Bilingual Banter

My name is Kaicheng Luo, and I am the Chinese Bilingual Learning Specialist at Richmond West Primary School. As the lead of the program, my role focuses on curriculum design and implementation, the ongoing development and review of Chinese teaching pedagogy, and the creation of Chinese teaching and learning resources.

Over the past decade, the Chinese team has continually created, implemented, evaluated and refined a pedagogical approach tailored to the needs of young Australian learners. Significant time has also been dedicated to developing learning resources, including reading texts, audiobooks, vocabulary programs and Chinese character workbooks.

To help students feel confident and maximise their learning outcomes in the Chinese classroom, listening and speaking skills are prioritised in our program. In class, students engage in a wide range of interactive speaking activities, and we also seize every possible opportunity to use Chinese in authentic contexts, whether in passing or out in the yard.

Learning Chinese characters and reading are other essential components of our bilingual program. To support and consolidate learning at home, students are encouraged to read Chinese texts while listening to recorded readings on Vimeo, review vocabulary on Quizlet, and practise sentence building on Wordwall.

Learning Chinese is a long and rewarding journey. It is not about ticking boxes, but about repetition, application and meaningful use in context. Our goal is for students to leave RWPS with a strong foundation, confidence in their abilities, and a lasting interest in learning Chinese as they continue their language journey beyond primary school.