Insiders, outsiders and inbetweeners : the experiences of exchange teachers promoting Chinese language and culture in Scottish schools

Roxburgh, David (2024) Insiders, outsiders and inbetweeners : the experiences of exchange teachers promoting Chinese language and culture in Scottish schools. Scottish Languages Review, Spring 20 (37). pp. 9-18. ISSN 1756-039X

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Abstract

Scotland’s ‘1+2 policy’ affords schools the opportunity to support a range of languages and, within this context, the past decade has seen growth in the teaching of Chinese language and culture (CLC). This is in large part due to the resource offered by Confucius Institutes, supported by both the Scottish and Chinese Governments, particularly in the form of visiting Chinese exchange teachers (formally often known as ‘Hanban teachers’) who come to work in the host system for up to 2 years. As part of a larger doctoral study into the teaching of Chinese culture through a third language programme in Scottish primary schools, this paper considers data gathered from qualitative interviews to explore the experiences of two representative groups of these teachers during their time in the country. It contributes a Scottish perspective to existing literature and reflects upon the various roles and positions that these teachers adopt in trying to make sense of their time in classrooms and education systems different from their own. Though focused on CLC provision, the discussion has wider crossover beyond this to other visiting groups supporting various languages in Scotland.

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