Bilingual and multilingual education is the future of education, and this should be taken from a positive standpoint that all languages are valuable.
1.What is your philosophy when it comes to bilingual and multilingual education?
[Alice] Globally, about 43% of the population is bilingual and multilingual, and more people are striving to become bilingual and multilingual for various purposes. I believe that bilingual and multilingual education is the future of education, and this should be taken from a positive standpoint that all languages are valuable.
2.What does effective bilingual education in the classroom look like?
[Alice] An effective bilingual education classroom is an inclusive classroom for all, including the teacher. It is a safe space for both teacher and students. Every participant in the classroom feels that all languages are acknowledged, respected and utilised for teaching and learning.
3.What are the potential positive impacts of bilingual education – for both students and educators?
[Alice] There are several positive impacts. First, cognitively, bilingual education supports languages and academic development that is not at the expense of one particular language (frequently the heritage language or a minority language). Second, the positive influence on wellbeing when there is a positive acknowledgment and utilisation of everyone’s languages can be enormous.
4.What are some of the key challenges educators are facing in integrating bilingual education?
[Alice] Globally we see certain models of bilingual education have become popular in recent decades but these models are not fully supported by quality pedagogies and materials in some contexts. Some educators also face challenges in seeking long-term and sustainable funding, especially for smaller minority-language communities.
5.What is the current perception from students, educators and families of young children towards bilingual education? Is there a desire?
[Alice] There is a strong growing demand for bilingual education around the world. In some contexts, it is the learning of a foreign language for instrumental purposes (e.g. English, Chinese, Japanese). In some contexts, it is the learning of a heritage language. Knowledge and competence in bilingual education can be very advantageous for job mobility in the global market.
6.What will students in the Master of Education course be exposed to should they complete the ‘Bilingual Education: Theory and Practice’ elective?
[Alice] Students will learn about the implementation of bilingual education in global contexts. This starts with a discussion on the benefits of bilingual education, implementation models, and case studies. Everyone is familiar with at least one education system, and this is a great opportunity to extend the knowledge to other educational systems and contexts.
Find out more about the Master of Education.