Employing English Picture Books in Classroom Teaching: Taking a Suburban Area in Mainland China as the Study Context

Abstract

Nowadays, the application of English picturebook in childhood English education has generated more and more attention among Chinese researchers, educators, and parents. A growing number of them have started to employ English picturebook as a tool in childhood English education. However, research on the classroom use of English picturebooks for young Chinese children’s English learning is still very much in its infancy, especially in suburban area of mainland China where parents are mainly from working class. This study aims to examine whether children’s picturebooks are effective to young English learners’ language growth in suburban area of China through the methods of action research. By integrating children picturebooks into English teaching, this study recruit 4 eight-year-old students who have not been formally learned English before. Findings indicate that by incorporating picturebooks with textbook in classroom teaching, students’ English proficiency levels have been obviously improved. Reports from students, parents and teachers’ comments demonstrate that this pedagogical innovation is accepted and beneficial. This paper also offers instructive implications for practitioners and other stakeholders in areas where educational resources are relatively scarce, collaborative effort should be devoted to promote increasing opportunity to get access to English picturebooks for EL students. In conclusion, English picturebooks are suitable for English language learners in the suburban area of China.



Author Information
Jinglan Chen, Xiamen University, China

Paper Information
Conference: ACE2019
Stream: Teaching Experiences

This paper is part of the ACE2019 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon