Understanding Professional Lives of Chinese Language Teachers in U.S. Classrooms: A Sociocultural Perspective

• In Event: 72.049 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 72.049-2 - Teaching Experiences of Shanghai Teachers, Native English Teachers in Hong Kong, and Chinese Teachers in the United States

Abstract

This is an ethnographic case study designed to explore the teaching experiences and classroom practices of 23 Chinese as foreign language teachers in secondary U.S. schools in relation to the sociocultural, sociopolitical, and ideological factors of language planning and policy. Data were collected through multiple sources: interviews, classroom observations, policy documents, and artifacts. Several theoretical conceptualizations including Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, field, and capital, Confucian philosophy of education, cultural identity, and cultural historical activity theory were used to frame the inquiry. Findings of the study revealed interplay of educational practices and the external, sociocultural, and worldwide forces acting on educational system and practices, which provided us a comprehensive understanding of connectedness and complexity in professional lives of foreign-educated teachers.

Authors

• Juanjuan Zhao, University of Cincinnati

• Gulbahar H. Beckett, Iowa State University