Chinese as a Foreign Language in K-12 Education

A survey of American paired teachers in dual language Chinese immersion programs

“…Many teachers indicated they did not receive any professional development about Chinese culture before taking on their role with the immersion program, although most teachers did report that there was sustained professional development opportunities while they performed their role in the program. This is especially pertinent when most of the Chinese immersion teachers are international (Chen et al, 2017; Haley et al, 2013; Peng, 2016). The lack of preparation for working with colleagues from a distinct culture may have led to the miscommunications at the professional and building levels, as well as difficulties with expectations the teachers had of each other.…”

“…Researchers have written about the difficulty of finding qualified international language teachers for decades throughout North America (Jacobs, 2019; Karsenti et al, 2008; Majhanovich, 1990; Obadia & Martin, 1995; Pufahl & Rhodes, 2011; Rubio, 2018; Van Houten, 2009). However, with the rapid growth in language immersion programs across the United States, and Mandarin immersion programs in particular, as well as calls to expand bilingual and immersion programs (Alexander & Weise, 2018; Center for Applied Linguistics, 2011; Jacobs, 2019; Lü, 2020; Weise, 2019), many school districts have experienced difficulty in hiring qualified teachers (Chen et al, 2017; Garcia, 2017; Jacobs, 2019; Peng, 2016).…”

“…The lack of world language teachers for immersion programming is particularly pronounced because these teachers are also required to teach traditional content and often must hold elementary endorsements. Further, finding qualified teachers for critical language immersion programs can be exceedingly difficult (Chen et al, 2017; Garcia, 2017; Jacobs, 2019; Peng, 2016). Critical languages are deemed languages that fulfill vital American economic, diplomatic, and defense needs (Hall Haley & Ferro, 2011).…”

A Review of the Contemporary Challenges Faced by Chinese Immersion Education and Its Related Teacher Preparations in the United States

“…Chinese immersion programs recruited a certain amount of Chinese Foreign Language (CFL) teacher candidates to teach in the immersion setting. Note that the CFL teachers in the U.S. might include (1) Native English speakers of CFL (Graduates of American university preparation programs for teachers); (2) Heritage teachers (Educated Chinese native speakers who had been residing in the U.S. and had or might have received teaching credentials); (3) Guest teachers (Chinese nationals who visited the school districts on a short-term visa through exchange educational arrangements) (Bissell & Chang, 2012; Peng, 2016). According to Bissell and Chang (2012), the teacher pool of commonly taught languages (French and Spanish) involved native and heritage language speakers, as well as the non-native speakers who were certified to teach.…”

“…According to Tedick et al (2011), in order to ensure the language program qualifies as an immersion approach, at least 50% of the subject matter intrusions should be conducted in the target language. Chinese language immersion programs could be categorized into full/total immersion, partial immersion, or two-way/dual immersion based on their portion of the target language used and the make-up of the students’ population (Peng, 2016). In a full (one-way/total) immersion program, all the subject matter was taught in the target language.…”