Why Chinese Immigrants Struggle with English Fluency

I recently came across an interesting article in the Toronto Star that I think many of you might enjoy.

 As you can see by the title, the article focuses on a problem that is probably not just limited to Canada, but likely exists in other English speaking countries such as the England, Ireland, Scotland, the United States. Australia, New Zealand and others.  

The article has generated a lot of interest and a lot of comments, so I am posting the complete article so that you can read the whole thing before I add some of my own comments in a separate post. 

I suggest that you read the entire article, the links it sends you to, AND as many of the comments as you can so that you can get an idea of what other people think. It might provide you with some insight into what native speakers expect from you 

Why Chinese Immigrants Struggle with English Fluency 

Nicholas Keung

The Star Immigration Reporter

59 Comments

   Mandarin-speaking Zhenyong Li, who came to Canada in 1998, said he 

finds small talk in English more difficult than his engineering jargon.

  Zhenyong Li has no trouble speaking English in his engineering jargon, but the Chinese immigrant says it can still be challenging to carry on small talk.

And yet, casual conversation with native speakers around the water cooler is crucial to language development — and social integration — for those whose mother tongue is something else, especially Mandarin.

A new study found the Mandarin-speaking immigrants it tracked had made “no significant progress” in their English accent, fluency and comprehensibility seven years after their arrival here, compared with their Slavic-language (Russian and Ukrainian) speaking counterparts.

The study by the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy followed 25 immigrants each from Mandarin and Slavic groups, and assessed their listening and speaking skills at years 1, 2 and 7.

“Mandarin-speakers over time did not get much easier to understand when native listeners heard them speak,” said University of Alberta educational psychology professor Tracey Derwing, who co-authored the study with NorQuest College language instructor Erin Waugh.

Make Little Progress 

“They made very little progress in their pronunciation and fluency. They still had many pauses and hesitation.”

Participants in the study — all possessing the same overall language proficiency, well-educated and with similar language training here — were shown pictures and asked to describe them in their own words, while being evaluated by 30 listeners to eliminate any bias or subjectivity.

Researchers also found the Mandarin speakers had had significantly fewer conversations of 10 minutes or more with native and non-native English speakers than did the Slavic participants.

The Mandarin speakers were, as a whole, more reluctant to initiate conversation and appeared to be less aware of current local events than the Slavic speakers.

The Slavic speakers, as a group, the report said, were more assertive and more deliberate in their effort to learn English. They also had an advantage because of interests shared with the larger community (ice hockey, for example), which helped with conversations.

Li, who came here from Shanghai in 1998, said Mainland Chinese learn their English from

textbooks through reading and writing, and have no opportunity to drill their listening and speaking skills outside the classroom.

“If you cannot listen or speak proper English, you feel discouraged to participate in a conversation because you are afraid others don’t understand you,” said Li, 52, who has a master’s degree in engineering  from the California Institute of Technology and is a manager of a Markham consulting firm.

The Chinese Professionals Association of Canada in Toronto has introduced several programs to address the language gap, which focus on pronunciation and “soft skills” in communication.

“It’s vital to be able to carry small talk,” said its president, Hugh Zhao, who moved here from Shenyang in 1989. “Small talk leads to common understanding and other big topics. It’s not enough just to talk about the weather in Canada.”

Zhao, a computing manager at the University of Toronto, said the Chinese language is very different from the English alphabet, and so are the cultures attached to those language.

Also, silence, which for the Chinese is a virtue reflecting humbleness, is not valued in the West, where people tend to appreciate participation and outspokenness.

Not Active in Class 

“(Mainland) Chinese students are not active in class because, if they understand it, they don’t want to show off. And if they do not understand something, they don’t want to ask and show their ignorance,” Zhao said.

“Sometimes, people are just afraid to make mistakes and decide not to speak. We have to learn not to be afraid to embarrass and humiliate ourselves.”

Derwing said English-language training for immigrants must focus more on listening, speaking and pronunciation skills, as well as the so-called soft skill of engaging in casual conversation.

“Communication is a two-way street. The burden of communication should not be on immigrants’ shoulders only,” she added. “Canadians should not just zone out or shut down when they hear somebody speak with an accent.”

 Here are three of the first comments on the article:  

Cold Hard Truth

"...... Ms. Derwing Tracey Derwing paints a pretty cold picture of Canadians with her closing comments, which border the gratuitous. Given that the average "Joe" doesn't understand the finer points of culture models and the significant differences between Canadian and Chinese cultures, I'd say the people responsible for teaching English to (albeit desiring) immigrants are doing pretty well. It's up to the immigrating parties (Chinese in this case) to adapt to the culture they've joined, screw up their courage, put their narcisism  to rest, and just open their mouths so they can learn while talking, just as we do when we're children and learning English as our first language. After all, the immigrants chose to come: the lion's share of the burden ought to be theirs. If they feel ill-done-by, they know where the nearest airport is.

Lingo Steve 

"  Not surprised. As someone who speaks 11 languages, including Mandarin, and knows many Mandarin speakers here in Vancouver, i would say the main reason Mandarin speaking immigrants don't do well in English is that they are not very interested. I have, however, met motivated Mandarin speakers, who chose to immerse themselves in the local scene, interact with locals etc. and they learned to speak very well. Poor success in language learning is almost always because of the attitude of the learner."  

Rex Saigon 

SFH makes a great point: too often the language spoken at these CPAC ( Chinese Professional Association of Canada) is MANDARIN!!    NON-CHINESE should be the ones looking at volunteering to lead informal discussion groups — strictly in English — for Mandarin speakers (or any others!) who TRULY want to learn OUR country's native tongue. Such classes might not be for absolute beginners, but those with a rudimentary understanding looking to enhance casual communication skills. Having fellow Mandarin-speakers teach such classes is theoretically fine, so long as those teaching are ABSOLUTELY FLUENT in English, something I find far more likely among Cantonese speakers than Mandarin speakers in Canada at this point in time. Perhaps classes led my people fully fluent (meaning NO accent) in English are already provided, but I have to wonder, especially considering the culture's tendency toward like leading like.

To read  some of the other 53 comments go to” http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1205277--why-chinese-immigrants-struggle-with-english-fluency

Let me know what YOU think AFTER you have read the article and some of the comments. 

Here are some of the questions I would love to get your answers to: 

1.   Do  YOU agree with the results of the study? Why or why not?

2.   Do you agree with the reasons given for the problem? Why or why not ?  

3.   What is your reaction to some of the comments to the story? Do you agree or 

      disagree with them?  Why or why not:? 

4    Are you surprised about some of the comments? 

4.   What are some possible solutions to this problem? 

5.   Is it necessary for Chinese speakers to take steps, or is it all their teachers' fault? 

6.   Canadians and Canadian employers clearly think "soft " skills are important. What 

     is your opinion? 

7.    Do YOU think these "soft skills" are important, or should employers hire you even 

       if you don't have them? 

Speak English for "Just A Minute"

Are you trying to improve your spoken English or get a better mark on an important speaking test such as the IELTS?

Are you interested in improving one specific aspect of your speaking?     

Watch the following video for some instructions on a speaking game called Just a Minute. This is a game that help you improve your speaking skills while you have  fun at the same time.

In the game, you can focus on all aspects of spoken English, OR simply one aspect at a time, for example, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation OR fluency.  In order to play. you need at least one partner, but playing with three people and even four people also works well.

This is a useful game to play in an English classroom. but the great thing about it is that you don't have to play it in class. You can play it with your friends anywhere you want - at home, on the bus or subway, at the beach or at the park. All you need is a series of topics and the instructions on how to pay the game. 

Watch and listen to the instructions:   

Watch two native speakers playing Just a Minute 

Here are a few more suggestions:

Watch or listen to yourselves

Try video-taping or audio taping yourself. For example, you could use a regular  video camera, or simply the video function of your smart phone. After playing several rounds of Just A Minute, stop, watch yourself and be prepared to discuss things you did right as well as areas where you need improvement.  Remember, many athletes do this all the time in order to improve their performance. Make sure you find both the good and the bad. No one does everything wrong, so you need to acknowledge the positive aspects of your performance. 

Focus on specific problems:

Focus on improving on specific areas you have problems with in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency. For example, if you have trouble consistently using the past tense(s) when you speak, choose topics that force you to use the past tense. Here are a few to get you started: your first day in school, first time away from home. first kiss, first date, first cigarette, first punishment, first teacher.

If you have problems with constantly saying uh...uh...uh..., focus on trying not to hesitate.  Change the rules so that instead of taking your place the first time you say ah, your partner simply counts the number of times you do it. Keep a record, and focus on reducing the number of times you stop and hesitate with ah..ah... In the Toastmasters organization, this person is called an ah counter. 

Practice New Vocabulary  

If you are trying to practice using new vocabulary, make it a rule that specific words MUST be built into your one minute speech. Even if you speak perfectly for one minute, you lose a point if you don't use ALL of the words.  These could be any kind of words: words about the environment, parenting, psychology, crime, descriptive adjectives, power verbs , etc.

Don't Get too Anxious  

As the speaker in the first video said, no one is perfect. Native speakers can have problems with this game, especially when it comes to repeating words, so don't expect too much of yourselves. Make sure you are serious about practicing, but make sure you have fun at the same time. Try to make some of the content entertaining and funny. Laugh at yourself and your mistakes.

Choose Appropriate topics

Choose topics are small and narrow enough for you to be able to come up with something without having to think too hard.  For example, the topics of  sausages, bottled water, showers, shoes, lip piercing are all topics that you can probably start talking about immediately. Controversial topics such as capital punishment and  euthanasia, however, are better topics for prepared speeches in which you can do some research.

Develop Some Strategies

There are a number of strategies you can use to help yourself improve speaking about anything spontaneously. One of them, is to keep up with things that are going on around you - not just  news, but interesting developments in the areas of psychology, science, technology, child care .....  The more you know,  the more you can say.

I will discuss other strategies you can use in another post, but in the meantime, go to the SPEAKING PAGE  for more information on preparing for important advanced level speaking tests,  making presentations or simply holding a conversation.

One Minute topics

I have several lists of potential ONE MINUTE TOPICS topics that I am currently revising. I will post them within the next day or two.