Research On English Learning Attitudes Of 4-6 Years Old Children In Shanghai Through Metaphor Analysis

For a long time, English education for preschool children has been a hot issue in early childhood education. Previous studies have shown that positive attitudes towards English learning have close connection with ESL students’ academic achievement. Children’s attitudes towards English language learning are very important to their language learning and development. Henceforth, this study focused on attitudes towards English language learning of 4-6 years old children in Shanghai and their influential factors.Based on of literature review, this study used interviewing method, questionnaires and elicited metaphor analysis to investigate a Total number of 80 children and 80 parents in 3 kindergartens in Shanghai. The questionnaires and interviews were used for collecting the background information about children’s English learning experience and parents’ attitudes towards English education. The metaphor data was also collected by interviews. Through the statistic analysis of questionnaire data and the transcription and encoding of metaphor data, researcher has a comprehensive analysis of the attitudes of 4-6 years old children in Shanghai.The research findings are consisting of three parts. First, from an overall perspective, the 4-6 years old children in Shanghai hold a positive attitude towards English language learning. Children tend to use positive metaphors to express their attitudes. While describing their English learning attitudes, children mainly talked about their own learning experience, happy or affective emotion and related learning activities. Second, children’s attitudes towards Dialect learning is less positive than English and Mandarin, and attitudes towards English and Dialect learning is more negative than Mandarin. Third, there is no difference of English learning attitudes between different gender and age group; family socioeconomic status (SES) does not has significant impact on children’s attitudes; but parent’s attitude towards English education is an important influential factor of children’s attitudes; children’s English learning enthusiasm increases with the rise of English communication between parents and children.