A Bilingual Education Pilot Project among the Kam People in Guizhou Province, China

This paper surveys Chinaʹs minority education situation in general and bilingual education situation in particular, with special reference to the interaction between education, language and culture. There are still many speakers of Kam (approximately 1.5 million), but the Kam language and culture are in decline. A 9- year bilingual education pilot project may help arrest the decline. The project is underway in Zaidang primary school, Guizhou province, China. The languages taught are Kam and Chinese. The origins of the Zaidang project are described and details of the curriculum taught are outlined. Progress in the first 3 years has been promising. Plans for the next 6 years are briefly outlined, including some areas that need ongoing research. Five more primary schools in the neighbourhood of Zaidang introduced Kam preschool in September 2002, to run for a trial period of 3 years. Some theoretical support for the Zaidang project is presented.