Dual Variations Of Cosmopolitan And Nationality

Foreign language education is an integral part of the process of "China's history turning into world history". Foreign language education in modern China synchronizes with its cosmopolitanization and modernization. The development of foreign language education in modern China is the process that it opens up to the outside world and pursues modernization. The foreign language education in modern China plays a very special and important role in the historical process that modem China melts into the world system. Its development not only reflects the development of education in China but also reflects the changes in thoughts and society in modern China, therefore, is of great importance in the history of thought.The goal of this paper is to analyze and explore the relationship between foreign language education in modern China and its opening up to the outside world under a cosmopolitanized circumstance that is ever-changing, rather than to focus on foreign language education itself. With time order being its longitude and aspects of foreign language education its latitude, the paper elaborates on the traits of changes of foreign language education in China in different periods and under different world consciousness circumstances as well as on the socio-cultural significance it conveys. The main body countermeasures manifested by foreign language education in the cultural relationship between China and western world, namely the rules of dialectical interaction between cosmopolitan and nationality, are thoroughly analyzed to reveal the complex relationship between foreign language education and Chinese, western cultures, therefore, draws the outline of the track that Chinese people get to know the world and propel the process of China's modernization.In this paper, relationship between the transformation of foreign language education in China and its opening up to the outside world are explored with cosmopolitanization, cosmopolitan and nationality as conceptional frame. The rise and development of foreign language education in China is a government-initiated and civil-participated educational movement under the background of interaction of different cultures between the west and the east, with learning western science, strengthening knowledge of the world and upgrading ability to gear to international world as main purposes. Its development is a process from passiveness to positiveness, from fragmentation to system, and from conservation to opening up. It is also a process that a country opens its door to the outside world, a process that a nation opens it mind and heart, a process of boldly facing the world, accepting difference and self expression. The interrelation between China and the rest of the world has always been a heavy background color for foreign language education in modern China, hence the development history of foreign language education in modem China is actually a history that modern China melts into the world, which plays a very important role in the process of China's opening up to the outside world.The paper falls into six parts. The introduction part consists of five aspects regarding the reasons, values, reviews and weak points analysis, goals and innovations, and methods of the study, which gives a brief introduction and illumination on the whole paper.Chapter 1 mainly elaborates and analyzes the intrinsic motivation and specific manifestation of foreign language education in modern China as a special phenomenon of opening eyes to the outside world in initial period (1862-1900). It bears the general features of strong nationality and weak cosmopolitan, course status lower than native language, small scale, direct toolism in terms of value orientation characterized by training common translators needed by politics, diplomatics, economics and commerce, translation mainly involving in official and commercial documents and rarely in cultural and educational materials, and grammar translation being the main method with emphasis on training of translation skills. Foreign languages are forced to be the teaching languages of other disciplines; foreign language learners experience all kinds of hardships in a low social status. In general, under the background of preliminary awakening of Chinese cosompolitanization consciousness, foreign language education shows certain degree absorption of western superficial cultures with no knowledge and involvement of its in-depth cultures. Strong wariness and stubbornly sticking to bottom line lead to foreign language education in this period lack of cultural and educational consciousness, but full of toolism consciousness eager for quick success and instant benefit. Strong conservative consciousness, especially comparing with Japanese foreign language education environment, embodies Chinese people's inclination of narrow nationalism cultural recognition in the trend of cosmopolitanization, which attributed to limited achievements of foreign language education. However, the commencement of foreign language education is after all a countermeasure and choice taken by Chinese people who are forced to go to the outside world, and also an important step which promotes China's link with the outside world.In chapter 2, thought motivation and specific manifestation of foreign language education as a phenomenon of positively moving towards the outside world in systematic period (1901-1921) are discussed and analyzed. It features the characteristics of strong cosmopolitan and weak nationality, foreign language education being hot and fashionable, being popular, systematic and becoming compulsive course of middle school and selective course of primary school, course status much higher than native language, indirect toolism in terms of value orientation characterized by taking foreign language education as an important mean of learning western natural, humanities and social science, the combination of language education with western culture and science education in terms of education contents with natural science being the main content of education, rapid development of bilingual education, education methods changing from grammar translation to reading education, significant upgrade of social status of cultural marginal person, and cosomopolitan being more prominent. Obviously, there is a strong recognition towards western culture by Chinese who had experienced separation and exploitation after the defeat of Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and were in danger of nation-conquered and race-extinct.In chapter 3, elaborations and analysis on thought motivation and specific manifestation of foreign language education as a phenomenon of voluntarily transforming the world in reform period (1922-1949) have been brought forward. Generally, it features the synergic progress of cosmopolitan and nationality, criticism about and counteraction to colonial natured foreign language education, which embodies valuable national spirit, equal statues of foreign languages and native language in school education, comprehensiveness of value orientation of foreign language education with the tendency of transforming from toolism to humanism, new connotations in living, social and national aspects appearing in the content of foreign language education which well represents the actual pragmatic environment featuring strengthened consciousness of intercultural education, and foreign language education methods turning to comprehensive training of listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities with direct methods as main body. Above all, after the 1911 Revolution, the May 4th New Culture Movement and the two World Wars, facing the cosmopolitanized opponents that are getting stronger and stronger, Chinese cosmopolitanization consciousness start to be rational and self conscious. The dialectical interaction between cosmopolitan factors and nationality of foreign language education underlines the intercultural exchange nature of foreign language education. It is reasonable countermeasure to and promotion of cosmopolitan trend post the two World Wars by foreign language education which reflects rational multicultural recognition of Chinese people.In chapter 4, main characteristics, social functions, existing problems are summarized.Epilogue provides analysis on the enlightenments of foreign language education in modern China and research subject that need to be deepened and further explored of foreign language education featuring cosmopolitanization vision. The enlightenment part also serves as conclusions of the paper: take open nationalism cultural recognition orientation as fundamental guidelines for foreign language education in a long and stable term, because it is basic character for foreign language education to integrate its cosmopolitan and nationality; it is still one of important tasks for our contemporary foreign language education to fight against cultural imperialism and whole- westernization; the essence of foreign language education is an intercultural quality education; ; isomorphism of Chinese and foreign cultures is the basic principal when compiling foreign language textbooks; from rights to resources is the consciousness orientation when constituting policy for foreign language education in China.