The People's Republic of China (PRC) has often been considered a monolithic, monolingual state but, in fact, it is linguistically and culturally diverse. Despite the size, there is still a lack of sociolinguistic studies on the Han Chinese in the PRC. Therefore, this study focuses on the language attitudes of Cantonese-speaking students in Mainland China towards Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Surveys were conducted to assess the language attitudes of Cantonese-speaking university students. The results showed students' strong integrative attitudes towards Cantonese, whereas Putonghua and English were recognised as instrumental tools for career advancement and international communication. Although the respondents of this study positively supported multilingualism, the active language policy of the PRC does not adequately promote a multilingual environment or cultural development of Han Chinese languages. Therefore, the authors call for policies that equally value official, minority and regional languages in China.

The authors examine how international ESL (English as second language) students construct their experiences of learning and using English in the classrooms. Studying language experiences of international students is crucial to understanding the factors that may affect their academic performance and engagement in social activities in American universities. The focus group discussions revealed various issues and difficulties faced by international students. These challenges included comprehending and writing academic texts in subject areas, engaging in classroom discourse, and communicating with native speakers outside the classrooms. In addition, the focus group discussions revealed discrepancies between language criteria used in ESL and subject area courses. Findings indicate that the language development of international ESL students and their academic experiences are complex. This study calls for a comprehensive inquiry approach to offer more support and better services for international students' successful adaptation into American academic and social lives.

The authors examine how international ESL (English as second language) students construct their experiences of learning and using English in the classrooms. Studying language experiences of international students is crucial to understanding the factors that may affect their academic performance and engagement in social activities in American universities. The focus group discussions revealed various issues and difficulties faced by international students. These challenges included comprehending and writing academic texts in subject areas, engaging in classroom discourse, and communicating with native speakers outside the classrooms. In addition, the focus group discussions revealed discrepancies between language criteria used in ESL and subject area courses. Findings indicate that the language development of international ESL students and their academic experiences are complex. This study calls for a comprehensive inquiry approach to offer more support and better services for international students' successful adaptation into American academic and social lives.