Cross-Domain Language Practices and Kindergarten Mandarin Outcomes Among Tibetan Preschoolers: A Language Management Theory-Informed Study

This study examined how Tibetan preschoolers’ language practices across family, community, and kindergarten domains were associated with classroom participation and Mandarin (Putonghua) outcomes in a multilingual region of western China. Using a Language Management Theory (LMT)-informed framework, the study drew on caregiver questionnaires, follow-up clarification interviews, classroom observations, and teacher developmental assessments for 129 Tibetan children aged 5–6. The analysis described children’s language practices across domains and examined associations with observed engagement, classroom Mandarin use, listening, and oral-language outcomes, with exploratory analyses of activity-based practices and interlocutor-specific input. Findings showed a coherent cross-domain pattern. In kindergarten, the frequency of children’s Mandarin use showed the most stable association with outcomes, whereas engagement was more specifically associated with listening. Across home and community contexts, recurrent and socially interactive activities were especially salient: singing and peer play, especially cross-ethnic peer play, showed consistent associations with stronger classroom Mandarin outcomes. Interlocutor-specific input from family members and peers also mattered, with best-friend input showing the most consistent pattern. These findings are associational rather than causal. The study contributes a domain-, activity-, and interlocutor-sensitive account of early Mandarin learning in minority preschool settings. It suggests that additive bilingual support should expand repeated, socially meaningful Mandarin participation across family, community, and kindergarten while sustaining Tibetan as a valued language of family interaction, identity, and community life. By highlighting where, with whom, and in what activities Mandarin is used, the study refines exposure-based accounts of early second-language learning contexts.