Options
Socio-cultural factors and attitudes of Chinese Singaporeans towards English and Mandarin
Loading...
Type
Thesis
Author
Ser, Larry Peng Quee
Supervisor
Gopinathan, Saravanan
Abstract
This study is designed to investigate the relationship between students' socio-cultural backgrounds and their attitudes towards the English Language. It was aimed at finding out which of the selected students' background variables were significantly related to their attitudes towards the language. Mandarin was included to provide a basis for comparison and a more complete representation of the problem.
Five hundred and five Chinese students from eight Government Secondary schools participated in the study. There were 207 boys and 298 girls ; 285 were from the Secondary Four Express stream and 220 from the Secondary Five Normal stream.
Data was obtained by a survey questionnaire composed of four sections : background information, Semantic Differential Scale, Likert Scale and English Language Achievement Test. The Semantic Differential Scale was an indirect measure of subjects' perceptions of Self, Ideal Self, Native English Speakers, English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans. It was used to determine the subjects' attitudes and orientation towards the various reference groups. The Likert Scale was a direct measure consisting of 32 stimulus statements measuring the subjects' attitudes towards English Language, learning and culture. English language achievement was measured by a cloze test.
The results indicated that of the two languages, Mandarin was used more extensively with parents, friends and neighbours than English. The subjects were not only more proficient in Mandarin but also felt more at ease in communicating in the language. The subjects, however, had positive attitudes towards both English and Mandarin showing that a positive attitude towards one language does not necessarily mean a negative attitude towards another. Pearson Product-moment Correlations revealed that "Parents' attitudes towards the English language" and subjects' "Exposure to English" were positively and significantly related to the subjects' attitude towards English. "Exposure to English" seems to account for most of the variance in the subjects' attitude towards the language. "Parents' attitude towards Mandarin" was also positively and significantly related to the subjects' attitude towards Mandarin. Subjects' positive attitudes towards the two languages were only weakly related to their language achievement. However, the language achievement in Mandarin is higher than that for English. This discrepancy in language achievement could be due to the fact that the subjects find the learning of English more difficult than the learning of Mandarin. There exists a dominant instrumental orientation towards the learning of the English language while a dominant integrative orientation exists towards the learning of Mandarin. These two orientations reflect in large measure the status and functions of the two languages in Singapore. The subjects were positive in their perceptions of native English speakers, English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans. They perceived the English-speaking Singaporeans as having more of the Western oriented traits and the Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans as possessing more of the traditional Asian values. The subjects also identified themselves more strongly with the Mandarin-speaking group, including their strong allegiance to their language and culture.
Five hundred and five Chinese students from eight Government Secondary schools participated in the study. There were 207 boys and 298 girls ; 285 were from the Secondary Four Express stream and 220 from the Secondary Five Normal stream.
Data was obtained by a survey questionnaire composed of four sections : background information, Semantic Differential Scale, Likert Scale and English Language Achievement Test. The Semantic Differential Scale was an indirect measure of subjects' perceptions of Self, Ideal Self, Native English Speakers, English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans. It was used to determine the subjects' attitudes and orientation towards the various reference groups. The Likert Scale was a direct measure consisting of 32 stimulus statements measuring the subjects' attitudes towards English Language, learning and culture. English language achievement was measured by a cloze test.
The results indicated that of the two languages, Mandarin was used more extensively with parents, friends and neighbours than English. The subjects were not only more proficient in Mandarin but also felt more at ease in communicating in the language. The subjects, however, had positive attitudes towards both English and Mandarin showing that a positive attitude towards one language does not necessarily mean a negative attitude towards another. Pearson Product-moment Correlations revealed that "Parents' attitudes towards the English language" and subjects' "Exposure to English" were positively and significantly related to the subjects' attitude towards English. "Exposure to English" seems to account for most of the variance in the subjects' attitude towards the language. "Parents' attitude towards Mandarin" was also positively and significantly related to the subjects' attitude towards Mandarin. Subjects' positive attitudes towards the two languages were only weakly related to their language achievement. However, the language achievement in Mandarin is higher than that for English. This discrepancy in language achievement could be due to the fact that the subjects find the learning of English more difficult than the learning of Mandarin. There exists a dominant instrumental orientation towards the learning of the English language while a dominant integrative orientation exists towards the learning of Mandarin. These two orientations reflect in large measure the status and functions of the two languages in Singapore. The subjects were positive in their perceptions of native English speakers, English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans. They perceived the English-speaking Singaporeans as having more of the Western oriented traits and the Mandarin-speaking Singaporeans as possessing more of the traditional Asian values. The subjects also identified themselves more strongly with the Mandarin-speaking group, including their strong allegiance to their language and culture.
Date Issued
1987
Call Number
P35 Ser
Date Submitted
1987