A Narrative Inquiry of the Influence of Canadian Pre-Service Teachers’ Chinese Language Learning on Cross-Cultural Learning Through Reciprocal Learning

Abstract

Cross-cultural experience plays a very important role to the growth of pre-service teachers. This narrative study explored Canadian pre-service teachers’ Chinese language learning and their cross-cultural experiences in China related to participating in a three-month international program between a university in Canada and a university in China. This study focuses on four participants’ Chinese foreign language learning and how their Chinese learning influenced their cross-cultural learning when being immersed in a Chinese language environment. The findings show that the pre-service teachers not only developed a basic level of oral language proficiency, but also developed a higher language tolerance for the learners who are non-native speakers of English. In addition, through learning Chinese, the pre-service teachers learned more about Chinese culture and developed an appreciation of different cultures which helped them develop better perceptions and attitudes toward multicultural education in Canada.

Narrative inquiry in China

“…Potocek (2016), who participated in the RLP first as a pre-service teacher in 2013 and then as a master's student in 2015, made a narrative inquiry into Language immersion in ESL and EFL classes for his master's thesis. Yuhan Deng examined Canadian teacher candidates' experiences in learning the Chinese language and their crosscultural immersion through the RLP/Mitacs internship in China, revealing how this international intercultural learning experience fostered the Canadian pre-service teachers' understanding of newcomer English-language learners with enhanced pedagogical skills (Deng, 2019). Building on her master's thesis, Deng currently is doing her doctoral dissertation to make a narrative inquiry into Canadian novice teacher development by following up with her master's thesis research participants who are now novice teachers teaching in Canada or abroad.…”