34.065 - Opportunities and Challenges in Chinese-English Dual-Language Bilingual Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Current scholarship in bilingual education focus primarily on Spanish-English and French-English language combinations. While these bodies of research have made important contributions to the field, there is a lack of literature on Chinese-English programs. This symposium brings together scholars to examine the growing body of research in Chinese-English Dual-Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) programs in North America. It includes studies on both Mandarin and Cantonese in the United States and Canada, and discusses various issues related to biliteracy development, parental perspectives, and student learning factors, adopting different research designs and methods. This symposium aims to diversify the language area in current bilingual education research and critically engage with interdisciplinary research narratives to examine opportunities and challenges in Chinese-English DLBE programs.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Bilingual Education Research

Chair

• Kevin M. Wong, Pepperdine University

Papers

• A Systematic Review of Chinese-English Dual-Language Bilingual Education in North America - Zhongfeng Tian, Boston College; Kevin M. Wong, Pepperdine University

• Reading in Chinese and English: A Comparison of More and Less Proficient Chinese-Immersion Readers - Tara Williams Fortune, University of Minnesota

• Parent Perspectives on a Chinese-English Dual-Language Program in Canada - Pohwee Koh, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Competence and Achievement: Upper Elementary Students in a Dual Immersion Program - Shuhua He, UC Davis; Ty Brownridge, University of California - Davis; Lu Yang, University of California - Davis; Genevieve Leung, University of San Francisco; Qing Zhou, University of California - Berkeley; Yuuko Uchikoshi, University of California - Davis

Discussant

• Guofang Li, University of British Columbia