Leisure reading in multilingual Singapore

Reading enjoyment, habits and preferences of Singaporean children

Authors

  • Baoqi Sun National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
  • Chin Ee Loh National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
  • Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen University of Bath

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.17610

Keywords:

leisure reading, reading habits, bilingual, reading preferences, reading enjoyment

Abstract

What are bilingual children reading? Do children who enjoy reading books in one language also enjoy reading books in the other language? Drawing on survey data from 1,312 children (aged 9–11) in two government primary schools in Singapore, this study examined reading enjoyment, habits and preferences of two groups of bilingual children – English-Chinese and English-Malay bilingual children. Results showed that children generally enjoyed reading in English more than reading in Chinese/Malay, and that they read English books more often and for longer duration. Within each language, reading enjoyment was significantly associated with reading frequency and reading duration. Crosslinguistically, children’s reading duration and frequency in their two languages were closely related, despite their different reasons for reading English and Chinese/Malay books. Even though levels of reading enjoyment in the two languages were not significantly correlated, results suggested that English reading enjoyment may facilitate Chinese/Malay reading. Results highlight the important role of language policy, the focus of language curriculum and language-specific features in shaping bi-/multilingual children’s reading habits and preferences. Implications for classroom applications and the need to promote Chinese/Malay reading are discussed.

Author Biographies

  • Baoqi Sun, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

    Baoqi Sun is a research scientist at the Centre for Research in Child Development at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research interests are in bilingual education, biliteracy development, language acquisition and leisure reading.

  • Chin Ee Loh, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

    Loh Chin Ee is an Associate Professor in the English Language and Literature Academic Group at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on literature and literacy education, particularly on reading and school libraries. Her recent books are The Space and Practice of Reading: A Case Study of Reading and Social Class in Singapore and Literature Education in the Asia-Pacific: Policies, Practices and Perspectives in Global Times (both 2017, Routledge).

  • Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen , University of Bath

    Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen is Professor in Applied Linguistics at the Department of Education, University of Bath, UK. Her research interests encompass ideological, sociocultural-cognitive and policy perspectives on children’s multilingual education and biliteracy development. Her most recent research project is entitled Family Language Policy: A Multi-Level Investigation of Multilingual Practices in Transnational Families, funded by The Economic and Social Research Council.

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Published

2020-12-01

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Articles

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© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

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How to Cite

Sun, B., Loh, C. E., & Curdt-Christiansen , X. L. (2020). Leisure reading in multilingual Singapore: Reading enjoyment, habits and preferences of Singaporean children. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 1(2), 313-339. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmtp.17610