Book 5, even though the topic is “happiness”, the value of family and proper behaviour is the underlying theme and children’s socialization is the goal. I ascribe each lesson a theme. In a total of 108 lessons in Huayu , there are 26 lessons that use family as the main theme, more than 27% of the entire series. The second most prevalent theme in Huayu is moral stories; there are 17 lessons that focus on providing certain moral lessons or ideologies that are deemed valuable by the publisher through the use of historical, legendary or fictional stories. There are eleven lessons that introduce Western culture, including historical sites and figures such as Spanish bullfighting, and the famous inventor, Thomas Edison introduced in Book 7 (5 lessons), Book 8 (5 lessons) and Book 9 (1 lesson), which suggests that students do not have a chance to read about Western cultures until very late stages CHL education and what they do read (bullfighting, historical figures) d to contemporary Canadian culture and their lives lessons, only seven contain explicit themes related to Chinese culture (including historical sites, figures and Taiwanese aboriginal culture of background themes of Huayu Figure 4.1 Background Themes of the 108 L Western Culture/Historical Interests and Figures, 11, 12% Others, 9, 9% School, 7, 7% Chinese Culture/Historical Interests and Figures, 7, 7% Seasons and Nature, 6, 6% Background Themes of . Noteworthy is that all ‘Western’ elements are oes not relate directly . It is interesting to see that, ) which are introduced in Book 9. The results are illustrated in Figure 4.1 below: essons in Huayu Family, 26, 27% Moral Stories, 17, 18% Daily Life, 10, 11% Chinese Poems/Idioms, 3, 3% the Lessons in Huayu 41 in out of 108 42 Comparing the data above, while the topics (titles) are very diverse, the breakdown of the actual background themes indicates that a large proportion of the themes revolve and build on family and moral stories (which are like fables, except that moral stories may contain elements other than animals and have more didactic tones). In Table 4.1, it appears as if only two units explicitly focus on family values (Book 1-Family Members and Book 7- Familial Bond); however, upon closer inspection of the actual content of the texts in each lesson, 29 lessons revolve around family values by using family as a background theme or social context that frames the story. For instance, in Book 3 the first lesson is called Tea and Coke (under the unit titled Summer). Both the lesson and unit titles seem neutral as there are various methods for a text to describe tea and Coke: it can take the form of a straightforward description that provides information on the products tea and Coke, or it can be a first person narrative of one’s preference for tea or Coke, etc. However, the text comes in the form of a conversation between a father and son sharing Coke and tea on a summer afternoon. The publisher chooses to use family as the background theme and by using family members as the main characters alludes to the importance of the concept of family. Another example can also be drawn from Book 6: Lesson 9 Bookstore. Again, the topic of bookstore can be approached in different ways but the author chooses to use ‘family’ as the backdrop since this lesson is about a Sunday afternoon stroll to the bookstore with parents. Despite the fact that many of these lessons could have taken place in a multitude of different settings, the author(s) deliberately or coincidentally chooses to use ‘family’ as the theme indicating that a relationship to one’s family is valued strongly by Huayu and thus ‘family values’ is one of the key ideologies that constitute being a good Chinese child. The emphasis of family values also appears in research question 2, where I examine the preferred moral and cultural values embedded in the lessons, but for now, I proceed to analyze background themes used in Zhongwen. 4.2.2 The Background Themes of the L In the case of Zhongwen, the background theme (17%) and ideological values (16%). The most notable difference is the prevalent number of lessons on Chinese culture, historical sites and figures. In culture, historical sites and figures are shown in Figure 4.2. Figure 4.2 Background Themes of the 126 L Overall, Figure 4.1 (Huayu underlying themes of CHL textbooks, which are very similar. The most notable difference is Seasons and Nature, 15, 12% Chinese Poems/Idioms, 10, 8% Western Culture/Historical Interests and Figures, 10, 8% Daily Living, 9, 7% School, 8, 6% Others, 7, 5% Background Themes of the Lessons in Zhongwen essons: Zhongwen there are 126 lessons. Twenty-one lessons have family as 20 employ moral stories to convey a set of preferred Zhongwen, 26 lessons focus on Chinese —more than a fifth of the entire series (21% essons in Zhongwen ) and Figure 4.2 (Zhongwen) provide a general layout of Chinese Culture/Historical Interests and Figures, 26, 21% Moral Stories, 20, 16% Family values, 21, 17% 43 ). The results that although both sets of textbooks emphasize themes such as family values and moral stories, Zhongwen also dedicates a fair amount of instruction to sites and figures which is not nearly as substantial in the two sets of textbooks is shown in Figure 4.3 below: Figure 4.3 Comparison Between Two of the most salient themes in both stories. There is also a notable difference between the number of lessons on Chinese idio and poetry, which is another symbolic product of Chinese culture more in the textbook from China 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Embedded Themes in Huayu vs Zhongwen Chinese culture, historical Huayu. A detailed comparison between Huayu and Zhongwen—Embedded Themes Huayu and Zhongwen are family and moral and is emphasized much . Also worth noting is that although idioms and poetry 44 ms Huayu Zhongwen 45 contain different themes on their own, when a lesson introduces them, it usually has two to three idioms or poems per lesson, making prescribing one theme to each lesson difficult. Since idioms and poetry are symbolic Chinese cultural products, I decided that whenever a lesson was on idioms (four-character idiom, for example, 守株待兔 shouzhudaitu) or poems, I would tag them with the theme of Chinese culture. However, when discussing values embedded in textbooks in the later section (4.3), I coded different values for each idiom and poem. Zhongwen has 10 lessons on Chinese idioms and poetry whereas Huayu only has three. In addition, while themes on Chinese culture are introduced relatively evenly throughout Books 2-9, (Book 1-0, Book 2-1, Book 3-2, Book 4-3, Book 5-4, Book 6-3, Book 7-5, Book 8-3 and Book 9-5) in Zhongwen; Huayu introduces all seven lessons on culture exclusively in Books 8 and 9 (Book 8-1, and Book 9-5). I interpret the employment of Chinese culture, historical sites and figures as a deliberate attempt to establish a sense of cultural identity and patriotism connected with Ancient/Mainland China. For example, the subtle comparison between rivers in China and rivers in the United Sates, “Ancient China has a river, its name is Changjiang; young America has a river, its name is Mississippi” (Zhongwen, Book 2, p.78). This lesson is designed to introduce the two most famous rivers in both China and the U.S.; however, the word choice here delivers a subtle hint of cultural seniority based on age as the modifier for China is “ancient” whereas “young” is used for its American counterpart. This interpretation is based on the fact that Chinese culture has usually placed emphasis on respecting the old and antiquities. The word “ancient” has a positive connotation as it is often represented as, and associated with “wisdom” and seniority. On the other hand, the word “young” implies naivety and inexperience. 46 Another more overt example is in Book 9 where the main character (the detailed analysis of textbook characters is discussed in Section 4.4), states “[Because] I feel that as a Chinese, [one] must understand Chinese history” (p. 2). The didactic tone is produced not by an adult or authoritative figure, but by a main character that is intended to be the same age as the learner. This serves to reinforce the obligation of being a Chinese who knows his/her historical roots. These types of hidden messages can be seen throughout Zhongwen, but not Huayu. In fact, the mention of “Taiwan” or “China” are almost absent in Huayu as there is only one case where the name “Taiwan” or “The Republic of China” is used. On the contrary, there are many instances where direct reference to “China” or “mother country” (Motherland) is used in Zhongwen. While Zhongwen places emphasis on the sense of cultural patriotism, the same feeling is absent from Huayu. Rather, emphasis on familial connections is the central focus observed in Huayu. This suggests that while Zhongwen values sociocultural identity and deep symbolic and sentimental connection to the geographical land—China—as an important and integral part of being Chinese, the same expectation does not apply in the case of Huayu. For Huayu, the learning of the Chinese language does not equate to the sense of belonging to a specific physical geographical land. The emphasis on being Chinese in Huayu suggests having a deep connection to one’s multigenerational family. These textbooks attempts to socialize their learners into these particular beliefs—the former establishes a sense of connection with the nation China while the latter connects its learners to their families. 47 4.3 Research Question #2: What are the Moral and Cultural Values Embedded in the CHL Textbooks? 4.3.1 Cultural/Moral and Ideological Values As discussed in Chapter 2, textbooks are the major ideological transmitter for conveying beliefs and values of a society. Cultural values encompass preferred conventions of what is acceptable/unacceptable, important/unimportant in a target society, while moral values define an understanding of what is “good”/ “bad” and right/wrong. Cultural and moral values are usually influenced by a school of thought or a philosophy. Previous works on Chinese culture have shown that Chinese society is greatly influenced by Confucian thought, especially with educational traditions (see Lee, 2000; Taylor & Taylor, 1995; Watkins & Biggs, 1996). Liu (2005a, 2005b) documented that even today, Confucian ideology permeates various school textbooks used in China. Curdt-Christiansen (2008, 2009) also discovered a strong inclination of Confucian thought in the language textbooks used in CHL classrooms. The core Confucian thought promotes “the loyalty of citizen to the rulers, the respect for authority, the devotion of children to their parents and the obedience of younger generation to the older one. Confucianism has also fostered respect of learning and positive attitudes towards education” (Curdt-Christiansen, 2008, p. 98). These studies coupled with my own personal experience led me to believe that cultural and moral values influenced by Confucian thought would be very prominent in these CHL textbooks. Indeed, as my later analysis showed, various aspects of Confucian thought can be seen embedded in both sets of the textbook. As Curtd-Christiansen (2008) writes, based on her research with CHL students in Montreal, “moral values” are “embedded in the culture of a society” (p. 100). I have opted to use the terms cultural values and moral values interchangeably in this thesis. Moreover, I also 48 see ideological values equating to cultural and moral values as ideologies of a certain culture in a society produced or predisposed to a set of moral values. These cultural and moral values are ideological goods that are transmitted through the ideological vessels—textbooks. Table 4.2 below provides an overview of the cultural values that emerge from Huayu.2 The rows represent the nine volumes of textbooks while columns list the various cultural and moral values I have identified in the textbooks and their frequencies of appearance. 4.3.2 Huayu Table 4.2 Cultural and Moral Values in Huayu Family Values Conformity (Respect of Seniority) Perseverance (Tolerance) Education (Importance of School) Collectivism (Group Collaboration) Diligence Others Combined Book 1 4 2 Book 2 1 7 5 5 2 Book 3 2 4 1 1 2 Book 4 5 3 3 2 5 Book 5 7 3 2 2 2 3 Book 6 1 2 4 7 Book 7 4 4 3 1 5 Book 8 3 2 9 4 2 1 Book 9 4 1 1 5 Total 26 25 20 18 9 7 30 19% 19% 15% 14% 6% 5% 22% Each lesson encompasses one major text and one complementary side reading. These side readings are usually in a format of dialogue. Analyzing every reading in each lesson including the major texts and side readings, I coded each lesson according to different themes. Some lessons may hold more than one theme or exploit different themes between the major text and side readings; some may not exhibit any dominant themes. For example, conformity, diligence and perseverance appear in Lesson 8’s main text of Book 3; however, the side reading of this lesson does not display any major embedded themes; it contains a short 2 The table contains the six most prominent values that appear in Huayu. For a complete list of values, please see Appendix A. 49 dialogue between two students discussing the contents of their red packets.3 As the side readings are sometimes used for the purpose of speech practice, they may or may not contain salient cultural/moral values. It is often the case that values coexist and complement each other and this will be illustrated in the next section. Coincidently, some values are very apparent and explicit whereas some are hidden and implicit. Amongst the various values I have identified in these nine textbooks, family values appear 26 times, and conformity (respect of elders, seniority) 25 times. Perseverance (tolerance) appears 20 times while education (importance of school) and collectivism (group collaboration) are also heavily emphasized as they appear 18 and 9 times, respectively. Diligence appears seven times and other values that are utilized in the textbooks but appear less often are benevolence (B1-5, B3-9, once in Book 5 and three times in Book 9); kindness (K3-6, three times in Book 6); modesty (M1-6, M1-7, M1-8, and M1-9), honesty (H1-4 and H1-5), independence (I1-4 and I1-6). These cultural values and themes emphasize the kind of good personal qualities, desired behaviours and ideologies that the textbook editors wish to transmit to heritage language learners through language education, whether intentional or not. The textbook writers therefore have an agenda to socialize students into these ideologies of appropriate participation and membership in their communities. 4.3.3 Zhongwen Zhongwen divides each book into four units, odd numbered units contain four lessons each while even numbered units contain three lessons each (14 lessons in one book, 2 more than Huayu). Similar to the format of Huayu, where each lesson consists of one major text 3 Although red packets are certainly Chinese cultural symbols, the reading itself is more focused on the contents inside the red packet rather than the red packets. Therefore, I did not feel the use of “red packet” in this side reading is strong enough to represent a major theme. 50 and one dialogue side reading, Zhongwen also includes a secondary text that typically covers the same subject matter, and is of equal length to the major text. The secondary text either expands and branches out from the main text or has its own themes. I analyzed themes embedded in the main text and the secondary text in Zhongwen and applied the same coding procedure to the entirety of the nine textbooks. The results are shown in Table 4.3. Table 4.3 Cultural and Moral Values in Zhongwen4 Education (Importance of School) Diligence Patriotism Perseverance (Tolerance) Conformity (Respect of Seniority) Family Values Others Combined Book 1 3 1 3 Book 2 4 1 2 3 1 Book 3 3 3 5 4 5 Book 4 1 3 1 2 2 11 Book 5 4 4 3 8 Book 6 4 7 5 6 4 Book 7 1 2 8 3 2 2 Book 8 3 3 2 1 2 4 Book 9 5 2 1 1 4 Total 28 22 21 17 12 10 39 19% 15% 14% 11% 8% 7% 26% In general, moral values found in Huayu are also found in Zhongwen, but the emphasis on certain values varies greatly from one another. Education is the most emphasized theme in Zhongwen (28 texts, Total=149, 19%), followed by diligence and patriotism, which are very close in frequency as they appear 22 times (15%) and 21 times (14%) respectively, in the text. There are 17 texts related to perseverance (11%). Conformity (12 texts, 8%) and filial piety (10 texts, 7%) are also frequently mentioned. Other values that appear in Huayu such as modesty (B3-4, B4-1, B5-1, B7-1, B9-2), independent thinking (B4- 3), and honesty (B4-3, B5-1, B9-2), also exist in Zhongwen. 4 The table contains the six most prominent values that appear in Zhongwen. For a complete list of values, please see Appendix A. 51 All of the values in Table 4.3 are, with the exception of patriotism, also found in Huayu. In fact, except for patriotism (in Zhongwen) and collectivism (in Huayu), and the differences in frequencies, the top five themes are exactly the same in both set of textbooks: education, diligence, perseverance, conformity and family values. Such similarities in the systematic organization of moral and cultural values in the texts show that there is a comparable expectation for being an ideal Chinese child in both societies. As these moral and social values are deemed important elements, both textbooks employ texts as a medium to socialize pupils by embedding these values into the process of acquiring Chinese. A desired identity and worldview are therefore constructed for the pupils to take on while they learn their heritage language. In the following section, I select four representative excerpts from both Huayu and Zhongwen textbooks. By using discourse analysis, I will illustrate how cultural values are implicitly and explicitly embedded into the texts for the purpose of socializing CHL learners into desired/expected cultural identities. The first two excerpts are drawn from Huayu and the latter two are from Zhongwen. 4.3.4 Perseverance and Tolerance The concept of perseverance and tolerance is cultivated in 27 texts in Huayu. Perseverance has always been promoted as the core value in Chinese culture associated with individuals’ forbearance when trying to achieve a certain goal. In spite of difficulties, an individual will not give up until the goal is attained. For example, in order to write Chinese characters beautifully, pupils are often asked to copy down each character a large number of times, exercising and repeating each stroke with patience until perfect. Tolerance then plays a hidden role in this case as well; here, tolerance does not denote the acceptance of cultural 52 differences or differences in opinions that is often promoted in Western society such as Canada; tolerance in a Chinese sense is to put up with injustice or unfair treatment to achieve a “bigger goal”. Now, if we look at how tolerance may be found in the character-writing scenario I just gave, a student who wishes to have beautiful Chinese handwriting needs to practice with perseverance and at the same time, it implies that he or she may have to tolerate sacrificing leisure enjoyment in exchange for more time spent on practicing Chinese characters. The following example illustrates how perseverance and tolerance is constructed implicitly in a dialogue presented in Book 8.5 Example 1: Dialogue practice: Stone Buddha and Little Road Hero 對話練習:石佛和馬路小英雄 1 Sculptor: White rock, you are an excellent material. Are you willing to let me transform you into an art piece? 2 White Rock: Sure! It is such an honour to become an art piece. Sculptor takes his tool and begins to strike (the rock) hard. 3 White Rock: Oh! It hurts! I cannot take it anymore! 4 Sculptor: Won’t you endure it for a bit more? 5 White Rock: No! No! I do not want to bear such pain anymore. Sculptor sighs and leaves. Two months passes by, the sculptor remembers he still has a piece of gray rock, thus he takes the gray rock out. First hit (on the rock), there was no sound. Second hit, still no noises. The sculptor finally carves the gray rock into a stone Buddha. 6 Gray Rock: I am grateful for the appreciation the 雕刻師:白石頭,你是一塊很好的材料,你可願 意讓我把你刻成一件藝術品? 白石頭:好呀!成為藝術品是一件很榮幸的事。 (雕刻師拿起工具,開始用力敲打) 白石頭:哎呀!好痛啊!我受不了了! 雕刻師:你不要再忍耐一下嗎? 白石頭:不!不!我再也不要接受這種痛苦! 雕刻師:唉!(背著手離開) (過了兩個月,雕刻師想起他還有一塊灰石頭, 就搬出灰石頭。第一下敲下去,沒有聲音,第二 下再敲下去,還是沒有聲音,雕刻師終於把灰石 頭雕成一尊石佛。) 灰石頭:感謝師傅對我的珍愛,我才有機會成為 一尊石佛。 5 All examples shown in this chapter were originally in Chinese. I have translated them into English to make them accessible to readers. 53 master has given me; only because of it did I have the opportunity to become a stone Buddha. The stone Buddha is invited to a temple to be worshipped by people. On the way, he passes by the white rock. 7 White Rock: My fate is horrible. I was bought by someone to pave the road here. What bad luck! 8 Gray Rock: Actually, the fact that I am being enshrined and worshipped everyday with fresh flowers and fruit is all because of you. I have to thank you. If it weren’t for you who gave up this chance, how could I have today? 9 White Rock: (cries) Now, every day, I am being stepped on by people and rolled on by cars. Peed and pooped on by cats and dogs. I really regret. 10 Gray Rock: Being a little road hero is also a form to serve people. Amitābha. (佛像被請到廟裡被人供奉,路經一段馬路,遇 見白石頭。) 白石頭:我命不好,被人買來鋪在這裡當馬路, 真倒楣啊! 灰石頭:其實我被人供奉在上,每天有鮮花水 果,都得感謝你,要不是你放棄這個機會,我哪 有今天呢? 白石頭:嗚……,現在,我每天被人車踐踏,被 貓狗尿尿和大便,我好後悔,嗚……。 灰石頭:當個馬路小英雄也一樣為人服務啊!阿 彌陀佛! (Huayu, Book 8, p. 10) Dialogue or role-plays is one of the genres often used in the series of Huayu, especially in the side reading section. The purpose of using a dialogue is to create vivid characters where students can experience the experiences of the story characters vicariously. Moreover, it is also beneficial pedagogically as teachers can employ the role-play function which either allows students to practice reading aloud different parts in groups or take up role playing as an acting activity. In this particular dialogue, two rocks, a white rock and gray rock, are personified to create two contrasting characters who demonstrate different traits. The White Rock initially appears to be superior, more favourable and noticeable as it was picked first to be transformed. The White Rock also symbolizes brightness and talent as the color white is often associated with positive, virtuous images. On the other hand, the less favourable and noticeable is portrayed as the Gray Rock, as gray is often associated with darkness and poor quality. The sculptor initially picked the White Rock as it is conspicuous for its more 54 favourable quality, the color. However, the White Rock fails to demonstrate endurance as it immediately rejects being sculpted after only the first carving. Notice how when the sculptor asks if White Rock is willing to be transformed into a piece of art, it replies with a “yes” since it is an “honour” to be turned into art. The word “honour” (榮幸 rongxing) here symbolizes goals that pupils should attempt to achieve. Then, the story immediate follows with the description of the sculptor taking up his tools and beginning to hit the rock hard. This sequence reinforces the image that the path to greatness or goals is ‘painful’, implying it takes effort and sacrifice, and as we will see later, that only those who can endure the pain and hardship will succeed. After the White Rock gives up, the sculptor does not turn to the Gray Rock right away, instead, “two months pass by and the sculptor remembers he still has a piece of Gray Rock, thus he takes the Gray Rock out”. The lapse of time used here is to suggest that although not being able to draw the sculptor’s attention as the Gray Rock is inferior by born talent/quality to the White Rock, with endurance and suffering, the Gray Rock gets his chance. The story uses repetition to describe sculptor’s work by “First hit (on the rock), there was no sound. Second hit, still no noises.” It thus creates a comparison between the Gray Rock and the White Rock as the latter had immediately complained after only the first hit. The Gray Rock which has perseverance and tolerance has endured all the pain. As a consequence, the Gray Rock is turned into a Buddha, and not only was it an “honour”, the reward for persevering and tolerating difficulty is amplified as the Gray Rock is now also enshrined and worshipped by people, compared to the White Rock’s being “stepped on by people and rolled over by cars; peed and pooped on by cats and dogs”. It is worth noting that Buddha represents a divine, spiritual symbol in Chinese society, thus the use of Buddha in this context serves to further associate and socialize CHL learners to 55 Chinese culture. The sharp contrast between the White Rock and grey rock in their natural endowments (beautiful white and unnoticeable grey), their attitudes toward hardship (perseverance and intolerance) and the consequences (honour and shame) emphasizes perseverance and endurance of hardship, not born talent, is the key to success. At the end of the story, the Gray Rock now gives the White Rock a moral lesson that “Being a little road hero is also a form of service to people, Amitābha” almost pitifully. The use of ‘everyday’ by White Rock (8) and Gray Rock (9) creates a temporal frame that intensifies the continuous hardships and difficulties one needs to endure, but at the same time the reward (and punishment if not doing so) can be long lasting. Perseverance and endurance are a set of moral values that are frequently associated with attaining goals in traditional Chinese culture. Many ancient Chinese texts contain such phrases as天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨 (Mencius, 475-221 BC) (when Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his sinews and bones with toil--Mencius). Therefore, to be able to tolerate the seemingly unfair treatment and to persevere through difficulties is the only key to success. 4.3.5 Filial Piety and Family Values Filial piety is one of the fundamental or core values in Confucian thought; it encompasses a set of principles about how children should treat their parents and elders. Filial piety covers a wide range of aspects from the material to the emotional; for example, support, memorializing, attendance, deference, compliance, respect and love (Yeh & Bedford, 2003). Moreover, because it includes various moral values that are considered socially applicable, “its structures are often generalized to apply to authority relationships beyond the family” (Yeh & Bedford, 2003, p. 215). In short, filial piety can be seen as the backdrop of 56 the entire Chinese moral system. Teaching and learning the concept of filial piety becomes a basic duty for teachers, parents and students in Chinese society. Taiwan is a society deeply rooted in Confucian thought (Miller, Wiley, Fung, & Liang, 1997). Huayu reflects the central ideology in the Taiwanese society, as family values are the most prevalent moral values in the texts, as Example 2 shows: Example 2: 老師的腳踏車 和那些豪華的汽車,快速的摩托車相比,林老師的腳踏車,看起來實在是破舊不勘。 如果是大熱天,他會騎得滿頭大汗;下雨天,他常常全身濕透透;寒冷的冬天,他甚至冷得發 抖,氣喘不已。 我們好奇的問:「老師,您為什麼要騎腳踏車上班?」老師抬頭看看遠方,低沉的說: 「以前家裡很窮困,只能買得起最便宜的腳踏車。雖然,家裡後來有錢了,但是母親還是反對 我買其他的車子。」 「為什麼?」大家更好奇的問。 老師看著我們慢慢的說:「我的爸爸騎了十幾年的腳踏車,後來改騎摩托車兩個月後, 不幸發生意外。因此,媽媽對於嘗試新事物總是小心翼翼,她認為老舊的事物有情感,清淡的 食物有茲物,慢慢的步調很自在,所以不必要買的東西不準買。剛開始我很不習慣,也不甘心 過這樣的生活。然而現在我從簡單平淡的生活中,體會出樸實的樂趣,也就一直過這樣的生 活。」 大家聽完了,安靜了好久好久。 (Huayu, Book 7, p. 60) Teacher’s Bicycle Compared to those luxurious cars and convenient, fast scooters, teacher Lin’s bicycle is really old and worn. On a hot summer day, he would be sweating on that bike; on a rainy day, he would get soaked from the rain; on a cold winter day, he would shiver and pant (because of the cold). We ask curiously: “Teacher, why are you riding the bike to work?” Teacher looks up and into the distance, with a deep voice he says: “My family used to be poor; [we] could only afford the cheapest bike. [We] got richer later, but my mother still opposes the idea of me buying other forms of transportation.” “Why?” We ask with even more curiosity. 57 The teacher looks at us and slowly he replies: “My father rode the bike for several years. Merely two months after he switched to a scooter, he had an accident. Therefore, my mother is very cautious when trying new things. She thinks old things are sentimental; plain and simple food is tastier; a slow pace in life is more comfortable, thus, [she] forbids buying unnecessary things. In the beginning, I was not very used to it and was not reconciled to living that type of lifestyle. But now, I have understood the happiness from a plain and simple life, and have lived and followed this lifestyle since.” After listening to the story, all of us remained quiet for a very, very long time. The teacher and the students are used as characters to demonstrate the concept of filial piety. In this story, they serve as the vehicle to convey a message about following your parents’ wise advice of being conservative, frugal and unmaterialistic. This moral lesson is deemed to be the most basic duty for Chinese teachers (Miller et al., 1997), and it sets up a scenario which is very realistic for the CHL learners. It also further justifies the teaching of filial piety in class for the CCS teachers. The concept of filial piety is conveyed through the narration of past events by the teacher. The story begins with a sequence of contrasting images and scenes (an “old and worn bicycle” contrasted with “luxurious cars” “convenient, fast scooters”) to set up the initial message that performing filial piety is not an easy task, as CHL learners are immersed in modern, technologically advanced society where everyone strives to have the fastest, the most expensive and newest and greatest. The explanation by teacher Lin demonstrates how he performed his filial duty: by listening to his mother’s advice (“my mother still opposes the idea of me buying other vehicles”) and suppressing his own desire; he still rides his bike to this date. Lexical choices opposes, believes, forbids are used to stress the power that one’s parents can exercise over their children legitimately, even when the “children” are grown-ups with complete independent social status. The children, on the other hand, would accept this type of control and comply with parents’ beliefs although it is initially against their will (“In the beginning, I was not used to it and was not reconciled to living that type of lifestyle”). 58 However, there is another important message here aside from simply obeying one’s parents. The fact that Teacher Lin obeys his mother’s wishes and discovers the happiness within a simple lifestyle illustrates to the CHL learners that no matter how unreasonable and unjustified parents’ wishes may initially seem, children will benefit from (and succumb to) these wishes and requests in the end. It shows them that they too can obtain happiness from a cheap and plain lifestyle. There is also another function of using Teacher Lin as the representative of filial piety. He demonstrates that filial duty is a lifelong commitment. Despite Mr. Lin being an adult and teacher, he still follows the path that his mother wished for him to take. The moral message here is not explicitly verbalized by either the teacher or the students. CHL learners need to recognize filial piety from Teacher Lin’s actions rather than through his words. This implies the filial piety requires doing rather than saying. The final statement on the quietness of the students emphasizes the importance of being able to internalize knowledge and transform it into action rather than verbally discussing it; students are expected to understand the message and why it should be obeyed. It also underlines an assumption that learners’ world is concordant with the texts. In this text, students are never asked to engage in a critical discussion about the wisdom of the choices or what they would do in that situation, they are only taught in such a way that they are expected to admire Teacher Lin for his actions and follow his example in their own behaviour. Teacher’s Bicycle demonstrates an ‘authoritarian’ model of filial piety which entails “suppressing one’s own wishes and complying with one’s parents’ wishes because of their seniority in physical, financial or social terms” (Yeh & Bedford, 2003, p. 216). The message is implicit but constructed as a closed discourse which leaves no space for other discussions. 59 This also serves to illuminate the authoritarian type of filial piety that is desired and valued by the text, along with the message that it wants to convey about finding content in a simplistic and cheap but safe and decent lifestyle verses a potentially dangerous one surrounded by luxury and greedy desires. 4.3.6 Patriotism As shown in Table 4.3, 21 out of 146 lessons in Zhongwen emphasize patriotism, as an important social value, accounting for 14% of the texts. I drew upon Liu’s (2005a) construction of patriotism to see it from five perspectives: the desired love for the country (China), the great culture and people, the natural beauty of the country, the happy life of the country people and work or sacrifice for the country. Not only does the discourse of patriotism rank high (third place) out of the top six values, it is also a social value that is embedded exclusively in Zhongwen. The use of patriotic discourse within language textbooks is quite common for textbooks published or edited in China. In a recent study on Chinese language textbooks used in China, Liu (2005a) discovered that 32% of texts contained discourses with a patriotic orientation, outweighing its other counterparts in the texts, for example, 29% on cultural values and 23% on pro-science and technology. The mere 14% of patriotic values in Zhongwen indicates that publishers might have purposely watered down the patriotic elements to suit learners in Diaspora communities, but patriotism is still considered as an essential quality to acquire to be considered Chinese. In Zhongwen, patriotism is no longer explicitly expressed. Subtle messages, usually in texts about Chinese culture or cultural sites, are now used as vessels to convey and instil patriotism in students. A text titled “The Great Wall” in Book 7 is an example of how cultural sites are used for patriotic discourse. 60 Example 3: 万里长城 人们常说,不到长城非好汉。又有人说,到中国旅游不去长城,就不算去过中国。我 一直向往着去中国看万里长城,这个愿意终于要实现了。 汽车开出北京城,没多久,就进入群山之中。我们在车上向远处的山峰望去,八达岭 长城像一条巨龙时隐时现,气势雄伟,令人赞叹。我们来到长城脚下,随着人流登上八达岭长 城的城楼。 站在高高的城楼上,极目远望,八达岭群山格外壮观。长城沿着山峰一直伸向远方。 我们沿着石级向上走去,好像走上了登天的云梯;有时候又觉得,万里长城这条巨龙,正驮着 我们翻山越岭,飞向天边。 导游告诉我们,长城最早建于两千多年前。她东起河北省的山海关,西达甘肃省的嘉 峪关,穿越了七个、市、自治区、全长万余里,是世界上最古老、最雄伟的建筑之一。 我摸着古老的城墙,望着雄伟的长城,崇敬之情油然而生。万里长城是古代中国人民 创造的世界奇迹,是中华民族古老文明的象征。站在万里长城上,我好像看到古代中国人民修 筑长城的情景,又好像看到了今天中国各族人民正在创造新的世界奇迹。(Zhongwen, Book 7, p. 80) People often say, [no one] is a real man if he has not been to the Great Wall. Some others say, if you don’t go see the Great Wall when travelling to China, you have not been to China. I have always looked forward to going to China to see the Great Wall, now this wish is finally coming true. Not long after the car drives out of Beijing, it enters mountain trails. We look at the mountain peaks while sitting in the car. Badaling Wall is like a dragon, vanishing and reappearing in and out of sight vigorously and powerfully; what an admirable scene. We arrived at the bottom of the Great Wall, and along with other people, climbed up the gate tower of Badaling Wall. Standing at the tall watch tower, looking into the distance, the Badaling Mountains are extraordinarily impressive. The Great Wall stretches far into the distance along the mountain peaks. We walk upwards along the stone stairs; it’s like walking on cloud stairs that lead to the sky; sometimes, it even feels like the Great Wall is like a giant dragon, taking us through the mountains and valleys, flying towards the horizon. The tourist guide tells us the Great Wall was built two thousand years ago. It stretches from the East in the Shanhai Pass of the province of Hebei, through seven provinces, cities, and municipalities, more than ten thousand li (5000 kms), to the West end of Jiayu Pass in the Province of Gansu—it is one of the most ancient and extraordinary constructions in the world. Touching this ancient wall, looking at the astonishing Great Wall, a sense of respect overwhelms me. The Great Wall is a world miracle established by ancient Chinese, symbolizing the ancient civilization of the Chinese nation. Standing on top of the Great Wall, it’s as if I could see the image of ancient Chinese people building this wall; at same time, I also seem to visualize the modern Chinese people from different ethnic backgrounds who are creating new world miracles today. 61 In the opening paragraph, the first two popular sayings set up conditional clauses to show the symbolic significance of the Great Wall to China and Chinese people: if X goes to the Great Wall, then X is a real man; if Y does not go to the Great wall, then Y has never been to China and not consider himself a real Chinese individual. It also prepares for the importance of the narration of the main character of this lesson, who finally gets a chance to visit the Great Wall. In the second and third paragraphs, a symbolic creature—the dragon, is introduced to describe the Great wall: Badaling Wall is like a dragon. The choice of dragon here has a significant cultural identity meaning as dragons, in Chinese culture, are considered to be one of the most revered cultural symbols. In different Chinese societies, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China itself, historical literature works and even modern pop culture products such as music and movies all depict Chinese as “the descendants of dragons”. Dragons have also been used as totemic animals by both historical Chinese governments to represent the ruling emperor’s legitimacy and the current Chinese government to rally a patriotic sentiment of the Chinese people and create a collective Chinese identity, an “imagined community” according to Anderson (1991). Therefore, the use of dragon here to describe the Great Wall is not only because of physical resemblance, but also an ideological conception to promote patriotism by familiarizing learners with Chinese culture that they can identify with. Facts about the Great Wall as an ancient world miracle are introduced in the fourth paragraph such as its geographical location and time when it was built. However, this paragraph of facts is not neutral. Historical records about the thousands of people who slaved away and died because of the construction of the Great Wall in the ancient time or, the 62 destruction of the Great Wall in recent years due to poverty and government power struggles, are not mentioned. What is not mentioned here is arguably for the purpose of avoiding negative images of collectivism for the greater (nation’s) good, or doubts and questions towards this cultural symbol, and the authorities behind it. Similar to Huayu, in the example of filial piety, the discourse is constructed in such a way that it generates an absolute truth and leaves no space for questions and discussion. The closing paragraph is a monologue where the main character expresses his admiration and high respect for the Great wall; this is obvious for the purpose of instilling a sense of Chinese cultural pride in the learners. The last two metaphorical sentences are used to further strengthen the sense of pride of being Chinese, linking the ancient Chinese to the modern Chinese “continuing to create world miracles” today. The identity socialization of “being proud as Chinese and to bringing pride to the Chinese as Chinese” is manifested in many other texts either by description or by expression of story characters. 4.3.7 Education (The Importance of Learning) In Zhongwen, education or ‘the importance of learning’ is the most frequent topic embedded in the texts. There are 18 texts orientated to the importance of learning as the major theme. In Chinese society, education is held in extremely high esteem because it is not only a matter of personal achievement; rather, it is a pursuit for dutiful children to bring honour to their families. Passages and stories promoting education and motivating learners to ‘learn’ are spread throughout the texts in order to socialize children to persevere and dedicate themselves to schooling and studying. Below is one example text from Book 5 that demonstrates the importance of learning: 63 Example 4: 四只小兔子 兔妈妈有四个孩子:小灰、小白、小黑和小花。一天,兔妈妈拿出了四张纸,分给每 个孩子一张,看他们能用纸做什么。 小灰找来了铅笔,他画了两棵树,又画了两朵花。小白拿着圆珠笔,写了一个"大 字",又写了一个"小"字。小黑用纸折了一只飞鸟,这只飞鸟象真的一样。小花看看小灰, 看看小白,再看看小黑,觉得很不好意思。他什么也不会,只能呆呆地站在那,一点办法也没 有。 兔妈妈看了小灰画的画,小白写的字,小黑折的鸟,心里很高兴。兔妈妈问小花:" 你做了什么?"小花难过地低下了头。因为他不爱学习,所以什么也不会做。(Zhongwen, Book 5, p. 7) Four Rabbits Mother Rabbit has four children: Little Gray, Little White, Little Black and Little Flower. One day, Mother Rabbit takes out four pieces of paper, and gives one piece to each child to see what they can do with it. Little Gray finds a pencil. He draws two trees and two flowers. Little White writes the characters “BIG” and “SMALL” with a pen. Little Black folds the paper into a paper bird, which looks as if it’s real. Little Flower stands there, looks at Little Gray, and then at Little White and finally at Little Black, and feels very embarrassed. He doesn’t know anything; he can only stand there still, having no way out. Mother Rabbit looks at the picture drawn by Little Gray, the characters written by Little White and the bird folded by Little Black, feeling very happy. Mother Rabbit asks Little Flower: “What did you do?” Little flower lowered his head sadly. He doesn’t like learning; therefore, he is not able to do anything. Animals, in this case rabbits, are personified to represent the main characters in the story. Personification, especially with animals, is one of the most widely used rhetorical devices in telling fables to children, especially in their earlier years. Fables featuring animals as characters tone down the didactic and preaching attitudes that are frequently seen in narration with human characters. This creates a more welcoming and less threatening reading experience for learners, making persuasion less visible but still effective. 64 In the above text, we see that learning takes different forms. From the more ‘formal’ forms such as writing characters to the more ‘artistic’ such as crafting paper birds. Different types of learning depicted in the story are used not only to encourage various activities involving ‘learning’ but also convey a message to readers that the concept of ‘learning’ is vast and thus has no end; not just the internalization of knowledge, but also about being able to demonstrate it. The story begins with Mother Rabbit giving out papers to ‘test’ what her children can do, reflecting the Chinese educational emphasis on ‘results’ rather than ‘process’. For instance, the admission requirement for most schools in China and Taiwan is examination-based which looks at ‘results’ only. The emphasis on a ‘result’ oriented preference in learning is further demonstrated when the first three rabbits immediately showing what they are able to accomplish. The concept of shame is also used here as the Little Flower rabbit does not explain why he is not able to do anything, but rather “feels very embarrassed”. The same concept is also used at the end of the story when Little Flower “lowers his head sadly”; again, without speaking or defending himself. According to Miller et al. (1997) shame is considered a high value by certain cultures. The concept of shame has been used to socialize children into appropriate behaviour and away from inappropriate behaviour (see Ochs & Schieffelin, 2008). The implicit message about shame assumes that CHL learners already understand certain common and recognizable values in the Chinese society. This assumption can be interpreted in two ways. First, the publisher of the textbooks assumes an insider identity for readers who are reading the text; second, it implies that a good CHL learner is able to recognize cultural values and culturally expected ways of doing and thinking. 65 The closing paragraph brings education to the family level, indicating that good education or learning is a fundamental way to please one’s parents—as Mother Rabbit is “feeling very happy” after seeing what her children have learned. This is a clear message to the reader that education/learning achievement is indeed an important manifestation of filial piety as it brings happiness and pride to one’s parents. This association is further emphasized when no follow-up conversation occurs between the Mother Rabbit and Little Flower after she questions him—probably insinuating disappointment from parents. The importance of education is further highlighted by various sequences of cause and effect. For example, a negative sequence of cause and effect is produced when the Little Flower ‘doesn’t know how to do anything (implying he was not devoted to learning while the other three were); as a consequence, ‘he can only stand there still, having no way out’. Positive sequences are employed when the other three rabbits are able to perform well (cause) and Mother Rabbit is pleased (effect). The way we use language underlines a particular perspective on how our world and values are constructed. As discussed in Chapter 2, learning languages is linked to the construction of certain beliefs and values (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986), in this case, a particular worldview with the belief that education brings self-esteem and fulfills parental expectations is constructed for the CHL learners to be socialized into. There is no doubt that in both Huayu and Zhongwen, ideological, social and cultural values are embedded explicitly to socialize CHL learners into an expected norm. Through the process of reading Chinese, CHL learners are socialized into a set of cultural and social values that are expected as an ideal Chinese person. At the same time, some values are constructed implicitly that in ways only the insiders of a specific culture can understand. It seems that both Zhongwen and Huayu presuppose that CHL learners come with insider 66 knowledge to decode these hidden messages and they can easily accept the values and worldview depicted in the texts. However, CHL learners may not all come with a readily established insider view. While older immigrant children who have been exposed to Chinese teaching previously may be able to detect and make sense of these hidden messages, others, such as young immigrant children who were not exposed to Chinese mainstream values prior to their immigration, or learners who are second generation Chinese, will have a much more difficult time understanding and accepting these ideological values. 4.4 Research Question #3: How are Desired Identities Constructed, and Conveyed Through the Recurring Characters Used in the Textbooks? Recurring roles are used both in Zhongwen and Huayu to demonstrate desired identities within traditional Chinese cultures that CHL children are being socialized into. While examining ideologies in the discourses of both textbooks, I discovered that generic recurring social roles, such as parents, teachers, girls and boys, are employed to act as cultural carriers that transmit ideologies (i.e., agents of socialization, albeit fictional ones). Huayu only has one recurring character: a boy named Anan安安 who is used in the first four books (Anan disappears entirely after Book 4). Zhongwen, on the other hand, heavily utilizes the same named characters consistently throughout its entire series. These named characters serve as role models; each helping to enforce the notion of an ideal child and learner. By using these “living characters”, Zhongwen attempts to socialize learners into desirable behaviours and dispositions (attitudes) and mould them into prescribed identities. The group of main characters consists of two boys: Liangliang (亮亮) and Mingming (明明), and two girls: Fangfang (方方) and Yunyun (云云), with minor characters such as Dongdong (冬冬, male), Yuanyuan (圆圆, female) making less frequent appearances. Although not specified, 67 these characters are portrayed as schoolmates and friends. The ages of the characters are not specified. However, it is implied that they are the same age as the CHL learners. Together with nameless characters identified by social roles only, such as teachers and parents, these characters are used not only to convey cultural and moral values, but also to perform (or enact) desired social behaviours and reify desired identities associated with Chinese culture in society. The ideal Chinese (and Chinese-speaking) child is often depicted as submissive, docile and keen in learning (especially in learning Chinese) when engaged with authoritative figures such as parents and family members. For instance, an exchange between 明明 Mingming (one of the main male characters) and his uncle demonstrates how an ideal child should behave in such an exchange: Example 5: (1) 明明:叔叔,我已经学了一年中文了,会写很多汉字了。 Mingming: Uncle, I have already been learning Chinese for a year. [I] can write many Chinese characters. (2) 叔叔:你真聪明!让我看看你写的字,好吗? Uncle: You are very smart! Let me see the characters you have written, okay? (3) 明明;好的。请您看吧。 Mingming: Okay. Please take a look. (4) 叔叔:你的字写得真好。你喜欢学中文吗? Uncle: Your characters are written very nicely. Do you like learning Chinese? (5) 明明:我喜欢。我要学好中文。 Mingming: I do. I want to excel in learning Chinese. (Zhongwen, Book 3, p.34) Another similar situation, a conversation between Fangfang and her mother, is presented in the example below: 68 Example 6: (6) 方方:妈妈,今天我们班来了一个新同学。 Fangfang: Mother, our class has a new classmate today. (7) 妈妈;他叫什么名字 ? Mother: What is he called? (What is his name?) (8) 方方;他叫亮亮。 Fangfang: He is called Liangliang. (9) 妈妈;他是从哪来的? Mother: Where does he come from? (10) 方方:他是从中国北京来的。他的中文说得很好。 Fangfang: He is from Beijing, China. He speaks very good Chinese. (11) 妈妈:你要多帮助他,还要向他学习,对吗? Mother: You need to help him, and learn from him, is that right? (12) 方方;对。 Fangfang: Right (Yes). (Zhongwen, Book 4, p.40) As discussed in Section 4.3.7, education or the importance of learning is one of the most important cultural values embedded in the texts. These above examples stress the value of education and the emphasis placed on learning Chinese (lines 1, 10, 11). A child is depicted as submissive and docile in the conversation. When authoritative figures ask questions (lines 2, 4, 11), the ideal child should always respond with positive and affirmative answers in a respectful manner (lines 3, 5, 12). There is an abundance of conversations that take place in the textbooks which display this type of interaction. Throughout the texts, there is not one instance where the named characters express disagreement with parents, nor do they display any sense of disinterest in learning Chinese. The named characters in Zhongwen also reflect desired behaviours between friends and classmates. Relationships between these four characters are depicted as supportive of one another, often encouraging each other to excel in Chinese. In two of the dialogues, named characters are used to converse with each other as follows: 69 Example 7: (13)明明:亮亮,你学了几年中文了? Mingming: Liangliang, how many years have you been learning Chinese? (14)亮亮:我学了两年中文了。 Liangliang: I have been learning for two years. (15)明明:你学得真不错。 Mingming: You are making good progress. (16)亮亮:你的中文也不错。 Liangliang: Your Chinese is also pretty good. (17)明明:我还要学几年。我喜欢学中文。 Mingming: I want to continue learning for a couple more years. I like learning Chinese. (Zhongwen, Book4, p.40) Example 8: (18)亮亮: 你昨晚什么时候睡觉的? Liangliang: When did you sleep last night? (19)方方:我一看完书就睡觉了。你呢? Fangfang: I went to sleep as soon as I finished reading. How about you? (20)亮亮:我一做完中文作业就睡了。你看的是什么书? Liangliang: I went to sleep as soon as I finished Chinese homework. What book did you read? (21)方方:中文书。 Fangfang: A Chinese book. (Zhongwen, Book 3, p.53) The excerpts demonstrate how children talk to each other in a polite manner, shown in lines 15 and 16, when both Mingming and Liangliang complement each other. Students are also taught to be attentive when talking to one another. As lines 19 and 20 show, after giving a response, one should take turns in asking question so that the conversation can carry on. The highlight of these two excerpts however, is the focus on the learning of Chinese. The central topic of their conversation is ‘Chinese learning’, which reflects an ideal identity for children as studious and enthusiastic Chinese learners. 70 One interesting discovery is that amongst other less frequently appearing named characters, there are two Caucasian boys in Zhongwen, Jake and David. Their ethnic background is shown by the illustration as Jake and David both have curly, light-coloured hair, typically used features when portraying cartoon Caucasian characters. The inclusion of Jake and David (in a few instances, David’s father is also included) functions to bring about a harmonic undertone of the union of two cultures and to promote Chinese as a global language. No cultural conflicts, differences or questions are ever raised. Instead, these characters serve only two purposes in Zhongwen. The first is to reinforce a positive image of Chinese culture. The few times that Jake and David appear in the texts, they are usually having discussions with each other, or with other named Chinese characters of famous historical sites or figures of China—in Chinese, thus normalizing the speaking of Chinese as well. Example 9 and 10 reflect such conversations: Example 9: 亮亮:今天学了《郑和远航》这篇课文,我才知道郑和原来是中国古代著名的航海家。 Liangling: Today, only after learning the lesson on “Zhenghe’s Expedition”, I got to know that Zhenghe was an ancient famous Chinese voyager. 大卫:郑和在五百年前就带领船队远航,真是太了不起了! David: Zhenghe led an expedition on a voyage five hundred years ago. Very impressive! 明明:我家有一本书,上面有一副郑和船队的图…(omit) Mingming: There is a book in my house, it has pictures of Zhenghe’s ships…(omitted) 大卫:我也看过这样的图片。令我吃惊的是,船上挂了不少旗子,旗子上还写着"郑"字! David: I have seen such pictures too. What surprised me was that there were many flags on the ships. The flags even have the character “Zheng” written on them. (Book 8, p. 144) Example 10: 杰克:你听说过孔子吗? Jake: Have you heard of Confucius? 大卫:听说过。孔子是中国春秋时代著名的教育家和哲学家。 71 David: [I] have heard of him. Confucius is a famous educator and philosopher in the Period of Spring and Autumn in China. 杰克:对!他还是人类史上有名的大学者呢! Jake: Yes! He is also a renowned scholar in the history of humankind. (Omitted…) 大卫:孔子可真谦虚啊! David: Confucius is such a humble person. 杰克:是啊。我们应该向他学习。 Jake: Yeah. We should all learn from him. (Book 9, p. 136) The inclusion of such conversations perpetuate an imagined harmonic situation where no cultural conflicts exist and, rather, where even non-Chinese are eager to learn about China and Chinese culture as well, encouraging each other to learn from Confucius, for example. Furthermore, Western culture is silenced (e.g., David doesn’t compare Confucius to any Western heroes or leaders) and Chinese culture is now being depicted as the dominant Discourse for CHL learners. However, by not bringing to light the conflicts that exist between two cultures and value systems, it also eliminates possible discussions on cultural differences in a ‘safe’ environment where CHL learners feel free from being positioned narrowly within the English-speaking educational system (Archer et al., 2009) or within the CHL world created for them by Zhongwen and Huayu; where CHL students are able to raise cultural questions. I argue that the inclusion of Caucasian characters should be used to contrast the two cultures and highlight cultural differences, interaction and understanding. Not only will this parallel the reality of our multicultural society, allowing a window for CHL learners to discuss differences, but also reveal similarities they may encounter between the dominant culture and Chinese culture—ultimately creating an open space for CHL learners to learn about their hybrid identity through the learning of Chinese language arts. 72 Although no set or named characters are used in the case of Huayu to create role models for performing desired identities, the concept of nameless roles is used to demonstrate proper behaviours, expectations, as well as to establish possible identities and interactions. Similar to Zhongwen, the frequent usage of the parent and teacher roles illuminates the importance of these two authoritative figures in Chinese culture. For example, in Book 1 of Huayu, the role ‘老师 teacher’ is introduced even before the role of parents (Lesson 4, p.30). Coincidentally, in Zhongwen, when the character ‘love 爱’ is introduced, it is first coupled with teacher to form example sentences such as “我爱老师 (I love teacher)” (Book 1, p.47), “老师爱我我爱她……老师就像好妈妈 (Teacher loves me, I love teacher……Teacher is like a good mother” (Book 1, p.51). The roles of teachers and parents are also used as sources of pride and accomplishment. Children and students depicted in the texts are constantly eager to please, and seek praise from teachers and parental figures. In one of the lessons in Huayu, a student is anxious because he realizes his school performance was not good this year and he would not receive a red packet as a year-end reward. In the last class, while the teacher is giving out red packets to “上课用心的小朋友(students who are devoted in classes)”, the boy does not expect to receive one and the story goes as follows: Example 11: 忽然,老師念到我的名字:「安安,這是 送給你的紅包。」我好開心!連忙打開來看, 裡面有一元,還有一張小卡片,上面寫著: 安安: 這一年已很努力,真好。 祝福你 新的一年上課用心 事事順心 王老師賀 All of a sudden, the teacher calls my name: Anan, here is your red pocket. I am so thrilled. I hurry to open it; there is a dollar and a little card which says: Anan: You have worked hard this year. Very good. In the coming new school year, I wish for you to devote yourself to class and hope everything goes the way you desire. 73 12 月 24 日 這是我這一年中收到最好的禮物。 Congratulations, Wang Laoshi 12/24 This is the best gift that I have received this year. (Huayu, Book 3, p.44) While the teacher is giving out red packets, the boy is portrayed as “低头想心事 (lowers his head and contemplates)” implying Anan’s disappointment with himself, anticipating the shame of not receiving a red packet which symbolizes recognition from an authoritative figure, in this case, Wang Laoshi. The fact that Anan feels “so thrilled” to receive one and “hurr[ies] to open it” signifies the importance of authoritative recognition. The story ends with Anan saying the red packet is the best gift he received this year also depicting the great value of this recognition The teacher in the story bases her reward on “students who are devoted to class” and in her note to Anan, she wishes that he will “devote himself in class” in the coming school year. This text sends the message to her students about the importance of education. Similar examples can also be found in Zhongwen where gaining recognition, especially, with school accomplishments is often depicted as the central theme in interactions between children and authoritative figures. Example 12: A discussion between Fangfang and Liangliang on reciting Chinese poems. (1) 方方:是啊!老师说,中国古代,特别是唐代出了很多有名的诗人…我希望能背更多的诗。 Fangfang: Yes, the teacher says, in ancient China, especially in the Tang dynasty, there were many famous poets…I wish I could memorize more poems. (2)亮亮: 如果老师不讲这些诗的意思,我就有很多地方不懂。 Liangliang: If the teacher doesn’t explain the meaning of the poems, there would be so many points that I couldn’t understand. (3)方方:老师讲得很清楚。我觉得这些诗写得真美。 Fangfang: The teacher explains clearly. I think these poems are written beautifully. (4)亮亮:老师说,下次上课时要举行一次诗歌朗诵比赛,看谁背的古诗多。 74 Liangliang: The teacher says there will be a competition on reciting poems in the next class to see who can memorize the most poems. (5)方方;我一定要好好准备。 Fangfang: I will prepare well. (6)亮亮;我也要好好准备,争取第一名。 Liangling: I will prepare well too, aiming for first place. (Zhongwen, Book 8, p.118) Example 13: A conversation between Mother and Fangfang on reciting poems. (7)方方:我们还学了一首贺知章的《回乡偶书》呢! Fangfang: We also learned a poem “coming home” by He Zhizhang. (8)妈妈:你把这首诗的意思说给我听听。 Mother: Tell me the meaning of this poem. (Fangfang goes to explain the meaning of the poem correctly) (9)妈妈:这首诗你也能背吗? Mother: Can you also recite it? (10)方方:那当然!(Fangfang recites the poem correctly) Fangfang: Of course! (11)妈妈:背得好!等爸爸回来,你再背给爸爸听听。 Mother: Good memorization. When your father comes home, recite it for him again. (12)方方:好。 Fangfang: Okay. (Zhongwen, Book 7, p.114) In Example 12, although the teacher is not the primary interlocutor in the conversation, s/he is the central topic in the conversation as the role of ‘teacher’ appears four times in the whole conversation (lines 1, 2, 3 and 4) Both students, Fangfang and Liangliang express their desire to impress the teacher by preparing well for the poetry recital competition. In line 2, when Liangliang says if the teacher does not provide an explanation, he would not understand the poem, he implies that the teacher is the major source of knowledge. On the other hand, Fangfang responds with “the teacher explains well” (line 3), suggesting that although the teacher is the knowledge transmitter, the responsibility to comprehend lies with 75 the students. The conversation in Example 12 shows that teacher holds a very high status as knowledge carrier and provider and impressing the teacher is considered a duty for students. The example also shows that recitation, like copying and recopying characters as a way of memorization and performance, is a valued learning activity within the culture, as is the appreciation of poetry as a genre. In Example 13, a similar situation is shown where Fangfang is eager to show her mother what she has learned (line 7). However, recognition is not easily earned as the mother then asks for more information (the poem’s meaning) (lines 8, 9). Lastly, the importance of educational accomplishment is highlighted when the mother asks Fangfang to recite the poem to her father when he returns home (line 11) as opposed to engaging in regular conversation. This demonstrates the importance of pleasing one's parents with academic achievements, hinting that the Chinese parent-child relationships seem to be built on a child's educational achievements more than emotional needs and that the affirmation of both parents is encouraged. All the examples listed above suggest that recurring characters and roles (whether named or nameless) are used to illustrate desired behaviours and identities which are valued by the textbook publishers and, one can infer, by the Government committees that created and then successively revised them. The frequent appearance of teachers and parental figures shows that they hold significant roles in Chinese culture. Students are usually depicted as inferior to them and thus are displayed as submissive and docile. These characters also echo the themes discussed in Section 4.3, showing that education and filial piety rank high in Zhongwen and Huayu. Interactions between characters also enhance and reify these values. 76 All in all, these roles reflect the desired identities and ideologies or Discourses that are valued in Chinese culture. 4.5 Discussion and Implications Although I have analyzed elements in the textbooks separately to answer my research questions in the preceding sections, they are in fact interrelated and need to be viewed together in order to explain how textbooks affect and reflect CHL learners’ identity construction and ultimately impact CHL education in CCSs. The identification of themes embedded in Zhongwen and Huayu demonstrate the type of cultural and moral values that are valued in a Chinese society. Cultural and moral values are constructed to impart dominant Chinese ideologies through the CHL language textbooks. By instilling these ideologies, CHL learners are expected to be socialized into a set of Chinese identities and Discourses (as well as discourses) desired within Chinese culture. The foregoing analysis shows that, in general, both Zhongwen and Huayu give prominence only to the Chinese cultural and moral values. The discourses constructed in these textbooks not only aim to instil a set of identities appropriate for Chinese people, they also presuppose and incorporate aspects of identity for these CHL learners. The problem is that by rendering other ideologies (e.g., North American) invisible, neglecting other Discourses (Non-Chinese ones) that CHL learners encounter in their day to day life, Zhongwen and Huayu ignore CHL learner’s other possible identities (as a Canadian, as a North American, as a Chinese Canadian, an athlete, a joker, etc.) resulting in potentially undesirable consequences of CHL learning when CHL learners lose interest because the world CHL textbooks portrays is different from the one they actually experience. In losing interest in learning Chinese, 77 students will also lose an important opportunity to explore and reconnect with the roots of their heritage and family. CHL learners experience changes and conflicts in their identity construction through encounters with different Discourses; they are always trying to make sense of who they are and where they belong. Gaining membership in different communities becomes a struggle for all CHL learners: CHL learners who associate more with Chinese culture struggle to gain access to the Canadian mainstream culture. Second generation CHL learners in particular may find themselves struggling between being recognized as Chinese and stereotyped as Chinese. The former grants a positive sense of heritage, while the latter is often associated negative connotations. As Liu (2005) pointed out, ideological shock to CHL learners occurs when there is a discrepancy between what is portrayed in the textbooks and what is actually happening in their lived experience. Child readers who encounter this kind of ideological shock “would be greatly disorientated and bewildered by the contradictions” (p.259). Zhongwen and Huayu have constructed discourses based on a Chinese-dominant authoritarian Discourse. However, CHL learners are no longer living, studying, and playing in a mono-Chinese dominant society. The contradictions or ideological disjunction, if not shock, they experience will be greater. Thus, the confusion and disorientation between different ideologies will in turn result in resentment toward the less privileged/dominant identity/culture. Members of the less privileged groups will choose or sometimes, are forced to adopt the dominant perspective in order to make sense and interpret social reality. For CHL learners, giving up or refusing Chinese culture may sometimes be the more viable choice in order to fit in, consequently, CHL language education is often rejected and resented. 78 Language proficiency not only reflects one’s language skills but also degrees of identification with the culture represented by that language (Ferdman, 1990). Taking myself as an example, I have always been more closely affiliated with my Chinese (Taiwanese) cultural identity. Thus, even after immigrating to Canada, my Chinese language proficiency continued developing and had surpassed other friends who had immigrated here at a similar age. My proficiency in English on the other hand, suffered as I could not establish an affiliation with the new dominant Anglo-Canadian culture.6 Unfortunately, my high performance in Chinese literacy was not deemed valuable as I was now in a country where English was (and is) the dominant language. Who I was (highly proficient Chinese Speaker) contradicted with what I was expected to be (fluent English speaker). As I grappled with how to understand and ‘reconstruct’ my new identity, I grew even more alienated from English as I saw it as a threat to my native language and demeaning to me as a person. CHL learners are in a similar situation. Who they are asked to be (Chinese, as portrayed by the textbooks) is different from who they are (Canadian-Chinese, Chinese-Canadian, etc.) and who they desire to become. The identity assumptions constructed in CHL textbooks are static, fixed, and imposed, leaving no space for CHL learners to redefine and renegotiate Who they are. I feel that what the dominant culture has been imposing on minority groups (e.g., see Blackledge, 2005) is now having the same effect on CHL education. To an extent, CHL textbooks are, subtlety, but with no less force, asking CHL learners to assume a strong Chinese identity, regardless of their ‘western’ or ‘Canadian’ identity and Discourse. 6 Of course, cultural affiliation was not the sole factor in determining my language proficiency. Other reasons such as family issues and personality all have their effect on my language learning attitude. This also goes to show that individual factors play a key role in language learning and educators cannot presuppose all CHL learners come with the same aptitude and cultural affiliation. 79 Culture needs to connect with social reality. I draw on Heller’s (1987) quote to understand culture as a set of beliefs, assumptions, ways of looking and relating to the world: “However, culture is not only a set of belief and values that constitute our normal, everyday view of the world; it also includes our normal, everyday ways of behaving” (p.185). Thus, culture depicted in CHL textbooks needs to also incorporate learners’ experiences they encounter on a day to day basis in order to make learning Chinese accessible and meaningful for them. Literacy is laden with ideological values; it is a culturally defined construct which links closely to a cultural identity. The acquisition of Chinese literacy often complements the acquisition of Chinese cultural values, if CHL learners resent learning Chinese because the only cultural identity as portrayed in Zhongwen and Huayu is in conflict with their real identity, it is likely that they will reject acquiring Chinese literacy. Conversely, if Chinese literacy is conveyed in ways that are culturally significant, meaning relevant to learners’ actual life, then the CHL learners will have the interest and desire to derive and create meaning from learning Chinese, thus facilitating them to become bi-literate or multi-literate citizens. While the ‘mainstream’ (Canadian English education system) has been advocating attending to and understanding minority groups’ needs and identity, I argue that CHL education also needs to look at our CHL learners with a new understanding. We need to respect, understand and relate to the CHL learners’ motives and sense of identity; the identities they bring in to the classroom, and the identities they construct in everyday life, or aspire to having. It is not my intention to argue that CHL education needs to forfeit all Chinese values and ideologies in order to make them more appealing to CHL learners. Conversely, I suggest 80 that texts with cultural values can be constructed as an open discourse by which students are permitted a space to discuss and explore differences between cultures. Content can be designed inclusively rather than exclusively, allowing students to draw reference from their own life experiences, for starters by incorporating cultural elements that are both significant in Chinese and the mainstream (North American) culture. For example, when they present the topic of Chinese New Year, they could incorporate a contrastive view of Western New Year, whether by means of a narrative or having the characters as social agents to engage in conversations that discuss and compare the two holidays. Some may argue that it is not the job of the Chinese textbooks to teach Western beliefs and values; however, as argued by He (2008c), CHL development needs to “transform local, independent communities into global, interdependent communities (p. 116)” to allow students to develop continuity and coherence in multiple social worlds. By “enriching” the CHL textbooks with multicultural elements , older immigrant CHL learners can get a glimpse of the world that they are expected to immerse in through a familiar language; on the contrary, second generation CHL learners will discover how learning Chinese can relate to their immediate world while getting in touch with their heritage sides. Note that these two groups of CHL learners are culture carriers who come with a wide repertoire of knowledge from both worlds; if textbooks can facilitate communication between these two groups of students, then it will allow them to exchange different worldviews while having common ground to relate upon. Students will be much more engaged in Community Chinese School and bi/multi-literacy development will become a much more enjoyable and empowering process. From my own experience both as a class assistant and a teacher in a CCS, teachers do sometimes employ “group work” for students to have hands-on experience. For instance, in 81 my Grade 4 class, I had students in groups working on skits for class presentations, or simply paired them up to engage in speech practice by asking each other a set of questions related to the topics they learned. However, this is a rare activity as CCSs still largely employs teacher- centered, textbook-based teaching rather than student-centered methodology. In this light, textbooks need to be designed with explicit knowledge to remind CSS teachers to be aware of the rich resources within their students, guiding teachers to open a space in which students can engage in a dialogue that facilitates their comprehension of the different cultures. We need not make CHL learners’ process of self-exploration more complex than it already is by attempting to channel them into ideal Chinese children; on the contrary, CCSs should embrace the hybrid identities that CHL learners develop and provide them a third space where they can examine and understand their complex identity processes that are otherwise less available or legitimized in the mainstream education. Through the learning of Chinese, CHL learners can understand their relation to their heritage culture and to the immediate world that they are immersed in, creating a hybrid but coherent identity which allows them to travel comfortably between cultures. Literacy practices, reading and writing, are so powerful that they ultimately affect student’s sense of who they are and the ways of which they figure out their sense of identity (Ferdman, 1990). Although facing many difficulties, CCSs are, nonetheless, the most fundamental and core site for the promotion of CHL education. Textbooks, one of the most important tools shared amongst many CCSs in North America can contribute to CHL education by bridging the gaps between different cultures and discourses (or Discourses). 82 Chapter 5: Conclusion 5.1 Summary of Findings In this study, I analyzed CHL textbooks used by CCSs to understand how Chinese schools socialize their students into proper Chinese through reading textbooks and the extent to which textbooks influence and impact students’ identity (re)construction. I employed both content analysis and discourse analysis to reveal the moral, cultural, and ideological values embedded in Huayu and Zhongwen. I then drew upon Gee’s (2008) notion of D/discourses to illustrate how conflicts are produced when discourses are not coherent with the Discourses learners encounter on a day-to-day basis. I have also documented the ways in which different characters and roles are used to serve as culture carriers—to transmit knowledge and role models to perform the ideal Chinese identity. All the findings suggested that there is a gap between the world portrayed in the textbooks and the real or actual worlds where CHL learners reside. What is written in the textbooks is based on “somebody’s version of what constitutes important knowledge and a legitimate worldview” (Sleeter & Grant, 1997, p. 80). While the worldview presented in these textbooks may be deemed as important, and viewed as legitimate in CHL students’ home countries (in the case of immigrant students), it may conflict with the values and ideologies CHL students encounter at the Canadian English mainstream schools. The analysis shows that a large proportion of the content in the textbooks is dedicated to promoting only Chinese culture, values and ideologies, and these cultural and moral values are presented as if they were not only the dominant culture but the only culture. The characters in the textbooks live in a vacuum where Chinese cultural and moral values are cherished and romanticized, and being Chinese is the ideal identity. The idealized world 83 created by CHL textbooks displays no cross-cultural conflicts, struggles and questions, which are exactly the opposite from what CHL learners are faced with every day. Thus, when CHL learners read the textbooks, they are strapped to a world which has little relevance to their true world and lived experiences, making it difficult for them to relate to and accept the values. Even if these values are understood by some CHL learners (e.g., the older Chinese immigrant children), the constant request to perform and act like a Chinese may marginalize them outside of the Chinese communities, as not all forms of “cultural capital” brought by minority students is favoured and recognized by mainstream schools and teachers (Curdt- Christiansen, 2008). Thus, when the worlds are presented as a dichotomy without anything to bridge them, CHL learners may “internalize what they are taught in textbooks, although others may marginalize it with their own thinking or reject it outright” (Sleeter & Grant, 1997, p. 97). In either case, CHL learners inevitably feel alienated in either the mainstream or their own heritage. As educators, we can promote CHL learning without marginalizing CHL learners by bridging the gap between the expectations behind how to be an “ideal Chinese” and CHL learner’s day-to-day reality: 84 As illustrated above, the purpose of Community Chinese Schools is far more than just the advocacy of learning Chinese and becoming Chinese. Rather, CCS should be a light beacon guiding CHL learners from/to a safe place to/from an unknown land, taking the two seemingly parallel or separate worlds and creating a third space (Bhabha, 1996; Rutherford, 1990) where CHL learners’ different identities are encouraged and embraced. Through textbooks, CCSs can bridge the two worlds and create a new transformative space, and through acquiring Chinese literacy, CHL learners are encouraged to travel back and forth in the two worlds while negotiating and transforming their identities and finding a position in relation to both where they feel comfortable, valued, and competent. After all, the goal of CHL education is not to impose a narrow sense identity, but to enable CHL students to Figure 5.1 The Role of Community Chinese Schools: From Separate to Intersecting Cultural and Linguistic Worlds (Third Spaces) Process of finding self The Ideal Chinese CHL learners’ day-to-day realities The Ideal Chinese CHL learners’ day-to-day realities Worlds in CHL textbooks 85 explore their roots and language so they can add those to their repertoires as multilingual Canadians and global citizens. 5.2 Limitation of the Study The major limitation of this study lies in the restricted examination of the content of the textbooks. In addition to the lesson topics, major readings and side reading passages that were examined in this study, these textbooks also contained some exercises, activities, illustrations and pictures that were not examined because they were beyond the scope of this analysis. The second limitation is the degree of reliability. I was the only coder in this study, thus my own interpretation and understanding of Chinese values was the sole reference of coding. Reliability can be improved with more coders working together which allows room to cross-reference and negotiate what constitutes Chinese values. Moreover, coders with different backgrounds (e.g., educational experience in China and Taiwan) would be preferred, as these textbooks were written and published in different regions. However, it is not uncommon in qualitative research, in particular, which is primarily interpretive, for coding and interpretation to be conducted by the researcher alone with ample exemplification, justification for, and elaboration of interpretations. 5.3 Suggestions for Future Research To further understand CHL learners’ needs, the next step in textbook research can include interviews and/or questionnaires to survey CHL teachers’, learners’, and parents’ thoughts about the current textbooks being used. Ethnographic approaches such as class observation could also be used to understand how teachers employ textbooks to socialize their CHL students and how students react to such socialization. 86 CHL learners are usually grouped as one type of students, and little attention has been paid to their different interests, abilities and profiles (Li & Duff, 2008). CHL learners come from different backgrounds and possess varying language proficiencies; therefore, no single curriculum fits all of them. Thus, more studies need to examine the profiles of CHL learners in order to create materials that are appropriate to their ages and levels of proficiency. The process of realizing one’s identity is an ongoing struggle; it is ever changing with the experiences and knowledge one obtains throughout his or her life. 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Beijing, China: Jinan University Publishing 101 Appendix A: Complete Lists of Cultural and Moral Values Huayu Volume Family Values Conformity, (Respect of Seniority) Perseverance (Tolerance) Education (Importance of School) Collectivism (Group Collaboration) Diligence Benevolence Wisdom Modesty Kindness Keen Sense Honesty Independence Independent Thinking Health/ Wellbeing Innovation 1 4 2 2 1 7 5 5 1 3 2 4 1 1 1 4 5 3 3 2 3 1 1 5 7 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 6 5 2 4 1 3 2 1 7 4 4 3 1 1 1 2 8 3 9 4 1 9 1 3 1 2 3 1 1 Total 26 25 20 18 9 7 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 Zhongwen Volume Education (Importance of School) Diligence Patriotism Perseverance (Tolerance) Conformity, (Respect of Seniority) Family values Modesty Wisdom Collectivism (Group Collaboration) Honesty Astuteness Courage Independent Thinking Generosity 1 3 1 3 2 4 1 2 3 1 3 3 3 5 4 4 1 4 1 3 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 5 4 4 3 1 4 1 2 6 4 7 5 6 1 2 1 7 1 2 8 3 2 1 1 8 3 3 2 1 2 2 1 1 9 5 2 1 1 2 2 total 28 22 19 17 12 10 9 7 6 6 4 3 3 1