The Choice of a Progressive Bilingual Education Model

Abstract

Bilingual education has unique and complex features. In the course of language study, with the mother tongue as a foundation, acquiring a second language depends on the features of student’s learning and age. Based on the construction of J. Cummins’s (1984) dual iceberg theory dual-language model, students’ bilingual education is founded on the living world based on mother tongue expression and value presentation, which conflicts with second language study and culture based on mother tongue acquisition, and is also code-switching intermediated by meaning migration. Therefore, in the choice of bilingual education model based on meaning reconstruction, progressive bilingual education models are necessary trend in future bilingual education.

Keywords:

• bilingual model
• free choice
• progressive

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Li Zelin

Li Zelin is a professor at the Center for Education Research of Northwest Ethnic Minorities, Northwest Normal University.