Lexical Tones and Word Learning in Mandarin-Speaking Children at Three Years of Age(Invited paper)

Unlike Indo-European languages,Mandarin relies heavily on lexical tones to distinguish word identity. Using the intermodal preferential looking paradigm, this study examined 3-year-old Mandarinspeakers＇ ability to use Mandarin lexical tones in learning new words. Results showed that when children were presented with Tone 2（rising） and Tone 4（falling）pairs, children successfully learned both words.However, when children were presented with Tone 2and Tone 3（dipping） pairs, they learned the Tone 2word but not the Tone 3 one. Children were then divided into two groups based on their learning performance on the Tone 3 word. Successful learning of Tone 3 words was observed in the high performers but not in the low performers, who consistently misused Tone 3 as Tone 2. This study showed that Mandarinspeaking 3-year-olds could use lexical tones to learn words under experimental conditions, and that the difficulty of Tone 3 acquisition may be related to its lower level of perceptual distinctiveness compared with other tones.

Can ECE Classes Sustainably Empower Preschool Children’s Development?-A Longitudinal Study of the Role of ECE Classes in Children’s Learning and Development

Does enrolling children aged 0-3 in early childhood education(ECE)classes continuously empower their learning and development after entering kindergarten?Based on the tracking survey data of 664 children aged 3-6 in 2017 and 367 children aged 3-6 in 2018,this study uses Propensity Score Matching to analyze this issue.The findings reveal that children’s family socioeconomic status is a key factor influencing their participation in ECE classes.The baseline data show that participation in ECE classes does not significantly improve children’s learning and development.However,the follow-up data show that participation in ECE classes plays a significant negative role in motor development for children moving to their second year of kindergarten,but subsequently plays a positive role in language development,health,and safety for those entering their third year of kindergarten.Overall,participation in ECE classes plays no continuous positive role in children’s learning and development after they enter kindergarten.Based on these findings,it is suggested that parents should respect the natural laws of child development instead of blindly following the trend of attending ECE classes,and high-quality parental companionship is crucial.The Chinese government is supposed to implement policies such as“double reduction”to regulate ECE institutions that fail to operate in good faith.

Pakistani Teachers’ Perceptions of Kindergarten Children’s Learning: An Exploration of Understanding and Practice

This paper considers perceptions of children’s learning and classroom practice to support learning in the Pakistani early years educational context.In Pakistan,there is a growing focus on quality provision of early childhood education and building early childhood education teacher capacity.Over the course of one academic year,data were collected from kindergarten teachers in a Pakistani urban school through interviews and classroom observations as part of a larger study.Findings presented in this paper are based on the interview data of two teachers in the sample,a novice and an experienced teacher.Data analysis examined their perceptions of kindergarten children’s learning and of their practice to support kindergarten children’s learning,taking into consideration the gender perspective.The results showed tensions in the teachers’perceptions which contrasted between a constructivist approach and a teacher-directed skills approach.Perceptions of their practice reflected a formal,teacher-directed approach rather than a constructivist approach and a teacher-directed skills approach to teaching.Several factors,including deep-rooted perceptions as well as curriculum structure,time,number of staff and resources,contributed to this.