Learning English in the Shadows: Understanding Chinese Learners' Experiences of Private Tutoring

Abstract

Given that private tutoring has received increasing attention in research as a global educational phenomenon with significant implications for educational practices, it has become necessary for TESOL researchers and practitioners to become aware of its impact on language learning and pedagogy. This study investigated the learning experience and reflections of 14 Chinese learners who had received English private tutoring (EPT) during their secondary education in Hong Kong. Each participant completed a background questionnaire and participated in a one-to-one semistructured interview. The analysis revealed participants' ambivalent and paradoxical attitudes toward EPT. Although they considered EPT indispensable for secondary education, they did not regard it as an effective way to increase their English proficiency because of its excessive focus on examination skills instead of the use of English as a language of global communication. The findings were interpreted with reference to contextual conditions where learning for assessment and competitions prevail. This study sheds light on the world of shadow education that exists beyond the boundaries of mainstream classroom settings. Further research on shadow TESOL practices is needed to help researchers and practitioners in TESOL appreciate the unintended consequences of educational changes and their profound impact on learning as mediated by sociocultural conditions. 2014, p. viii; see also Bray, 2009). Defined as fee-paying teaching of academic subjects outside school hours, private tutoring is a form of "shadow education," whose content mimics and is parallel to mainstream education (Bray, 2009, p. 11). Driven by the hope that investments in private tutoring may help children achieve educational successes and social mobility, enthusiastic parents have made private tutoring a major industry across the globe (Bray & Kwo, 2014;Bray & Lykins, 2012;Bray, Mazawi, & Sultana, 2013; Buchmann, Condron, & Roscigno, 2010;Dawson, 2010;Forsey, 2013). In many contexts, English language is one of the major subjects offered by tutorial institutes and an increasing number of learners participate in English private tutoring (EPT) as one of the most important out-of-class learning activities, with the intention to improve their English results in mainstream education and high-stakes examinations. However, little is known about these learners' experiences and reflections. Because EPT significantly impacts student experiences, attitudes, and motivations in English learning (Hamid, Sussex, & Khan, 2009), it has become necessary for TESOL researchers and practitioners to have a better understanding of language learners' participation in EPT. Without considering these experiences, teachers, researchers, and policymakers "would only see a partial picture of [students'] real English-learning experiences and proficiency" (Lee, 2010, p. 70) and miss "alternative perspectives on the meaning of, and social and cognitive processes involved in, language learning and teaching" (Benson & Reinders,...

The Roles of Mainstream Schooling and Shadow Education in English Language Teaching: A Case Study in Hong Kong

“…One participant in this study reckons that students may not be able to speak fluent English and communicate with foreigners effectively despite their full marks in the examination. Yung [6] also comments overemphasis of the language education in Hong Kong on the high achievement in the public examination, which fails to realize the communicative purposes in reality. The example of Hong Kong draws the attention of the public and this phenomenon seems common in different contexts globally [34][35].…”

“…Psychologically, or pedagogically, what are the motives for such education [5]? How effective is such education [6]? Meta-studies that reflect on the research methodologies employed have also been done [3].…”

Evolving ecosystems in education: The nature and implications of private supplementary tutoring in Hong Kong

“…Evolving ecosystems in education: The nature and implications… and Bray 2014;Yung 2015). Some scholars have assessed the scale of tutoring quantitatively using questionnaires (e.g., Safarzyńska 2013;Zhang 2013).…”

Schooling and Its Supplements: Changing Global Patterns and Implications for Comparative Education

“…Thus, although some shadow education is indeed precise mimicry of schooling, using the same textbooks and even the same teachers, other classes supplement the mainstream with different books, providers, pedagogic styles, and so on. Also while some people use the word "tutoring" for all types of instruction, including large classes of the type found in Hong Kong and elsewhere (Koh 2014;Yung 2015), others use the word only for one-to-one or small-group instruction. Partly because of such definitional challenges and also because many families, particularly in the upper and middle classes, seek forms of provision beyond strict shadowing, the present essay focuses on supplementary education rather than just shadow education as defined in my 1999 book.…”