Navigating the third culture : comparative case studies of Japanese expatriate students in Singapore, examining factors influencing their development of English language

Abstract

Through comparative case studies, this study explores if the home environment, school environment, social circles and the use of media of Japanese third-culture kids (TCKs) in Singapore are enabling or mitigating factors of their development of English language.<br><br>This study builds on the framework of TCKs established by Useem (1963) and redefined by Pollock and Van Reken (2001), Dewaele, Housen and Wei’s (2003) definition of bilingualism and Tokuhama-Espinosa’s (2000) ten factors of success in raising multilingual children.<br><br>A comparative case study approach was employed in this study. By means of semi structured interviews with three Japanese TCKs living in Singapore aged 16 to 17, each from a different school type (international school, Japanese school and local Singapore school), data was collected and analyzed.<br><br>School environments, social circles, use of media and individual motivation were found to be enabling factors whereas home environments were found to be neither an enabling nor mitigating factor. Differing pedagogies were found between different school types. Most of the findings are in line with the literature reviewed.