Mandarin Immersion Teachers’ Perceptions of Learners’ Oral Language Use
Strand
Strand V: Teachers, Administrators, Preparation and Professional Learning
Immersion/Partner Language(s)
Mandarin
Level
Elementary (K-5)
Program Summary/Abstract Description
A research review reveals that language learners in immersion classrooms prefer to use English (Tedick & Wesley, 2015). In this collaborative inquiry, five Mandarin teachers, a Teacher on Special Assignment, and a university professor document language use in a one-way 50-50 Mandarin immersion program in a diverse high poverty elementary school. As collaboration is critical to successful professional development (Cammarata & Haley, 2017; Hood, 2009), each Mandarin teacher paired with a coach to record classroom observations of their colleagues focused on language use. Research questions for this ethnographic study are: How do Mandarin immersion teachers view L1 and L2 use? What pedagogy is used to promote L2 use? What did Mandarin teachers learn by participating in peer-coaching? Data collection includes transcripts from teachers’ observations, reflective discussions during which teachers shared observations, and focus group interviews. Data are analyzed through socio-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1987), with a specific focus on Swain’s output hypothesis (1985). Presenters engage audience in what they learned through discussion of rich vignettes.
Cammarata, L. & Haley, C. (2018) Integrated content, language, and literacy instruction in a Canadian French immersion context: A professional development journey. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(3), 332-348, DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2017.1386617
Hood, S., Navarro, A., & Reynolds, D. (2010, November). Collaboration is key: Evaluation of a dual language immersion (DLI) program in rural Oregon. The ACIE Newsletter, 14(1), 1-14.
Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp. 97–114). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tedick, D.J., & Wesely, P.M. (2015) A review of research on content-based foreign/second language education in US K-12 contexts. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 28(1), 25-40, DOI: 10.1080/07908318.2014.1000923
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Lead Presenter
Sally Jane Hood, 11/1959
Role/Title
Associate Professor
Co-Presenters
Sally Jane Hood, 11/1959
Role/Title
Teacher on Special Assignment-Chinese/Mandarin Immersion PK-5