The document summarizes a 9-year trilingual education pilot project in China that aimed to promote development and maintenance of the Kam language while also teaching Mandarin Chinese and English. Students were exposed to Kam, Chinese, and English in an instructional process that started with listening and speaking and added reading and writing over time. Evaluation results showed much higher academic achievement, language proficiency, and continuation to secondary school and beyond for students in the trilingual program compared to a control group receiving only Chinese instruction. The project demonstrated the ability of trilingual education to support minority language maintenance alongside development in the national language and a foreign language.

1. Guizhou(PRC)Trilingual
education project
Jacob Finifrock， SIL International

2. 9 Year Pilot Project 2000-
2009

3. Natural Language
Development Process
4）Writing
3）Reading
2）Speaking
1）Listening
Zaidang Project
Instructional Process

4. 2 Year Preschool

5. Kam Orthography

6. corpus of L1 literature

7. 800 Stories and 80 Songs

8. L1-L2-L3 Model Language Development Process
W-L3 Oral and Written L2 L1
O-L3 Oral and Written L2 L1
Oral and Written L2 L1
Oral L2 Continue Developing L1
Continue developing Listening and Speaking /Add Reading and Writing in L1
School based Listening and Speaking in L1
Home-based Listening and speaking in L1

9. Kam Language Used for
Instruction
1st grade 50%
2nd grade 40%
3rd-6th grades 22%

10. English Research Component
Chinese Only
2005-6
Kam/Chinese
2 Classes 2006-7

11. Natural Language
Development Process
ResearchComponent
4）Writing Previously Mastered
Content
3）Reading Bridging symbols from
L1/Introducing new sound-symbols
2）Speaking Self-initiated Mimicry and
simple, natural conversation
English
Process
1）Listening Total Physical Response

12. Listening
Neighboring Schools
L3 Instructional
Process
Speaking
1)Reading 1)Writing

13. 70 class periods of English
Same content
Same instructional order
Same teachers
Same number of classes

14. Total Physical Response

15. Total Physical Response

16. Post-instruction Evaluation

17. Fifth grade English Test Results

18. 28
55
16
55
44
28%
28%
28%
110
Sixth Grade Exams

19. 5th grade
Chinese Only Class (n=27)

20. 9th grade graduates
Chinese Only Class (n=9 - 33.3%)

21. Secondary Stage
Chinese only class (n=1-3.7%)

22. Secondary Graduates
Chinese only class (n=0)

23. 5th grade
Kam/Chinese class (n=16)

24. 9th grade graduates
Kam/Chinese class (n=13-81.3%)

25. Secondary Stage
Kam/Chinese class (n=11-68.7%)

26. Text Message from 2012
Dear Mr. Chen(Finifrock),
I have decided that after I graduate I want to test into a
music college, to take this Kam Culture and pass it on to
others after me, I’d like to know what you think.
陈老师您好！我决定以后考音乐学院， 把侗族这个文化
传承下去，我想知道您怎么看。

27. Lasting Impact