Integrative-Dynamic Immersion (IDI) Environment: Assessing Suitability for Chinese Learners and Identifying Areas of Improvement

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Some studies reveal a large discrepancy between policy’s efforts to promote communicative language teaching in China and its implementation (e.g., Yu, 2015), leading students to demand a more traditional second language classroom that focuses mainly on linguistic structures. In this context, some scholars argue for the benefits of adapting the communicative methods to incorporate Chinese students’ tradition and beliefs into the teaching practice (e.g., Blanco Pena, 2011). In this view, the new-created XJTLU Spanish Immersion School developed the innovative Integrative-Dynamic Immersion (IDI) environment, in which students’ daily schedule begins with a more-traditional language class and transitions progressively to less-controlled immersive settings focused on language fluency.
Through a qualitative analysis of Chinese students’ experiences and perceptions of learning through IDI, faculty’s perceptions of IDI’s adaptation, and both groups’ perceptions of achievement, this project aims to conduct an initial assessment of IDI’s suitability for Chinese learners and identify areas of improvement in its implementation.