Multilingual education in minority-dominated regions in Xinjiang, People’s Republic of China

Ping Zhang,Bob Adamson

doi:10.1080/01434632.2020.1850744

Abstract

ABSTRACTRecent developments in multilingualism and multilingual education in minority-dominated regions in China highlight the importance of policy studies to support the national goals of achieving multilingualism [Feng, A. W., and B. Adamson, eds. 2015. Trilingualism in Education in China: Models and Challenges. Dordrecht: Springer], especially in remote western regions such as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) that pose geographical, socio-political, and educational challenges. This study investigates the effectiveness of language policies and the implementation of multilingual education for minority dominated regions in XUAR, and of the extent to which those policies support multilingual education. The data mainly comprise policy documents issued at the national, regional and institutional level, supplemented by interviews with policy makers at regional and local levels. The study finds that, while the policies at both national and regional levels regarding language education in China are generally supportive of multilingualism, in reality, some of the implemented practices at local school levels in XUAR are not totally consistent with the policy goals, while weak local capacity also hinders the implementation of multilingual education.

Highlights

The 56 officially recognised ethnic groups in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are important components for the government in terms of strategies to enhance national unity and social stability, and for the country’s economic development
This paper examines how language policies in education have been designed for Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and finds that decisions at local school levels as well as practical obstacles to the implementation of language education, such as school conditions and the shortage of qualified teachers, may weaken the achievement of national policy goals of allowing for cultural and linguistic diversity and hinder the implementation of multilingual education
The issue of multilingual education policy in XUAR demonstrates the tensions and challenges that can arise in the implementation of broad national goals in a local, complex ecology

Summary

Introduction

The 56 officially recognised ethnic groups in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are important components for the government in terms of strategies to enhance national unity and social stability, and for the country’s economic development. In areas where Han students are in the majority, according to the document issued by the Ministry of Education (2001), English is taught as a second language, from Grade 3 in elementary schools or even from kindergarten in some economically developed cities.

Results

Conclusion