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Article published In:
Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報)
Vol. 55:3 (2020) ► pp.208–229

Success factors for a Mandarin bilingual program

An autoethnographic case study

| University of Alberta

Immersion-style bilingual school programs have proven to be effective ways for children’s acquisition of additional languages. However, such programs seem to be scarce across the world in comparison to the value people attach to bilingual skills and bilingual education. Through a case study of a successful Mandarin bilingual program in western Canada, the study hopes to explore the factors that contribute to the success of such programs in North America. The study points to the importance of government language policy environments, the attitude of local school boards, the commitment and active involvement of parents, and the availability and recruitment of quality teachers as key factors for the success of a bilingual school program.

Keywords: bilingual program, success factors, Mandarin, western Canada, case study
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The context: The Mandarin bilingual program
  • Methodology
  • Results/themes emerged
    • 1.Striving for a Chinese identity
    • 2.Bilingual and immersion tradition in Canada
    • 3.Federal multiculturalist policy environment
    • 4.A linguistically progressive province
    • 5.Strong and committed parent association
    • 6.Availability and recruitment of quality chinese language teachers
  • Discussion
  • Limitations and future implications
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 11 August 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.20009.liu
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