Andrew Scrimgeour undertakes research in Languages Education with a focus on literacy development, learner diversity, curriculum design and teacher training for Chinese language learning in schools. He co-authored Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: The Way of the Learner with Dr Jane Orton in 2019. He is currently involved in several projects, including developing a quality assurance framework for a Chinese bilingual program, and is a lead researcher on a project to assist the Australian government in developing a strategy and plan for languages education on Australia. He has been on the executive of the national peak body of language educators, The Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA) for many years and is currently editor of Babel, the refereed journal of the AFMLTA. He was lead writer for the Chinese edition of the Australian Curriculum for Languages published in 2015. He lectures in Languages Education at the University of South Australia.
Keynote Speech and Abstract
Insights into Chinese Language Education in the Anglophone World
The rise of China, the growth in two-way trade with China, the increasing mobility of Chinese speaking peoples, and the changing balance of power globally have created an extraordinary need for increased knowledge and understanding of contemporary Chinese societies and their world views. The study of Chinese language, from the earliest levels of schooling, can contribute significantly to enhanced ‘China literacy’ in western societies. However, the study of Chinese language and culture brings with it significant challenges that are not easily overcome, especially on low time-on-task, school-based contexts.
This presentation reflects on some of the challenges and directions in teaching Chinese in the Anglophone world. Using data from the Australian school context, it explores issues in Chinese language program provision and student participation and puts forward ideas for future innovation and collaboration in teaching Chinese as an international language in these English speaking contexts.