English learning apps for young children in China: a critical multimodal case study

<p dir="ltr">Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) has received increasing attention in early childhood education globally. In China, however, government policies prohibit English instruction in public preschools and require private preschools to adopt a play-based approach and avoid introducing the primary school syllabus. Despite these top–down restrictions, there is strong bottom–up enthusiasm for early English language education among families and private providers. Coupled with the high tuition fees of classroom teaching in private preschools, these factors have contributed to the popularity and significance of English learning apps in early childhood education in China. However, research into the potential of these apps to reshape the teaching of EFL to preschool-aged children remains limited. Existing studies have examined the pedagogical design of English learning apps but rarely address how these apps recontextualise the social practices of teaching English to young children. Therefore, in this thesis, I investigate the potential of English learning apps to promote EFL learning among preschool-aged children in China.</p><p dir="ltr">Adopting a social semiotic approach, in this research I critically examined the two most popular English learning apps in China — <i>iHuman ABC</i> (<i>iHuman</i>) and <i>Khan Academy Kid</i>s (<i>Khan</i>) — through multimodal discourse analysis and thematic analysis. I analysed the multimodal content and design of the two apps, their promotional materials within apps and their official websites, their iOS user reviews in Chinese mainland as captured by the mobile apps analytics platform <i>Sensor Tower</i>, and semistructured interviews with 10 English teachers in Chinese private preschools.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings reveal that <i>iHuman </i>and <i>Khan </i>adopt distinct pedagogical orientations, with <i>iHuman </i>reflecting an instructivist approach with a focus on English language skills, and <i>Khan </i>a constructivist approach and the teaching of English literacy skills. Teachers’ evaluations reflect awareness of these differences, whereas user reviews largely prioritise non-pedagogical concerns. Together, app-based teaching may provide an affordable and accessible way to teach young children English, potentially contributing to educational equality. However, app-based teaching might also risk de-professionalisation, be less responsive to children’s individual interests, and assume a certain level of parental knowledge about teaching English to young children. This thesis presents multiple implications for app developers, parents, and preschool teachers. It also contributes to the emerging studies of semiotic technologies for educational purposes and technology-assisted language teaching and learning in early childhood.</p>