"Chinese Is Not a Distraction!" Exploring the Bilingual Experiences of First-Semester Chinese International College Students

• In Event: 81.032 - MTCC Roundtable Session 37
  In Roundtable Session: 81.032-5 - Chinese Language Education: Insights and Challenges

Abstract

This one-semester-long qualitative study integrated semi-structured interviews, observations, text analysis, and social media analysis to explore the bilingual linguistic functioning of six Chinese international undergraduate students during their first semester in an elite American university. Drawing upon Bioecological Model of Human Development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1985), findings of the study revealed that focal students strategically adopted their bilingual ability to function linguistically in academic settings. Their home languages, when drawn upon skillfully, could inform English-medium instruction and content-subject learning. Study results echo the importance to draw upon students’ bilingual repertoire in higher education settings. Implications of the study shed lights on linguistically-responsive instruction and teacher preparation to serve the growing diversity in American universities.

Author

• Qianqian Zhang-Wu, Boston College