| National identity is the spiritual and psychological part for the construction of a nation, and the group members’ value impacts their identification on national identity. Specifically, the connation of national identity includes the individual’s identification on language, life, politics, religions, history, linguistics, art, etc. The identification on national identity can be explained as a sense of belonging of the individual towards a specific ethnic group, and can be acquired through language and culture learning. In consideration of the role of language in individuals’ identification on national identity, this study chooses the English major as subjects, and explores the status quos of their identification on host national and co-national identities. The individual’s national identity is explained under the theoretical framework of the social identity theory; the change of the individual’s identity in the process of social interaction is explained and justified with the social constructionism theory; and Gao Yihong’s "1+1>2" model (Productive Bilingualism) is used to explain the results of students’ identity change.This investigation is conducted in Jishou University, Hunan province. Both the quantitative and qualitative research methods are adopted. Two hundred students of English major from freshmen to seniors participate in the questionnaire survey and eight informants are interviewed. Through the five dimensions of language, value, religion, politics and cultural behavior, the subjects’ identification on national identity is explored from the perspectives of host national identity and co-national identity. The collected data from questionnaires are entered into SPSS17.0for the quantitative analysis. The data obtained from the semi-structured interviews are dealt with for the qualitative analysis.The findings of the current study indicate that:1. The subjects’ identification on host national identity is stronger than co-national identity, but the difference is slight.2. Significant difference on host national identity and co-national identity is only found between freshmen and juniors.3. The subjects’gender and the differences of their intention of going abroad for further education do not indicate significant influence on their host national and co-national identities.The study provides empirical evidence on the status quos of the English major’s national identity in China. This research can also give some implications for foreign language teaching and learning. When helping students to improve language skills, the teachers should pay appropriate attention to students’non-linguistic aspects of second language acquisition, helping the students maintain a proper identification on their host national identity and co-national identity; the students should also develop their interests in foreign cultures for second language acquisition. In addition, the students should deepen their identification on host national identity and understand the connotation of the native cultures to improve their intercultural communication competence. |
