Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

China
Bilingual Literacy Project for the Lahu Ethnic Minority in Lancang
County, Yunnan Province, China
Dr. Liu Yibing & Mr. Zhao Yuchi 1
As we know, the mother tongue is key to effective basic education, and education in the mother
tongue is one of the best tools for preservation of the culture of ethnolinguistic minority groups.
Using the mother tongue for early education is an effective strategy that contributes to eradication
of illiteracy, ignorance, discrimination and poverty. It can also be a catalyst towards the development
of unity and national identity.
1. Policies on Ethnic Languages in China
In China, there are 56 nationalities with 61 languages, of which there are 39 written languages.
Thus, China’s nationality distribution creates a complex bilingual society and multilingual population.
China’s Constitution and National Law for Language points out that “every nationality has the freedom
to use and develop their own language.” The Law for Ethnic Autonomy states “schools which
mainly enrol students of ethnic groups ought to use text books in their own language if it is possible.
The teaching should be done in the ethnic language. In the upper grades of primary school and
middle school, they should have a bilingual curriculum and popularize Mandarin.”
In the field of adult literary education, Item 6 in Regulations for Illiteracy Eradication issued by
the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) notes “Mandarin ought to be used for
literacy teaching. In ethnic group regions, the local ethnic language is allowed as the language of
instruction or one of the local ethnic languages should be chosen for literacy teaching.” Also, it
prescribes that “in the places where people use ethnic language as the language for literacy teaching,
the illiteracy eradication criteria will be constructed by the provincial or Regional governments.”
2. Bilingual Literacy for Ethnic Groups in China
The Chinese government has a supportive approach towards bilingual education for ethnolinguistic
groups in minority regions in China. However, there is inequity in the development of opportunities
for different ethnic groups and in different regions.
Generally, in formal education, bilingual education for ethnic groups has been given attention and
financial support. In non-formal adult literacy education, however, it has not received the necessary
support in order to ensure the implementation of bilingual literacy approaches. In formal education,
bilingual teaching for ethnic groups refers to teaching in the ethnic language and Chinese, including
teaching with the use of the mother tongue as a supportive tool. Bilingual teaching in ethnic
community areas mainly includes three types:
1
Research and Training Centre for Literacy Education, Southwest China Normal University, Beibei, Chongqing.
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