'My mom makes me to learn English': Power, system, instruction and quality of early childhood English language education in Taiwan

Learning English in early childhood has become a prevalent trend in Taiwan, but its popularity reveals several problematic issues. For example, there is a lack of qualified English teachers, some English language programs are inappropriate to children's development, and children's perceptions of their experience in learning English is not being considered in policy making. The intentions of this study were to examine early childhood English language education from various perspectives and examine whether some models for facilitating the learning of English in young children are more appropriate than others in that they do not interrupt other learning activities.; Adopting the principles of Carspecken's critical ethnography methodology, primary data in this study were collected in a partial English immersion program and a single-period English program, employing methods that encompassed (1) observations of the two featured English teachers' classroom practices and their students' responses to English instruction, (2) interviews with English teachers, classroom ECE teachers, children, parents, and one government representative, and (3) the children's drawings that illustrate their classroom experience.; The main findings are discussed in three areas. First, the native and non-native English speaking teachers used different teaching approaches, but both delivered instruction through speaking English only and both emphasized students' productive skills. The native English speaking teacher presented a more relaxed learning environment and greater passion for working with children than the non-native English speaking teacher. Second, the majority of children reported that they enjoyed their English class, and that free play was their favorite activity in school. It was also discovered that the children in the partial English immersion program had less time for outdoor activities, free play and Mandarin learning, and thus it was concluded that single-period English program would not interrupt children's typical learning activities. Lastly, the different positions held by the parents, administrators, and Taiwanese Ministry of Education toward early childhood English language education, influenced by economic conditions of the English language market, cultural values and research literature, all explicitly and implicitly influenced the quality of teachers' classroom practices and children's English learning experience.