Multilingual Education in China: Taking the Situation of Guizhou Minority Areas as an Example

Abstract

Multilingual education has long been implemented and addressed in recent years in China, as a nation multi-ethnicities. The prominent ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity make the situation of multilingual education in China complex. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an overview of the situation of multilingual education in China to first present the full status-quo situation to educators and researchers, to provide basis for relevant teaching practice and research and to pave the way for further in-depth research. The paper first provides an overview of the situation of Chinese multilingualism, and presents ethnic multilingual policies and practices in China in general, then particularly focuses on the practice of multilingual education in Guizhou minority areas.