Implementation of the Primary School Mandarin as the First Language Curriculum in Thai International Schools: A Case Study Based on Classroom Observations and Teacher Interviews at BMIS
Keywords:
Classroom Observation; International School; Mandarin as the First Language Curriculum; Acculturation; Scaffolding Instruction, Classroom Observation, International School, Mandarin as the First Language Curriculum, Acculturation; Scaffolding Instruction, Cross-cultural AdaptationAbstract
As Chinese language education in Thailand's international schools gains momentum, some schools have begun to introduce the Mandarin as the First Language Curriculum to replace traditional Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) models. However, conducting classroom teaching on a soil lacking Chinese cultural context, while facing complex student demographics, poses significant challenges for fostering students' cross-cultural adaptation and language acquisition.
Taking British Mandarin International School (BMIS) as a case study, this research selected Year 2 (Literacy Class) and Year 4 (Reading Class) for observation. Utilising Berry’s (1997, 2005) Acculturation Model and Kim’s (2001) "Stress-Adaptation-Growth" Model, this study empirically analysed classroom interactions and cultural integration during the localisation of the mother-tongue curriculum.
The findings show that: (1) with respect to language adaptation, teachers’ multi-modal scaffolding functions as a “buffer valve,” turning the adaptive stress experienced by non-native speakers into a source of motivation for language exploration, in line with Kim’s stress–growth mechanism. (2) At the level of cultural adaptation, students display high behavioural integration but relatively low cognitive integration. High behavioural integration is seen in students’ active engagement in classroom activities, while low cognitive integration is reflected in the fragmented and short-lived nature of Sino-Thai cultural connections in classroom teaching. (3) At present, the construction of the “Third Space” depends largely on individual teachers’ efforts and lacks a comprehensive, institutionalised comparative framework.
On this basis, the paper argues that international schools can draw on the “Foreign Language Zone” policy within the Thai educational context and adopt structured, school-based modules for Sino-Thai cultural comparison. In this way, incidental cultural associations can be developed into more systematic forms of critical thinking, allowing engagement with cultural meanings to go beyond surface-level language forms.
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