Research On Curriculum Management Of American Dual Language Immersion Program

With the rapid rate of globalization and China's increasingly important role in the world economy,there has been a dramatic increase in interest in the study of a second language.Compared with China,the United States has a long history of bilingual education,experiencing a variety of attempts and explorations of bilingual education models during the past century.Dual Language Immersion Program(DLIP)is a kind of bilingual education that combines students from two language groups for instruction in both of their languages,has been in existence for nearly 40 years,and its popularity has grown.This research mainly focused on the curriculum management research of the DLIP in the United States,taking the public school—Field Elementary school in Los Angeles,California,as a case study sample.This study uses multiple methods in this research.To gather evidence on language use in the classroom,the researcher was welcomed into classes and observed teaching in Mandarin and English.To gather evidence about program goals and learn about the manageability of master plans,the researcher used one-on-one interviews to hear from several stakeholders,including teaching staff,parents,advisory group members,and district personnel.The results reported here present strong benefits.Firstly,the curriculum design is based on whole subject integrated teaching method combined with workshop teaching model,which creates a welcomed immersion learning environment for learners.Secondly,the curriculum implementation follows the hierarchical development strategy.Thirdly,when students received instruction under DLIP evaluation model,they not only developed as bilinguals,but they also did not fall behind or even exceed their peers with respect to English and other academic content.One the other hand,the findings demonstrate some main areas for improvement.First,Mandarin teaching resources was an ongoing need for all grade levels,but especially in grades 3 and up where there has been less time and resources for development.Second,school leaders should work together to support the stability of Mandarin teachers team.Lastly,it is recommended that the DLIP students be involved in creating new initiatives to promote and incentivize Mandarin language use to increase fairness in the assessments.The main implications of this study for bilingual curriculum development and management in China are attaching more importance to the whole-brain development in curriculum design,focusing on the improvement of students' cognitive thinking in higher orders and establishing a diversified evaluation system for accessing students' soft skills.