An Empirical Study Of The Cultural Identity Of Minority English Majors In Xinjiang

Language is the carrier of culture and one of its important components. As a representation of cultural identity, language participates in the process of identity construction. Nowadays, more and more Chinese and western scholars are showing concern to this non-linguistic outcome brought about by language learning.Based on the previous research, an empirical study is conducted to explore the cultural identity of the minority English majors in Xinjiang. The research data are collected through self-made questionnaires. The questionnaires are comprised of four parts: the demographic information, native cultural identity questionnaire, the target cultural identity questionnaire and the cultural identity change questionnaire.Data are analyzed through software SPSS 12.0. Frequency, descriptive analysis, MANOVA and ANOVA are used to analyze the research data. The major findings are as the following:1. The MEMs maintain their native cultural identity; in the meanwhile, they possess certain target cultural identity. They maintain much stronger sense of native cultural belongings and have a stronger awareness of native cultural identity.2. English learning significantly influences all five types of cultural identity changes. The most prominent change lies in productive change. The results indicate that productive bilingualism exists among minority English majors in Xinjiang.3. Group differences of some demographic features on cultural-identity changes are also found during the study. Differences in terms of English proficiency are comparatively more prominent than that of gender,starting age and educational background.4. English proficiency has statistically significant effect on target cultural identity. In other words, the higher the English proficiency they have, the more prominent target cultural identity they might possess. However, that doesn't imply that the higher the English proficiency, the less prominent their native cultural identity is. Results of data analysis support Gao's EFL model which is related to language learning and cultural identity. And we could infer English learning contributes to their multicultural identity of the minority English majors and finally promotes their ethnic identity.The present study has some theoretical and empirical implications on English learning and teaching of minority EFL learners. Language learning can bring about cultural identity changes to learners. It calls for teachers'attention to the nonlinguistic outcome of English learning---cultural identity. Teachers need to cultivate learners'intrinsic interest of the target language. Culture tolerance should be encouraged to absorb the essence of every culture to keep the culture diversity and ensure the smooth ongoing of cross-cultural communication.