A Study Of Linguistic Identity And Foreign Language Planning In China In The Globalization Context

In the globalization context,foreign language education plays a pivotal role in maintaining the state interest and improving national competitiveness.The massive and frequent international communication gives rise to the "English fever" and the use of English as a world lingua franca.Meanwhile,the increasing involvement of China in global business brings forth the concern about English learners' identity with Chinese as their mother language and their identity with English as a foreign language.In addition,the coexistence of different English varieties and the increasing interactions in English among non-native speakers ignite the argument of the teaching paradigm in English education.In view of this language situation,in response to the argument about paradigm shift in foreign language education planning,this study addresses the questions about the intelligibility of English varieties with different accents,Chinese learners' language attitudes to these varieties,the changes in their identity,and the nature of their English-speaking community.Given the fact that English is used as a lingua franca,this study adopts experimental methods,questionnaire and interview to investigate the Chinese learners' linguistic identity with Chinese,English and different varieties of English among nearly 400 subjects in 6 universities in Jiangsu Province.Statistical analyses together with qualitative discussions are carried out within the theoretical framework of post-structuralist identity approach,speech community and imagined community,so as to understand the status quo of English learmers' language identity and to enlighten the current foreign language education planning.The experimental part of the research indicates a hierarchical pattern about the intelligibility of six English varieties and about the subjects' language attitudes to these varieties.In line with previous research,native speakers' varieties(RP and GA in this study)take a dominant position in this hierarchy while the varieties from the outer and expanding circles rank significantly lower in this pyramid.As for China English as a variety among world Englishes,despite its markedly higher intelligibility to subjects,it is,however,the least favored variety.The result of this part verifies the effectiveness of Lingua Franca Core proposed by Jenkins in explaining the intelligibility of English varieties.Nevertheless,as an open and developing system,more research should be done to improve this model.This hierarchy also implies the powerful influence of standard language ideology in English education policies in China.Regarding the changes in linguistic identity,the survey demonstrates that Chinese learmers of English have well maintained their identity with Chinese.Meanwhile,additive and productive changes have taken place in their linguistic identity after years of language learning.Although Chinese learners highly identify with the native English speakers' norms,they come to be aware of the importance of English as a lingua franca and the possible legitimacy of non-native speakers5 varieties.In light of current English use and the changes in linguistic identity above,the current English speaking community in China at the most basic level is a community of practice that exists in classrooms and working places.At the national and international levels,the English speaking community is an imagined community,to which English users and learners are related through imagination.Following the findings above,the study puts forwards suggestions in terms of education aims,test orientation,teaching materials and teachers' responsibilities in foreign language education policy.The policy makers should also be aware that the more exposure to different accents,the increased familiarity with varieties,and the development of language accommodation skills will help non-native speakers get more confident of their legitimate status of English speakers.At a macro level,the foreign language education planning with an international posture will facilitate the international communications,promote citizens9 foreign language competence and boost the harmonious language life in China.