Problematising recent developments in non-English foreign language education in Chinese universities

Han, Yawen; Gao, Xuesong; Xia, Jinyuan

doi:10.1080/01434632.2019.1571072

Cited by 54 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…These policies play positive roles in teachers' professional development. It is suggested that these policies continue to give more attention to LOTE teachers who are interested in academic achievements [48] but need practical guidance. In support of LOTE teachers to visit top universities in mainland China, the CSC launched a special plan supporting them to pay scholarly visits to top universities outside of China, as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context

2020

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Language teacher motivation has been explored through various contexts in recent decades. However, less attention has been paid to teachers’ motivations for furthering their professional development in multilingual academic environments, such as by becoming visiting scholars at top universities at home or abroad. This study adopts a mixed-method approach to investigate language teachers’ motivations for being visiting scholars. First, a questionnaire was conducted on 169 teachers who spoke both English and languages other than English (LOTEs). Following an exploratory factor analysis, six separate motivational sources were identified: internal needs, stress relief, academic positioning, academic contact, academic symbolism, and policy support. For triangulation purposes, further interviews were conducted with three visiting scholars and one supervisor for in-depth qualitative data analysis. Interview findings reveal an imbalance between high demand for visiting scholarship funding and the financial allowances granted by governments and universities. Visiting scholars also experience inadequate academic guidance from their supervisors and few opportunities to participate in supervisors’ projects. Based on the research findings, this study proposes ways to sustain teacher motivation at the macro (policy) level, the meso (tutor system) level, and the micro (individual supervision) level.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context

2020

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“…In addition to the increasing number of international students of diverse linguistic backgrounds, non-English foreign language programs are gaining in importance in China. In 2017, 583 Chinese universities offered 1,417 foreign language programs at undergraduate levels and these foreign languages are predominantly the national languages of China's neighbouring countries (Han et al 2019). The increasing number and scale of non-English foreign language programs is unprecedented and largely geopolitically motivated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multilingual communication experiences of international students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xie

et al. 2020

Multilingua

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While an increasing literature on multilingualism addresses the key role of language in access to social resources, including crisis communication, little attention has been paid to practices of English-mediated multilingualism. Based on semi-structured interviews with 10 international students from South Asia and Southeast Asia receiving their higher education in China, the study reveals what language-related challenges international students encounter, how they mobilize their multilingual resources to enhance their access to crisis communication and build a shared community, and how their multilingual competences are valorized and enacted in the shifting paradigm of the China-oriented new economy addressing mutual accountability in South-South cooperation. The study suggests that English-mediated multilingualism in China fails to bridge the needs of international students of diverse backgrounds. The study also calls attention to the shifting paradigm of multilingual studies and the necessity of addressing the real world problems of health communication in a diverse context.

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“…The initiative emphasizes cooperation in infrastructure, construction, railways and highways, and other domains, and involves 64 non-Anglophone countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, and Poland along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, collectively known as 'One Belt and One Road', connecting China westward to Europe and Africa through Central Asia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Since the new developmental initiative requires linking with these countries, who speak more than 60 languages, the Chinese government has become increasingly aware of the importance of having a LOTE-speaking workforce, and thus has started to urge universities to offer or expand degree programs and courses in LOTEs [20]. In 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) issued a political document aimed at implementing the plan to strengthen the education of non-English foreign languages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language Learning as Investment or Consumption? A Case Study of Chinese University Students’ Beliefs about the Learning of Languages Other than English

2020

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This study draws on the notions of investment and consumption to interpret beliefs about learning languages other than English (LOTEs) among learners in Chinese universities. By interviewing 23 Chinese university students learning French or Spanish in a master’s program, we found that most participants questioned the usefulness of LOTEs for their professional career and viewed learning LOTEs as part of leisure and consumption rather than investment. Only a small number of participants related their language skill development to career aspirations and were motivated to continue learning LOTEs after the end of their LOTE classes. To further explain the different language beliefs about LOTE learning, we examined the identities of these LOTE learners. The analysis identified four patterns of ‘imagined identity’, indicating that the difficulty experienced by individual learners in anticipating the usefulness of LOTEs in their ‘imagined identity’ in the future, especially in their professional career, led to their belief about LOTEs as consumption and leisure rather than investment. This paper concludes with some implications for language policy planners in sustaining multilingual learning in Chinese higher education.

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Problematising recent developments in non-English foreign language education in Chinese universities

Cited by 54 publications

References 8 publications

Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context

Exploring and Sustaining Language Teacher Motivation for Being a Visiting Scholar in Higher Education: An Empirical Study in the Chinese Context

Multilingual communication experiences of international students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Language Learning as Investment or Consumption? A Case Study of Chinese University Students’ Beliefs about the Learning of Languages Other than English

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