Towards internationalising the curriculum: A case study of chinese language teacher education programs in China and Australia

This paper presents a comparative curricular inquiry of teacher education programs of Chinese as a foreign language in China and Australia. While there is an increasing demand for qualified Chinese language teachers both within China and Western countries, pre-service teacher training is regarded as one of the major factors in impeding success in effective student learning. Using an interpretative approach, this paper captures voices from teacher educators and pre-service teachers through in-depth interviews to supplement curriculum document reviews. The results identify curriculum differences in educational aims and objectives, learning content, methods of delivery and assessment. The study suggests aspects of curriculum which must be negotiated, in moving towards the internationalisation of the curriculum, to facilitate the mobility and adaptation required in overseas teaching contexts. The study ends with a discussion for urgent development of an internationalised curriculum of Chinese language teacher education and situated teacher education programs.