This qualitative study investigates ten Chinese programs, including Chinese as additional language, transitional, CLIL, immersion, and dual language programs, in Australia and the US. This study discusses the role of Chinese as a subject and for learning in a bilingual and biliteracy curriculum in effective Chinese-English bilingual programs.
This study addresses the research question: How can a Chinese language and literacy subject be developed in effective Chinese-English bilingual education programs? Through investigating 10 Chinese language programs, the aims are to understand: 1) the role of Chinese language and literacy as a subject in effective Chinese-English bilingual programs; 2) the relationship among Chinese and English language and literacy and bilingual learning across the curriculum; and 3) how international expertise and practice in literacy development (Chall, 1996; Jhingran, 2019) and language and content integration (Lin, 2016; Lyster, 2018) can inform strong bilingual and biliteracy teaching and learning. This qualitative study draws on ethnographic principles. Data were collected through classroom observations (110 lessons), interviews with school administrators and teachers (n = 37), and related documents. Data were analysed through thematic analysis and on-going researcher reflexivity.
This study provides a critical analysis of the nature and practice of 10 Chinese programs in three settings: 1) three Chinese-as-additional-language programs in South Australia; 2) one Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Chinese and two Chinese immersion programs in other Australian states; and 3) one transitional and three immersion/dual Chinese–English programs in the US. This study finds that: 1) the current Chinese-as-additional-language programs are unlikely to support satisfactory capability in Chinese; 2) developing strong language and literacy in Chinese from as early as possible is essential for learning across the curriculum bilingually. Drawing on findings and in discussion with literature, this study proposes a functional framework for developing curriculum for effective Chinese-English bilingual programs. This study has practical significance in: 1) enhancing understanding of developing bilingual and biliteracy in Chinese and English through learning across the curriculum bilingually; and 2) informing bilingual curriculum development, in particular for Australian context.
