Context and Constraints: Immersion in Hong Kong and Mainland China
The worldwide demand for additive bilingualism through schooling is immensely strong, with Asian countries in the forefront of this movement as a support for and a consequence of their rapid economic development. Immersion education, in different forms and with different names, is a chosen means of achieving this in many countries. This movement places educators specialising in immersion in an interesting and challenging position. On the one hand, it is gratifying that the value of immersion is being widely recognised. On the other, the expectation of success without ensuring that all pieces of the educational jigsaw are in place may result in disappointment and lead politicians and parents, to name just two stake-holders, to blame the immersion idea itself and ultimately reject it. Educators must, therefore, balance their enthusiasm to promote immersion with judicious caution.
This paper discusses this challenge in the context of two contrasting immersion programmes. In Hong Kong, the transition from a colonial education system has resulted in what Keith Johnson has referred to as “late immersion under stress”. The high status of English medium education in a highly selective system results in a high pressure academic environment where the additive bilingual aim may be conveniently forgotten. In Mainland China, the public demand for the inclusion of more English in the curriculum has resulted in various programme designs, some of which take their inspiration from immersion in North America. However, ‘immersion’ in China, though initiated with the best of intentions and great commitment, often lacks the essential requirements for success, at least if that is measured in terms recognised by immersion programmes elsewhere.
The paper draws on research in Hong Kong and Mainland China to discuss the contextual features which have been instrumental in the emergence and development of these programmes and the views of stakeholders towards them. In particular, it considers the influence of educational policies, curriculum aims, school structures and teacher education and understanding. The research indicates that the programmes, though they might not always meet the “classic” definitions of immersion, represent a pragmatic response to the political, social and educational contexts in which they operate. Nonetheless, if additive bilingualism is to be developed to the extent that seems to be expected and sought, more attention must be paid to the core features of immersion. The paper will discuss what may be needed to bring about more effective implementation within the constraints of these two contexts and some possible implications of these developments.
