A local English: not Chinglish but China English: evidence from Chinese university English classrooms

Abstract

Local varieties of English within different sociolinguistic realities, especially those in the "expanding circle," have been a contemporary issue gravitating around some models of English(es) such as World Englishes and English as an intercultural language (EIcL). To this end, this paper aims to unfold China English (CE) in the context of Chinese university English classrooms; namely, how CE has come to be produced and recognized by Chinese learners of English. The analysis is subject to a diachronic contextual analysis of CE, which goes through three historical phases starting from the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) to the implementation of the Open and Reform Policy, then to the beginning of the new millennium and afterwards. Evidence of CE's appearance and development are presented through teaching pedagogy, attitudes of teachers and students, instructional materials, and tests and evaluations. This study seeks to claim that CE has been incubated as a naturally inevitable product of China's globalization and internationalization, from being rejected to being recognized and encouraged, on the breeding ground of Chinese university English classrooms.