Benefits of a Chinese-English Co-Teaching Model

Co-Teaching is defined as two teachers working together with groups of students.
A real co-teaching classroom does not simply mean one English teacher with a Chinese-speaking assistant or vice-versa. Co-teaching aims to promote international understanding, respect for all, and a sense of support and care in a multinational / multilingual classroom community.

What are the Benefits of a Chinese-English Co-Teaching Model?

Ms April Peng, Yew Chung International School of Beijing’s very own Primary Chinese Curriculum Coordinator, gives an in-depth introduction and explanation of the benefits of a fully rounded Bilingual Co-Teaching Model.

The Yew Chung International School Statement of Educational Philosophy and Aims lays the framework for several unique features of Yew Chung Education. One of these unique features is the concept of Co-teaching.

For many parents, the concept of co-teaching can be hard to visualize. A real co-teaching classroom does not simply mean one English teacher with a Chinese-speaking assistant or vice-versa. True Co-teaching means one Chinese teacher and one western teacher for each Primary class. In each class, a Chinese and western teacher share all of the class management, planning, and decision-making responsibilities.

Maximize learning efficiency
Maths and topic (combined Science, Geography, and History) classes are taught co-operatively. Co-teachers jointly plan lessons together ahead of time. According to the learning objectives, co-teachers will select from a number of different effective co-teaching modes, including one teaching – one supporting, station teaching, parallel teaching, alternative teaching, and team teaching, to maximize learning efficiency and meet the learning needs of students. This allows for teachers to respond to the diverse range of needs of their students, lowers student/teacher ratio, and expand each teacher’s professional expertise.

International understanding
Co-teaching aims to promote international understanding, respect for all, and a sense of support and care in a multinational / multilingual classroom community. This also supports a bilingual programme that emphasizes both English and Chinese languages and cultures and blends tradition with modernity to reap the harvest of both past and present.

Exploring while learning
One of the more entertaining aspects of this bilingual and bicultural programme is comparative study. During these units, students compare all kinds of Chinese and western counterparts, such as Zheng He and Magellan, courtyard dwellings and European houses, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, China’s aviation history and western aviation history, etc. Students move back and forth between different times, spaces, and cultures, exploring and enjoying the moment of learning while becoming fully rounded and bilingual learners.