An Investigation into Bilingual Education in China's Tertiary Institutions

摘要

This study attempts to answer the following questions:What is bilingual education?What is the bilingual education as is perceived and practised in China's institutions of higher learning?What is a better model of bilingual education for adoption in China's tertiary institutions?The subjects for this study are 320 students of different academic majors,and some bilingual teachers from Zhejiang University.By using questionnaires,interviews and classroom observations,this study examined bilingual education in Zhejiang University and proposed a model of bilingual education in China's tertiary institutious.The study found that the current bilingual education as practiced in China's tertiary institutions is just at the beginning,and a lack of qualified teachers is the key factor influencing the healthy development of current bilingual education in colleges and universities.Other factors that are important for the development of bilingual courses include teaching approaches,teaching materials,and curriculum design.With a critical review of literature and an empirical study using Zhejiang University as a sample,a model of bilingual education in the Chinese content is proposed.The model required the class interaction applies English as its main teaching language,along with an addition of Chinese explanation for some terms,specialties and difficulties.In light of the significance of bilingual education and people's enthusiasm towards bilingual courses at tertiary levels,the proposed model may indicate a possible direction to improve current the bilingual education in current China's tertiary institutions.

目录

英文文摘

Acknowledgements

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Statement of the Problem

1.2 The Significance of the Problem

1.3 Aims and Objectives

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Definitions

2.1.1 Definitions of “Bilingual”

2.1.2 Definitions of “Bilingual education”

2.2 Models of Bilingual Education

2.2.1 Sources of Differences among Different Models

2.2.2 Features of Successful Bilingual Programs

2.2.3 Situational Factors

2.2.4 Language Immersion

2.2.5 Classification of Bilingual Education by Mackey

2.2.6 Ferguson et al's (1977) Distinctions and Ten Examples of Varying Aims of Bilingual Education

2.2.7 Weak Forms and Strong Forms

2.3 Bilingual Education in China

2.3.1 Introduction

2.3.2 Bilingual Teacher Training in China

2.3.3 Curriculum Design

2.3.4 Teaching Materials

2.4 Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education

2.4.1 Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education in USA

2.4.2 Pros and Cons of Bilingual Education in China

Chapter Three Bilingual Education in USA

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Models of Bilingual Education in USA

3.3 Bilingual Teachers' Training in USA

3.3.1 Introduction

3.3.2 The CLAD(R)/BCLAD(R) Examinations and Certificates

3.4 Political Issues Associated with Bilingual Education in USA

3.4.1 Events and Their Related Historical Contexts

3.4.2 Conclusions

Chapter Four Research Design and Methodology

4.1 Methodological Considerations

4.2 Questionnaire

4.2.1 Advantages of using questionnaire

4.2.2 Types of Questionnaire

4.3 Interviews

4.3.1 Introduction

4.4 Classroom Observation

4.4.1 Introduction

4.5 Research Questions and Procedures

4.5.1 Research Questions

4.5.2 Research Instruments and Procedures

Chapter Five Results and Findings

5.1 Results and Findings of the Students Questionnaire Survey

5.1.1 Six Open Questions

5.1.2 Closed questions

5.2 Results and Findings of the Interviews

5.3 Results and Findings of the Classroom Observation

Chapter Six Towards A Model of Bilingual Education in China's Tertiary Institution

6.1 A Summary of Major Findings

6.2 AProposed Model

6.2.1 Data support

6.2.2 Research Experiences

6.3 Limitations and recommendations

References

Appendix