Diversity of international students is celebrated through images that map students onto nations represented by their flags
International education is often touted as a golden road to fluency in another language and the development of a global vision. However, ethnographic research into the language learning and settlement experiences of international students in a variety of national contexts has painted a less rosy picture, as the Language-on-Move archives devoted to international education show.
Such research has found many discontinuities between the promises of international education and students’ actual experiences.
One of the problems in the existing system of international education is the nation-based categorization of seeing international students of diverse backgrounds as a homogeneous group (Piller, 2017).
This categorization is further complicated when international students return to their ancestral homelands for their international education. Such “return migrants” may be positioned in often conflicting ways on the continuum of local and migrant, native and foreigner, as our recent research explores (Li & Han, 2020).
Ethnic Chinese students migrating to China for their international education
As one of the largest diasporas, ethnic Chinese constitute a population of over 50 million. The great majority of them live in Southeast Asia. Ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia have been perceived as a powerful nexus between China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, mostly due to their remarkable economic performance and their historical contribution to China’s nationalist movement in the early twentieth century. As China is emerging as one of the largest receiving countries for international education, ethnic Chinese may get the first admission ticket to higher education institutions in China.
However, the prioritization of ethnic Chinese migrating to China for their international education is not without problems. These students are confronted with several linguistic and cultural challenges.
Some of these challenges are similar to what has been reported in previous studies, and others are specific to this group and have to date mostly been overlooked in the existing literature on international education.
One big challenge relates to a conflict between students’ self-perceptions of their identities and the ways in which others perceive them. An ethnic Chinese student from Myanmar, for instance, expressed her shock and confusion since coming to China: “我以为我的根在中国，来中国我发现我没根了！” (“I used to think that my roots are in China. However, coming to China has made me rootless.”)
Like this female student, ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar used to be oriented towards China. Learning Putonghua in Myanmar was a top priority for their transnational empowerment (Li, 2017; Li, 2020; Li, Ai, & Zhang, 2020). However, once they move to China for their studies, their trajectories gradually gear them to identify Myanmar as their true homeland and as their land of opportunity. How is this possible?
Linguistic and cultural essentialism
To find out, we (Li & Han 2020) examined the learning experiences of 14 ethnic Chinese from Myanmar who were enrolled in Putonghua-medium degree programs at a Chinese university. We found that the language ideologies of speaking standard Putonghua and writing simplified Chinese characters challenged these students’ sense of being authentically Chinese. In the process, they were turned from proficient Chinese speakers in Myanmar to deficient Putonghua speakers in China.
Ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar are often made to feel weird for engaging in practices that are considered “Burmese”, such as putting on thanaka, a protective white-paste face mask
National essentialism was another ideological force that challenged their Chinese identity. In their classrooms and everyday interactions, the students found themselves positioned not as ethnic Chinese but as Burmese nationals. This “one nation, one culture, one language” mindset not only erased our participants’ Chinese identity but also reinforced an essentialist view of Myanmar as the country of the Burmese, the dominant ethnic group in that highly diverse country.
Neo-essentialist curriculum
Most research into international education is based in Anglophone countries, where a monolingual mindset prevails and exclusive use of English is promoted while languages other than English are devalued.
This is not the case in China. China’s promotion of Putonghua as an international language follows a reciprocal approach that also values the languages international students bring. Their bilingualism is regarded as an asset. In our case, both Burmese and Putonghua constitute desired linguistic capital to achieve mutual cooperation and promote the regional economy and integration between China and ASEAN.
However, this promotion of bilingualism is not unproblematic, either. Linguistic diversity is not unconditionally valued but rests on its convertibility in an international communication market – between the Chinese and Burmese state in this context.
This orientation to the nation as a market applauds bilingualism in Burmese and Putonghua but marginalizes bilingualism in non-standard Chinese varieties and languages that are not official to a nation.
In short, our research demonstrates that the neoliberal valorization of bilingualism is not in and of itself better than the monolingual mindset: it only reproduces the cultural superiority of essentialized linguistic icons while devaluing and erasing non-privileged cultural forms and identities.
The future of Chinese international education
While the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the language challenges confronting diverse populations worldwide (Piller, 2020; Piller, Zhang, & Li, 2020), it has also reconfigured the global economic and political order.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19 early last year, China has shifted its global strategy by strengthening its regional connectivity with Asian countries. In 2020, ASEAN replaced the USA and EU to become China’s largest trading partner. A recent trade agreement, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has reinforced the regional integration between China and its region. As the largest free trading zone covering 30% of the global populations and 30% of global GDP, RCEP will mark a new era for Asia-Pacific cooperation in various social dimensions.
Will the free movement of goods and people in this vast zone also lead us to a greater valorization of linguistic and cultural diversity? Will it open a space for embracing diversity and bringing greater equity and social justice?
Our research suggests that, as long as the ideological foundations of linguistic and cultural essentialism stay in place, the international education in RCEP may just be old wine in a new bottle.
References
Li, J. (2017). Social Reproduction and Migrant Education: A Critical Sociolinguistic Ethnography of Burmese Students’ Learning Experiences at a Border High School in China. (PhD). Macquarie University.
Li, J. (2020). Transnational migrant students between inclusive discourses and exclusionary practices. Multilingua, 39(2), 193-212. https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2019-0125
Li, J., Ai, B., & Zhang, J. (2020). Negotiating language ideologies in learning Putonghua: Myanmar ethnic minority students’ perspectives on multilingual practices in a borderland school. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(7), 633-646. doi:10.1080/01434632.2019.1678628
Li, J., & Han, H. (2020). Learning to orient toward Myanmar: ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar at a university in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 1-19. doi:10.1080/07908318.2020.1858095
Piller, I. (2017). Intercultural communication. Edinburgh University Press.
Piller, I. (Ed.) (2020). Language-on-the-Move COVID-19 Archives.
Piller, I., Zhang, J., & Li, J. (2020). Linguistic diversity in a time of crisis: Language challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multilingua, 39(5), 503-515. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/multi-2020-0136/html
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Intercultural communication in education is promising if both residential and international students and educators benefit from it. However, what struck me the most was realizing that “learning Putonghua is only viewed as an asset, not as an opportunity for opening linguistic diversity in Myanmar.” It sounds disturbing that there is an ongoing hierarchy of the languages and a subtle promotion of the monolingual mindset in the education context, particularly in the case of ethnic Chinese students studying in Myanmar.
Experiences like these reminded me of an international student I rarely encountered in one of my former collegiate organizations. As a resident Filipino student for twenty-two years, I formulated a misinformed stereotype that she was supposed to have American slang whenever she spoke Tagalog. Surprisingly, I stood corrected upon knowing she has adapted the Filipino accent in speaking Tagalog after years of exposure in the institution and the Filipino culture. Personally, her bilingual (or multilingual) knowledge is an asset and a testament to the existing multicultural diversity within the University of Santo Tomas. It recently surprised and amazed me, and it has reminded me of missed opportunities, knowing that I could have communicated with and befriended them. I always wished the Thomasian community recognizes and accepts the existence of a multicultural norm in the institution.
Several studies and blogposts triggered my curiosity in discovering how international students survived and thrived in intercultural education settings, considering the linguistic and cultural barriers they encountered throughout their journey. This leads me to the question: “How will we motivate immigrant or international students to stay rooted in their local identities despite studying in a foreign country?”
Language ideologies are representations of the moral and political load of language structure and use in a social world. They associate language with identities, institutions and values in all societies. These ideologies actively mediate and shape between language forms and social processes. A study of the two-year master’s programmes in English-Medium-Instruction at a comprehensive university in China found that although Chinese is a compulsory subject, most international students said that although Chinese culture is very interesting and learning Chinese is an important way to understand China, their current focus is on learning Chinese-related subject knowledge with English as an intermediary. For example, in the research methodology course of observation, when talking about immigrants learning the local language, a foreign student thinks that his near-native English proficiency is a valuable resource and can provide him with job opportunities as an English teacher in China after graduation.
References:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781118786093.iela0217
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328589434_English_language_ideologies_and_students'_perception_of_international_English-Medium-Instruction_EMI_Master's_programmes_A_Chinese_case_study
Thanks for your comment Siyao. It’s promising to use the concept of language ideologies to explore language practices in your local context. It would be useful to enhance your understanding of language ideologies by referring to the following EMI studies:
Bhattacharya, U. (2013). Mediating inequalities: Exploring English-medium instruction in a
suburban Indian village school. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 164-184.
Hamid, M. O., Jahan, I. & Monjurul Islam, M. (2013) Medium of instruction policies and language practices, ideologies and institutional divides: voices of teachers and students in a private university in Bangladesh, Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 144-163.
Hu, G. (2009). The craze for English-medium education in China: Driving forces and
looming consequences. English Today, 25:4, pp 47-54.
Hu, G., Li, L., & Lei, J. (2014). English-medium instruction at a Chinese University:
Rhetoric and reality. Language Policy, 13(1), 21-40.
Hu, G., & Lei, J. (2014). English-medium instruction in Chinese higher education: A
case study. Higher Education, 67(5), 551-567.
Phyak, P. (2013) Language ideologies and local languages as the medium-of-instruction policy: a critical ethnography of a multilingual school in Nepal, Current Issues in Language Planning, 14:1, 127-143,
Song, Y. (2019). ‘Uneven consequences’ of international English-medium-instruction
programmes in China: a critical epistemological perspective. Journal of Multilingual and
Multicultural Development, 1-15.
Thank you for this great post.
As an international student, I can’t help but think about the way my own language ideologies have been shaped by my time in Sydney.
To be completely honest, I did not give much thought to linguistic and cultural adaptation before coming here; my main objective was to be able to study the degree of my dreams and improve my English language skills. I wish I had invested time in researching multiculturality in Sydney and Australian culture. Instead, I limited myself to making arrangements for my arrival and I trusted my English proficiency, which had opened doors for me back home.
When I arrived in Sydney, I was absolutely surprised by the immense multiculturality in the city, a large number of languages I could hear and “read” wherever I went. I was also scared to death by my difficulties understanding interlocutors with different accents. I had thought the exposure to English that I had previously had (mostly in the form of listening activities with American and British accents, TV and film, and interaction with some American and European tourists) was going to be enough for me to face my new reality.
Coming here opened my ears to a large variety of Englishes, and opened my mind to the reality of “standard English” not being required for communication to take place and be successful. I was able to fully comprehend that, in real life, accents are not something to be erased or replaced, contrary to what is instructed by most teachers back home.
With time, I could also fully understand that, in real-life interaction, perfect grammar is not required for interactions to be successful. I must say I was aware of this in theory, but the idealisation of my own participation in communication in my L2 did not leave any room for error. As a consequence of such rigid expectations, I found myself overthinking before speaking and making mistakes, which impacted my self-perception as a speaker and made me feel ashamed and afraid more than once.
Liberating myself from harmful language beliefs lifted a burden off my shoulders, which was reflected in improved fluency and perceived self-efficacy as an English speaker later on. More realistic language ideologies have replaced the old ones thanks to my exposure to this context.
Thanks Ness for sharing with us your trajectory in speaking English and seeing the values of different forms of English. I’m quite impressed by your narrative on how you used to be negatively impacted by the standard ideology of speaking/using English and how you are now liberated by your exposure to linguistic diversity.
Thank you for sharing this research blog!
When it comes to the relationship between language ideologies and international students, this reminds me of my friend, she is a Chinese Singaporean. She said that when she was young, she had almost no concept of identity. She didn’t speak Chinese at the beginning, so she always thought of herself as a Singaporean, but others always regarded her as a Chinese. So she started to study at a Chinese school and spoke fluent Mandarin ever since. Her father often told her not to forget her Chinese roots. Indeed, it was precisely because of her father’s suggestion that Dandy went to study at Tsinghua University. As an international student, she still has xenophobia in the class. For example, she was thrown on a stool when she was sitting in her seat. Nevertheless, she still admitted that she knew little about China before coming to Tsinghua University. She also said that she likes Singapore, but does not want to lose her Chinese identity. It is for this reason that I often feel insecure and insecure in this new environment.
Overall, there is a mutual influence relationship between language ideologies and the everyday lived experiences of mobile people such as international students.
Thanks Kelly for your comment. Both language and identity are socially constructed and shifting across time and space. Your friend’s identity construction and language choice are a good case in point. Who she thinks she is is in conflict with the externally imposed identity upon her. When identity conflicts arise, we may get a better idea of how certain language ideology gets taken up or contested. I’ll be looking forward to reading your work in future.
Vietnamese people believe study aboard is the best way to learn language and culture because they explain that after arriving country, they are surrounded by native speakers and immersed in language which will help them learn language quicker. I think there is nothing wrong with the language ideology but I wanna share my opinion about culture ideology of young Vietnamese. There are a lot of Vietnamese young oversea students believe that if they try to live and behave similarly to native speakers, they can become a native. Yet, they absolutely forget their nationality is Vietnamese, they just live in new country for a short time and this means they accept new culture but doesn’t mean they understand that culture completely. Furthermore, in the future those students won’t sure that they stay or come back to Vietnam because they are oversea students, not permanent residency, and I think once they come back to Vietnam, they will be lost by Vietnamese culture. Thus, Vietnamese youth should be supported to orient their culture ideology.
Many thanks for sharing your observation with us, Frances Tran. It would be useful to relate the local practices to the wider social and political discourses for a better understanding of how we behave and who we want to become. In a monolingual society, any deviant in language and cultural practices will be likely interrogated and excluded, if not erased. Language learners are often forced to integrate themselves into the mainstream society by acting/speaking like “the local” at the sacrifice of hiding their language and culture.
Thanks to share this remarkable article. It clearly shows us all the linguistics and cultural challenges an ethnic Chinese student confronts when deciding to migrate to China. How the stress impacts their mental well-being makes them question their lifestyle and what they thought they knew about Chinese culture, and all the schemes they learned from their parents.
On the other hand, The sense of strangeness and incompetence regarding the place and self-perception of their identity can be a source of great confusion and uncertainty.
That feeling of not being either here or there can be experienced with nostalgia for losing a national reference to the identification. However, it can release them of these false paradigms.
I appreciate your great thought, Anaid. In my study, the nation-based categorization of language and culture appears to be so pervasive and powerful that many of my participants are geared to accept such categorization and oriented to see Myanmar as their homeland and land of future. Your comment reminds me of the affective dimension of confusion and uncertainty enacted by the linguistic nationalism. Hopefully this would turn out to be my next piece:-)
Thank you for providing such an intriguing article. It inspired me to research more about international students’ language experiences in non-English speaking countries. Due to the emerging trends in international education, many universities worldwide are active in implementing English-medium degree programs to attract international students. Even though English may be available to all university students as a contact language, some local students may not use English but choose to speak in the local language or other languages, whether or not in combination with English. This issue could lead to the exclusion of international students from participating in the university community, which could, in turn, impact their sense of belonging in a new environment. As a result, most international students expressed monolingual ideologies towards the use of English-only to protect their rights for academic and social integration in the university.
Thanks for your comment, Tu Nguyen. I’ll look forward to reading your study on EMI in your local context. You might find these references useful:
Bhattacharya, U. (2013). Mediating inequalities: Exploring English-medium instruction in a
suburban Indian village school. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 164-184.
Hamid, M. O., Jahan, I. & Monjurul Islam, M. (2013) Medium of instruction policies and language practices, ideologies and institutional divides: voices of teachers and students in a private university in Bangladesh, Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 144-163.
Hu, G. (2009). The craze for English-medium education in China: Driving forces and
looming consequences. English Today, 25:4, pp 47-54.
Hu, G., Li, L., & Lei, J. (2014). English-medium instruction at a Chinese University:
Rhetoric and reality. Language Policy, 13(1), 21-40.
Hu, G., & Lei, J. (2014). English-medium instruction in Chinese higher education: A
case study. Higher Education, 67(5), 551-567.
Phyak, P. (2013) Language ideologies and local languages as the medium-of-instruction policy: a critical ethnography of a multilingual school in Nepal, Current Issues in Language Planning, 14:1, 127-143,
Song, Y. (2019). ‘Uneven consequences’ of international English-medium-instruction
programmes in China: a critical epistemological perspective. Journal of Multilingual and
Multicultural Development, 1-15.
It seems that the lived experience of international students and workers depends largely on the perceived functional value their language can offer the host country. In Japan, English language skills are highly valued and English is a required subject in most secondary schools. However, the recent population decline has forced Japan to open its boarders to more international students and workers from neighboring non-English speaking countries. Japan will most likely require more workers from these countries as time goes on to slow the decline in population. An example of the Japanese government attempting to promote this is the introduction of the “Technical Trainee Program” where a special visa can be used to bring in temporary workers. Recently, the majority of these workers have come from Vietnam. This has created a situation where Vietnamese foreign nationals have become one of the largest minority groups of foreign residents in Japan.
Programs like this and increased access to higher education for foreign students from Asian countries seems to be one of Japan’s main approaches to fight population decline. Despite this, English is often the only second language offered to Japanese learners. Yet the recent demographic changes happening within Japan’s boarders calls for the recognition of other languages. The experience of living in Japan as a native English speaker versus that of a speaker of another language can differ considerably, often with the native English speaker enjoying a considerably higher quality of life because of the value placed on English in Japan. However, the future prosperity of Japan is undoubtedly tied to the influx of these non-English speaking immigrants. It may be beneficial for Japan to shift its language ideologies to be more inclusive of the languages spoken by those who may help build Japan’s future. Doing so would improve the quality of life for everyone living in Japan.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Japan#Foreign_residents
https://www.nicjp.niad.ac.jp/en/japanese-system/about.html
Thanks Jeff for sharing with us the emerging multilingual profile in Japan. It’s important to reveal that fact that English-oriented language program is no longer sufficient to help foreign students/workers fulfill their dream in Japan. It is definitely necessary to address the linguistic needs of the changed demography of foreigners by offering appropriate language programs and facilitating their access to their educational and employment resources.
It was very interesting to read about the ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar and how they felt ‘rootless’ while living in China.
It reminded me of my experience when staying in Korea for 2 months for travel a few years ago. I was born and raise in Australia and always thought I had this sense of belonging with Korea. But when I went there to spend time with relatives in Korea, I realised the different mindsets and ideologies we had. Their experience in Korea is different to the experience I had my whole life in Australia. Just like the ethnic Chinese students, because I did not experience living in Korea, I was not able to feel any sense of belonging, but I learn to accepted that there would be a clash in thoughts.
Many thanks for sharing with us your personal experience, Hee Won Song. Both your story and my participants’ experiences have challenged the traditional concept of nation-based internationalization. In spite of the inclusive discourse circulated in either English or Chinese mediated internationalization, we could question to what extent can the market-driven internationalization enhance our understanding of diversity and cultivate the future talents of intercultural brokers.
As an international student, I can have a better understanding of this article than other readers. In Australia, Chinese students are regarded as being weak in using English and very shy to speak in public. Some local people think Chinese students can not speak English well and do not want to integrate into the local community. This stereotype makes Chinese students experience social and cultural challenges. As a result, some Chinese international students perform the identity defined by the stereotype and cannot integrate into Australian culture. If the students’ English is good, it is easy for them to achieve academic goals and establish relationships with local students. They will leave the Chinese circle and develop intercultural capabilities. The social and cultural practises with local people in everyday life will give them a new cultural identity.
Thanks Og for sharing with us your observation on Chinese students receiving English-mediated higher education in Australia. Language (English) is indeed a very important social actor for international students’ successful integration into the local society. Other social factors like race, gender, social class, and nationality may also intersect with language, and consequently categorize certain group of international students as asset and others as problem. Perhaps you could look at how different Chinese students conform to, negotiate with or resist against the social stereotypes. I’ll look forward to reading your study in future.
Thanks for such an illuminating discussion on the importance of linguistic ideology. This article pointed out to me the practical implications of a lived experience of a language and the relation between personal belief and experience. The experience of studying Korean firstly in Australia and then Korea was starkly different. My relationship with the language itself, and with the processes of learning, were profoundly influenced by the environment I was in. I was challenged by the need to rapidly learn to navigate the learning process in the context of the language ideology of everyday life in a foreign country.
Thanks for your Korean learning experience with us, Adam Camoron-Taylor.
I’ll look forward to reading your study!
I’ve always thought that international students have their linguistic and cultural challenges when they study abroad. And this makes it hard for them to adapt their lives in the place where they used to consider that they had an opportunity to raise their linguistic competency and live a better life. This is mainly caused by language ideologies and cultural essentialism. Particularly, one of the difficulties that the ethnic Chinese international students face is the confusion of their self-identity led by other people’s perception. Students feel they don’t belong in their ancestral homeland and sadly, as a consequence, they show deficiency in learning the language they aimed to improve.
We can find confirmation of the argument laid out in this article by examining the opposite situation where someone may have the ideal conditions for bilingualism and inclusion. For example, foreigners in Korea whose native language is English can adapt well into Korean society because the prevailing language ideology in Korea favors them in terms of opportunity, for work, say as a well-paid English teacher. Then, if they learn Korean, they have an edge over native English-speaking workers in Korea because they can use their knowledge of Korean to settle into Korean society better and also use it in their English-speaking jobs where an explanation in Korean is needed.
Thanks for your comment Suyeon. In my blog, I only focus on how linguistic nationalism and cultural essentialism constitute two types of ideological forces shaping their sense of belonging and orientation towards their identification with both China and Myanmar. Different from what you observe in South Korea, it is not English but Myanmar proficiency that facilitates my participants’ access to academic and social networks in China. You might find it useful to conduct your study by referring to this article https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790718.2021.1976785?src=
Hi Li and Ingrid,
It is sadly a common feature that when second or third-generation immigrants come back to their traditional fatherland/homeland,
I am growing up in a Polish household and always have dreams to live in Poland for at least a short amount of time, just to learn the culture, tradition, language etc. But I am just slightly worried that I won’t fit in some aspects in Poland. There are plenty of jokes about Polish people that live overseas in Poland; that they want to be part of Poland, have Polish citizenship, yet do not know the history, C-level proficiency of Polish, or cannot name famous politicians names.
There’s a term for it called Farbowany Lis – Painted Fox. This painted fox saying refers to people with Polish ancestry; that you can paint the fox with the Polish flag colours, but the fox isn’t ‘truely’ Polish.
It’s similar to how that ethnic Chinese student from Myanmar felt. She was raised up Chinese yet felt rootless to her culture, traditions, language and values. It questions me if just knowing the language will be enough for 2nd-3rd gen immigrants to visit their old roots. It’s hard enough to learn the linguistics of languages in other countries with decline of community schools (using Aus as an example), it’s even harder to learn the culture, history, famous figures of the homeland country.
It is sadly a common feature that when second or third-generation immigrants come back to their traditional fatherland/homeland, there can be some linguistic, cultural and social issues **
Forgot to add that part sorry!
Many thanks for sharing with us your thoughts, Ian P. I agree that it’s far from sufficient to be a legitimate citizen by speaking the national language of ancestral homeland. Many other social and political conditions may hinder our equal access of social participation. However, we still need to be aware of the dominant power imposed by the standard language ideologies that categorize certain group as legitimate others as deficient. In my study, my participants claimed their legitimacy as ethnic Chinese in Myanmar by speaking Chinese and performing Chinese culture, but their legitimacy was questioned because of their “non-standard” Chinese pronunciation and orthography. In fact, the standard language ideologies also make any Chinese people deficient speakers given the diverse demographic structure in China. You may refer to one of my blogs. https://www.languageonthemove.com/coronavirus-meets-linguistic-diversity/
I feel for what this article talks about. I remember the first year i came to Australia and I found there were a few cultural differences among my new friends and managers. Luckily, I thought them in a positive way because I really like some of the Australian cultures. However, since I have been living here for four years, I found that sometimes I could not think of few Chinese words, which shocked me. And I had lost connections with my old Chinese friends. So before, I was questioning that where is my root. I think I am feeling more connected with Australia since my English level has improved. But, I know some of the International students who get higher English levels do not feel they belong here.
Many thanks for your sharing your experiences with us, Roxie. Your story has revealed some affective dimensions of English learning in Anglophone countries, which is often overlooked in capitalism-driven literature. It would be really interesting to explore how your improvement of English proficiency makes you feel guilty of your Chinese identity because of your Chinese language attrition and how you navigate between these two languages in Australia.
Lydia
Language ideologies are never static, and they can be changed and influenced through daily life and living environment. Language ideologies are linked to identities, institutions, and values in society. Language ideologies can affect the students’ sense of belonging. For example, most Chinese students’ study English for many years in China, and some even more than ten years. Indeed, they can speak fluent English, and they believe they have medium/high-level English proficiency. However, when they study in English-speaking countries, they feel strange and do not have a sense of belonging. They need to face various challenges. Such as cultural differences and learning styles and methods. Cross-cultural differences are normal for international students. However, international students should adjust their ideology and attempt new things and values. A proper change in language ideology is necessary and effective to find a sense of belonging for international students.
Thanks Yidan Liu for sharing with us your observation on the norms of being good English speakers in China and in Australia. Perhaps you could investigate what are the linguistic and cultural challenges confronting international students (Chinese students in particular) at study and to what extent they can mobilize what resources to enhance their academic performance.
Thanks for sharing this informative and interesting post!
I think as an international student, I can understand the challenges that ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar faced. When I first came to Australia I felt there were so many differences in terms of lifestyle, food, studying patterns, and so on. It would be difficult for international students to fit in with local life and people at first, so most Chinese students, including me, would try to find other Chinese students in class or in the city they lived in. The friendship and daily interactions with other Chinese would impact and reshape the established perceptions and beliefs about the Chinese language because other Chinese students might be from different parts of China where Putonghua was not the prevailing language. And this is not a once-off change, I think their perception towards a language will be constantly reconstructed when they encountered mobile people such as other international students or immigrants. Language ideologies will continually change based on everyday experiences and interactions with others.
Thank you very much for sharing with us your learning experiences in Australia. It’s interesting to see Chinese international students’ choice of speaking Putonghua or dialect for establishing social networks and friendship in Australia. My participants of ethnic Chinese backgrounds also reported a similar preference in speaking Burmese language over Chinese language for socialization in public while receiving higher education in China. In Myanmar, however, ethnic Chinese of Yunnan origin rarely speak Burmese language at home or for daily communication. As argued in my study, their changed language habitus is mainly regulated by linguistic nationalism, that is, “you are from Myanmar, you should speak Burmese language” and subsequently reinforced by the economic opportunity for China’s expanding market in Myanmar.
Surely, language learners may also become complicit in reproducing the dominant language ideologies and the linguistic hierarchy among themselves. My PhD thesis in Chapter 7 has describe the internal differentiation among Burmese students of diverse background. https://www.languageonthemove.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/LI_Jia_Social_reproduction_and_migrant_education.pdf
Nice sharing!
With the increasing popularity of Chinese(Putonghua) all over the world in recent years, people in various industries begin to learn Putonghua. Among those population, such as international students in China, they may have achieved good proficiency in Chinese and Putonghua in their own country, but when they really come to China to study, they will find that they may still be ‘the beginner in Chinese’. The influence of language ideology on life is mutual. It is also normal that cultural essentialism will bring international students helpless (such as society) or no sense of cultural belonging. The influence of environment has a lot to do with the formation of ideology. But I think that after a period of precipitation and continuous improvement of the environment will change this situation.
Thanks for your comment, tviq. You are right, international students may experience many linguistic and cultural differences between what they used to know about the host country before migration and what they find out after migration. My study with Burmese students also demonstrates the similar cultural shock in that international students feel surprised that many Chinese people in China do not speak standard Putonghua for daily communication, and do not play martial arts, do paper cutting or know much about Confucius. When migrating to China, international students often find themselves navigating between these differences. Perhaps, you could think about exploring a similar topic on how English/receiving higher education in Australia is ideologically constructed in China and how their previous perception impacts the way they integrate into the local society.I’ll look forward to your future study!
Thank you for such an interesting article.
I have heard very similar story from one of my students who came from Inner Mongolia to Mongolia to pursue his master’s degree. He shared his experience of being in the community made him felt bit excluded and rootless due his accent and use of old Mongolian vocabulary which is unfamiliar for current Mongolians. Due to Russian influence , we have been using a lot of borrowed vocabulary from Russia even though we have Mongolian names. As for Inner Mongolians, they still have been using traditional Mongolian transcripts and old (original) vocabularies in their everyday life which causing conflicts for such ethnic groups to be able to communicate freely in the community. Vice versa we would feel also the same, when we go to Inner Mongolia.
Many thanks for sharing with us the linguistic differences between Inner Mongolians and Mongolians. Very interesting! I’ve also observed many identity conflicts between ethnic Chinese and Chinese students receiving education at the same school and between cross-border minority groups living in the China-and-Myanmar borderland. It would be interesting to explore the role of state in shaping their identity conflicts despite their shared language and kinship.
I can completely understand how these students are feeling as they are hard to find a sense of belonging in their ancestry culture despite their proficiency in using the language. Hinkle and Brown (1990) have elaborated on positive social identity in terms of the comparisons between the in-group and out-group ideologies. Based on my own experience as an international student many years ago, I always believe family value is one of the key elements in shaping one’s cultural identity. I use to live with my aunty for 10 years and she had immigrated from China to Australia over 30 years. I observed how she educated my cousins who were born and raised in Australia but did not know about Chinese culture and Mandarin when they were young. My aunty kept reinforcing the importance for them to remember that their Chinese ancestry and sociocultural values. My cousins started to get interested in learning Chinese, celebrating the festival, sharing perspectives based on their cultural understanding, visiting China on school holidays, helping exchanged students from China. I believe the families and the extended social relationships are influential to the students who are studying or living abroad. In order to avoid the sense of marginalisation, the students can choose to actively participate in some community events and share their previous life experiences. I found it was helpful for me to join English learning groups that included speakers from different countries and we felt comfortable practicing English together by sharing our interests and family values. In this way, we could establish positive intercultural communication rather than feeling excluded from the mainstream culture.
Hinkle, S., & Brown, R.J. (1990). Intergroup comparisons and social identity: some links and lacunae. In: ABRAMS, D. & HOGG, M. (Eds) Social Identity Theory: constructive and critical advances. New York: Harvester & Wheatsheaf.
Many thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Rhonda. Your observation is quite similar to Dr Wang Yining’s study with Chinese immigrants’ heritage language maintenance in Australia. Both of you stress the importance of access to Chinese language learning resources either at home or at community or through other formal and informal channels. I like the way you highlight your transnational identity as 1.5 generation of ethnic Chinese living in Australia where you find yourself comfortable hanging out with people of diverse groups and speaking English rather than Chinese for wider communication. Probably you could tell us more about the diversity among 1.5 ethnic Chinese youth living in Australia. I’ll look forward to your study!
I can understand the frustration of these ethnic Chinese students. When I first arrived in Australia, the cultural and linguistic shock came over me. In Australian classrooms, teachers frequently remind you that you need to try to use only English in your daily communication. So I was delighted when I met a Chinese-speaking student from Singapore, whose yellow skin and familiarity with Chinese made me feel a sense of cultural identity. However, I was a little disappointed to find that although she spoke Putonghua, she had lived in Australia for many years and did not know as much about the local Chinese culture as I thought she did. There seemed to be an invisible barrier between her and me all the time, and it was far less comfortable than the interaction I had with my classmates who were from China.
This article is really helpful to discover culture ideologies and language teaching and learning. Personally speaking, I think both the students themselves and the teachers are expected to balance the culture differences in terms of teaching and learning a new language. For teachers, they need to understand that students’ cultural background may highly influent their language learning. For students, it is their responsibility to also learn the culture differences between their own cultural background and the culture of the language that they are learning to avoid the misunderstanding.
I have a friend who is Chinese/Australian??? Because he was born in China, but he has came to Australia for more than 15 years. He asked me to teach him Mandarin, even though actually he can speak Mandarin, then he found there is a lot of things he cannot understand especially for the new popular Chinese expressions. As these expressions are just emerged recently based on the Chinese nowadays society, they are really hard to translate into English. So, if you do not have a solid Chinese background and if you do not Chinese situations, then you will feel confused about these expressions easily. What’s more, as he has been in Australia for many years, Australian cultures really have influenced him a lot, so it’s really difficult for him to adapt Chinese thinking. When he was learning the new expressions, he always uses Australian cultures to understand these expressions, and it will be more complicated to explain to him. I think this is a good example in terms of how cultural ideologies impact on language learning. Although you can speak a language, this doesn’t mean that you can understand everything and communicate without any difficulties. As interactions among people are under cultural influences.
Many international students have the belief that it would be best to learn the target language in that country. Or as the term Surtees uses in her paper “language learning in study abroad”. These students hold on to the belief that as long as they are surrounded by native speakers, no effort should be made in learning the language and that they could as well gradually obtain the culture. However, the reality reflects something far different from what they expected. This fantasy hope and the actual experiences are well-known and shared widely. Yet, the “language learning in study abroad” mindset is less likely to be changed. The question is why people could not give up this language ideology? Is there a way to reconceptualize such beliefs?
Reference:
Surtees, Victoria. “Beliefs about Language Learning in Study Abroad: Advocating for a Language Ideology Approach.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, vol. 27, no. 1, 2016, pp. 85–103., https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v27i1.376.
Good question, Tram! One answer might be that studying abroad is a powerful industry and a lot of advertising is invested into selling the dream of living abroad, travelling, and learning the language magically, fluently, and effortlessly …
Thank you for sharing an insightful article Li.
The identity of the students affects their motivation since it is a form of change that understands the social world that surrounds them for example, one student tries to be marginalized and the other tries to get a more valuable education and is interested in finding out how their learning is motivating and how they are related. Apparently, cultural identity has a significant impact on learning and must be taken into account in teaching and learning.
Interesting post!
I could somehow relate to the self-perception and identity issue the ethnic Chinese student from Myanmar experienced. Obviously, the ideology one has about a language is highly influenced by one’s daily life and the environment they are put in. As in the case of the Chinese student living in Malaysia, she would have been very “Chinese” among the numbers of Malaysians. I also found myself to be very Korean when I lived in Thailand, but going to Korea, I couldn’t identify myself to belonging with the group because my Korean wasn’t as fluent and also because I was exposed to a different culture than what the native Koreans had.
While languages hold the relevant culture within, daily experiences play a critical role in shaping the culture that eventually reflects the language and perception, as seen in the case above.
Furthermore, I remember how most of the Thai students at the international school I went to, identified themselves to be half Chinese. They claimed so because their relatives had lived in China and brought its culture to their families. These Thai international students voluntarily chose to learn Mandarin as their second language in high school, believing that the language formed an important part of their identity and also practiced Chinese holidays at home. Nevertheless, when put next to a “true” Chinese student, who actually came from China, they were nothing close to who they identified themselves to be.
It is really interesting what the living environment can do in forming language and cultural ideologies.
We may find a great disappointment in the consequences in terms of linguistic and cultural ideologies. And it is no doubt that this will continue to be subject to a long-term contestation. However, We may also take a look at the current situation, which has been optimized vis a vis the far-away old days. To give a piece of further information about the history of linguistic and cultural essentialism in China, from Qin dynasty when the language and traffic systems were centrally unified and organized by Qin Shi Huang ( the first emperor of the Qin dynasty) in favor of his administration, to Han and other later dynasties, ethnic languages and cultures were princically not acknowledged by their mainstream societies. There had been a long period of conflicts and denials between the administrative nations and different ethnic minorities before the beneficial multi cultures was recognized (or a compromise to rest conflicts was made). Whereas in contemporary society, the cultural customs and humanistic arts of Zhuang (Bourau), for instance, Tibetan (the Zang), Hui nationalities, which are 骆越（luò yuè) in Qin dynasty, 吐蕃 (tǔ bō) and 回纥 (huí hé or Uyghur) in Tang dynasty respectively, are well protected and supported by contemporary China. We may have to confess that it is an improvement.
To keep up with the discussion in terms of linguistic and cultural essentialism, language may play a crucial role in the culture compatibility, it still takes plenty of time to figure out and put into place suitable ways since there’s an astounding abundance of languages around the globe. And to reassure our concerns, China towns around the world and Tibet areas in the city where I live (Chengdu) are good examples of the present progress.
Referrences:
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%9B%9E%E6%97%8F/130303?fr=aladdin
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A3%AE%E6%97%8F/125251?fr=aladdin
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%90%90%E8%95%83/618622
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%97%8F%E6%97%8F
Many thanks for your comment Anka. It’s great to know that you are interested in exploring the linguistic and cultural essentialism. I agree that it’s importance to review the historical development of language policy, but it’s more important for us to conduct ethnographic studies and see whether what’s stated in the official documents is (in)consistent with what’s practiced in local contexts. I’ll look forward to reading your study in future.
I feel sorry for the ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar, but at the same time I am not surprised by the challenges they face and I am pretty sure that they live like strangers there. This is because I believe that whatever your parents teach you about your language and culture, if you don’t experience these details yourself in your homeland you will not be able to feel any sense of belonging. The point that should be raised here is how this situation affects these students achievement at uni.
Thanks for your comment Waa. You have raised an interesting question related to family language policy on heritage language maintenance. Many tensions emerge between parental expectations and children’s language practices. Dr Yining Wang’s study can be a good reference for your inquiry.
Regarding the students’ academic achievement, it’s very complex and multifaceted social forces can shape their learning outcomes. You could start to focus on their language ideologies and see how their ideologies impact the way they speak/write and perhaps their academic success and integration into the local society etc..
Thanks for your engaging blog!
In terms of meaning and intentions between cultures, language ideologies help to avoid misunderstanding and somehow, they make connections between sociocultural and linguistic processes in contact situations (Woolard, 2020). When a student comes to a new country to pursue his study, he might experience a difference in learning style, social difficulties and culture shock – that is definitely unavoidable. Formed language ideologies could make mobile people feel not belonging, insecure and isolated in a new environment due to the diversity of cultural backgrounds associated. However, this depends on the surrounding environment and how they are willing to adapt to new lands. But in any case, language ideologies always are affected reciprocally by everyday lived experiences, especially in terms of mobile people such as international students like us. For example, language ideologies from our attitude and the way we react in daily life, and everyday lived experiences might change our belief about languages. This is so clear when the rate of migration is increasing day by day. I also think mobile people like international students will affect the language ideologies and culture of future generations.
References
Woolard, K. A. (2020). Language ideology. The International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118786093.iela0217
Thanks, Lynn! Good point that language ideologies are never static and always subject to contestation!
Thanks Lynn for your comment. I agree it’s important to look at the agency of language learners. In my PhD thesis (Chapt 7), I have focused on how Burmese students mobilize their linguistic and cultural resources to negotiate with and resist against the dominant ideologies. Language learners do have power to raise their voices. However we have to question to what extent their agentive practices might challenge the norms of mainstream society. I’m well aware that an increasing number of migrant studies tend to celebrate language learners’ agency. However, based on my years of ethnography with the marginalized participants from peripheral countries, we have to be cautious towards such emancipatory disco
I would be interested to know to what extent the disorientation and erosion of cultural identity experienced by students from Myanmar studying in China – who have been socialised to consider China to be their cultural homeland – impacts both their university experience and professional opportunities in China after graduation. I wonder what percentage of international students from Myanmar stays in China after graduation, and whether the combination of nationality and non-standard variety of Chinese is a hinderance to their professional development.
Thanks, Monica, for raising this important question! Li Jia’s research has found that a fair number actually return to Myanmar, where they experience better opportunities and where they are seen as fantastic bilinguals …
Thanks Monica for your comment. Thanks Ingrid for your reply. Yes, the great majority of them returned to Myanmar and most of them worked for China-funded company in Yangon and Mandalay. Only a small number of them stay in China as they either marry to a Chinese or teach Burmese language at Chinese universities. My colleague and I just published an article on how these students fulfill their entrepreneurial ambitions after receiving China’s higher education. Here is the link for Li & Zheng (2021) for your reference.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790718.2021.1976785?src=
It is fascinating and, sadly, unsurprising to see that the question of one’s own cultural identity commonly comes into play when second (or even third) generation immigrants return “home” to their ancestral homeland. It would be difficult enough to struggle with questions of identity on a personal level, but then to have that identity “decided upon” for you by an educational or governing body would be doubly frustrating.
The ethnic Chinese student from Myanmar described herself as feeling “rootless” while hoping to feel a bond to a homeland she had never lived in in China. It is interesting to wonder if this will be a more and more commonplace emotion from humans all over the world as globalisation and rates of migration increase. Will feelings of being untethered to a linguistic or cultural geographic location cause feelings of isolation, or might they infuse a sense of global, rather than national, citizenship in years to come?
Thanks, Brynn! Maybe the alternative to national identities is not cosmopolitan but ever more fractured?
Your comment reminds me of exploring the emotional geographies of international students. Thanks Brynn for sharing your beautiful thoughts with us.
The ethnic Chinese students from Myanmar were trained by their family to keep their Chinese identity in mind since they were young. However, when they cross the borderline to find their root, they are surprised to find out that their Burmese identity is reinforced by people all around them. Their learning experience is quite intricate. The ethnic Chinese students from Laos share some similarities with Burmese students. They are also divided into Laotian students by their teachers and school. However, there are naunce between my research object and Prof. Li’s study. In that Laotian ethnic Chinese student’s class, his identity as an ethnic Chinese is commonly known and highly accepted by his classmates because his high Putonghua proficiency level. Meanwhile, he draws a distinct line between him and other Laotian students and identifies himself firmly as a Han nation person. He also judges other Laotian students as weird and abnormal when they put suggar and Capsicum frutescens together in their noddles. However, ethnic Chinese students from Laos also face numerous academic problems and work issues which require further studying.
Many thanks for your comment Jiangjiang. Yes, the internal differentiations are interesting to explore. We can find many ideological differences among the same ethnic group. Looking forward to reading your study!
It’s very interesting to know these ethnic Chinese students’ feelings when they attend this kind of “diverse culture” activities. They orient China as homeland, while actually they are perceived as Burmese in China. It’s quite disappionting for them. The identity shifting from proficient Chinese speakers in Myanmar to deficient Putonghua speakers in China is also mentioned in Professor Li Jia’s article. Both are wonderful, thanks for sharing. Hoping Chinese international education will be better under the RCEP.
Thanks Xiaoni for your comment. I’ll very much expect to read your study with Burmese migrant workers in Ruili.
Very pleased to hear from you, Zhou Haoyue! It’s good to hear you still keep your interest in academic exploration after your graduation last year.
Thanks for your interest in this blog. I hope you may get a chance to use the relevant theories as listed in this blog and develop your interest in intercultural communication after you get enrolled as an international student at UCL in England:-)
Cultural essentialism means dividing people into different groups by their essential qualities. However, most of the times, these assumptions have no basis in fact. They are like stereotypes which could bring harm to the ethnic students. The students might get lost about their roots and feel insecure as if they were in a total strange country. Except for the ethnic students, international students might suffer from the same problem. The RCEP strategy not only prompts the economies bilaterally, but also stimulates the population movements which means more international students from ASEAN countries will come to China for better education opportunities. How to improve their learning experience in Chinese campuses is an essential issue. This essay sheds light on the research about international education under the RCEP and has great meanings.