Creating a Productive Environment for Learners o...
Shen Chen，Yan Liang and Helena Hing Wa Sit
Abstract:Multilingualism is one of the most important parts of the Australian Language Policies put forward by the Australian Government.The teaching of Asian languages has been emphasized in the curricula of Australian schools and universities for decades.However，how to create a productive learning environment of Chinese language learning remains a problem.Particularly，Australian universities are facing a great challenge as a result of rising enrolment of Chinese heritage background learners while the number of local native English-speaking learners is decreasing.This chapter reports a systematic investigation on this issue in 7 universities in Australia.It has proposed the“4D Model”for an innovation in order to create a productive learning environment.
Keywords:learning environment;Chinese teaching;heritage and nonheritage learners