Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

population distribution, economic development level, relationship and cultural learning
styles. To make bilingual teaching for ethnic groups effective, it is necessary to identify
the characteristics of individual languages, and also to take non-linguistic factors into
consideration.
• Bilingual education programmes should be responsive to the environment in which the
programme is being conducted. For historical and societal reasons, ethnic groups in
China have experienced different levels of development. Thus, bilingual education
approaches should be designed in relation to the language, society and culture of different
nationalities in different regions. This means that the same mode of delivery cannot be
adopted for different nationalities and for different regions. Programmes should also
integrate the immediate interests, long-term interests and mutual interests of different
nationalities together.
4. Challenges in Developing Bilingual Literacy for Ethnic
Groups
Lack of qualified bilingual teachers
Teachers play significant roles in the effective implementation of bilingual education. However,
there needs to be improvement regarding bilingual teachers in ethnic regions in China, not only in
the quantity of teachers, but also in quality. Currently, those who have interest in and have been
involved in research on bilingual education are mainly some linguists, education experts and university
teachers. These people do not have specific experience in primary and middle school teaching, or
knowledge of bilingual education approaches. Primary school teachers with experience in bilingual
education are busy with their classroom teaching, do not have much research experience and are
limited in their knowledge of bilingual education theories. Among these bilingual teachers, those
who master ethnic languages do not tend to have a high level of Chinese, and those who master
Chinese cannot understand ethnic languages. Generally speaking, there are few bilingual teachers
who master both Chinese and ethnic languages, possess specific bilingual teaching experience and
have knowledge of linguistics. There is, thus, an urgent need to train bilingual teachers and improve
the skills of language teachers from ethnic group regions.
Lack of theoretical research on bilingual education in China
There have been several decades of bilingual teaching for ethnic groups in China, and great progress
has been made. However, there is little systematic theoretical research on bilingual teaching, and
few case studies available. Research on bilingual education needs to be prioritized in order to inform
bilingual teaching practice and, ultimately, contribute towards the comprehensive development of
ethnic groups, local economy and society.
Lack of funds for bilingual education
This is a national problem, especially in regions with cultural minorities. The conditions for
educational development in regions where ethnic groups live are very hard. These places have
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