scholarly journals “How Is My English?”: Chinese University Students’ Attitudes Toward China English and Their Identity Construction

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110382
Author(s):  
Haiying Pan ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
Fan Fang ◽  
Tariq Elyas
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Standard Form ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
China English ◽  
Chinese University Students

Due to the spread of the English language in various domains and the fact that English is used as a global language, researchers and educators have started to rethink the models and aims of English language teaching in different settings. From the World Englishes (WE) perspective, this study investigated the attitudes of Chinese university students toward the localized variety of “China English,” as well as the students’ identity construction and negotiation during their English language learning journey. Data were collected through a questionnaire completed by 190 respondents and interviews conducted with 20 participants. The findings revealed the students’ positive attitudes toward China English and non-conformity to English as a native language (ENL). This further reflected the communicative function of English and the students’ interest in forming a Chinese cultural identity. However, the students also showed self-contradictory attitudes toward China English, as most did not want to be clearly identified as Chinese when using English. The data revealed some important reasons for this attitudinal conflict, including the belief that ENL is the standard form of English, as well as the students’ desire to develop an identity as competent second language learners of English. The findings suggest the importance of increasing awareness of the global spread of English and reforming English curricula and assessment in contexts where local varieties of English are emerging.

scholarly journals An Empirical Study on Chinese University Students’ English Language Classroom Anxiety with the Idiodynamic Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang He
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Chinese University Students ◽  
Classroom Anxiety

Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is a very critical affective factor for learners’ language learning and development. The present study was designed to explore the features of Chinese university students’ FLCA and to investigate the possible influencing factors on the fluctuations of Chinese university students’ FLCA. Two female and two male Chinese university students were selected as the participants and their in-class performances were recorded. Data collection instrument included the classroom observation, the self-rated evaluation of FLCA and the stimulated recall interview. In order to capture the micro-changes of the Chinese learners’ FLCA per second, an idiodynamic approach was adopted to carry out the exploratory analysis for the learners’ experiences of FLCA over the language instruction. Zooming in on the micro dynamic variation of the participants’ FLCA, the final results indicate that Chinese university students’ FLCA, both within individuals and across individuals, is characterized of a dynamic system’s features. Furthermore, a series of contributing factors were identified to affect the participants’ FLCA, with the classroom activity types and the teacher’s feedback being the key factors. The idiodynamic method shed new light on exploring the FLCA from an emic and dynamic perspective and some pedagogical implications were also put forward as well.

scholarly journals An Empirical Study on Chinese University Students’ English Language Classroom Anxiety with the Idiodynamic Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang He
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Chinese University Students ◽  
Classroom Anxiety

Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is a very critical affective factor for learners’ language learning and development. The present study was designed to explore the features of Chinese university students’ FLCA and to investigate the possible influencing factors on the fluctuations of Chinese university students’ FLCA. Two female and two male Chinese university students were selected as the participants and their in-class performances were recorded. Data collection instrument included the classroom observation, the self-rated evaluation of FLCA and the stimulated recall interview. In order to capture the micro-changes of the Chinese learners’ FLCA per second, an idiodynamic approach was adopted to carry out the exploratory analysis for the learners’ experiences of FLCA over the language instruction. Zooming in on the micro dynamic variation of the participants’ FLCA, the final results indicate that Chinese university students’ FLCA, both within individuals and across individuals, is characterized of a dynamic system’s features. Furthermore, a series of contributing factors were identified to affect the participants’ FLCA, with the classroom activity types and the teacher’s feedback being the key factors. The idiodynamic method shed new light on exploring the FLCA from an emic and dynamic perspective and some pedagogical implications were also put forward as well.

scholarly journals An Empirical Study on Chinese University Students’ English Language Classroom Anxiety With the Idiodynamic Approach

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110376
Author(s):  
Xiang He ◽  
Dandan Zhou ◽  
Xiaofei Zhang
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Dynamic Perspective ◽  
Chinese University Students ◽  
Classroom Anxiety

Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is a very critical affective factor for learners’ language learning and development. The present study was designed to explore the features of Chinese university students’ FLCA and to investigate the possible influencing factors on the fluctuations of Chinese university students’ FLCA. Two female and two male Chinese university students were selected as the participants and their in-class performances were recorded. Data collection instrument included the classroom observation, the self-rated evaluation of FLCA, and the stimulated recall interview. To capture the micro-changes of the Chinese learners’ FLCA per second, an idiodynamic approach was adopted to carry out the exploratory analysis for the learners’ experiences of FLCA over the language instruction. Zooming in on the microdynamic variation of the participants’ FLCA, the final results indicated that Chinese university students’ FLCA, both within individuals and across individuals, is characterized of a dynamic system’s features. Furthermore, a series of contributing factors were identified to trigger the participants’ FLCA, with the classroom activity types and the teacher’s feedback being the key external factors and the gender difference and self-efficacy being the major internal factors. The idiodynamic method shed new light on exploring the FLCA from an emic and dynamic perspective and some pedagogical implications were also put forward as well.

scholarly journals Chinese University Students’ Experience of WeChat-Based English-Language Vocabulary Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 554
Author(s):  
Fan Li ◽  
Si Fan ◽  
Yanjun Wang ◽  
Jinjin Lu
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
English Language ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Chinese University ◽  
Chinese University Students ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Many

The outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide in 2020 has posed tremendous challenges to higher education globally. Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is among the many areas affected by the pandemic. The unexpected transition to online teaching has increased challenges for improving and/or retaining students’ language proficiency. WeChat, a popular social application in China, was widely used for TEFL at Chinese universities before COVID-19. However, it remains unclear whether the use of WeChat can facilitate Chinese university students’ English-language lexical proficiency during the pandemic. To fill this gap, the aim of the present study was two-fold: (1) it initially explored the relationship between the variables including students’ academic years, genders, and academic faculties/disciplines, and their lexical proficiency; and (2) it evaluated the effectiveness of a WeChat-assisted lexical learning (WALL) program in facilitating learning outcomes of English-language vocabulary. One hundred and thirty-three students at a university in Northern China participated in the WALL program for three weeks. As the results indicated, the independent variables had no correlation with the students’ lexical proficiency. More importantly, the students had a decline in the test scores after using the program, compared to their initial test scores. Moreover, the difference was reported to be medium. The findings further proposed questions on applying WeChat to vocabulary teaching in a large-scaled transition. The study is expected to provide insights for tertiary institutions, language practitioners, and student stakeholders to troubleshoot the potential problems regarding implementing WeChat-based TEFL pedagogies.

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