A Study Of Ethnic Identity, Language Attitude And Culture Integration Of Bai Students In Xiaguan

With the development of economy and society, and after years of implementing thebilingual education policy, the ethnic minority groups of Yunnan province have to gothrough the issues of ethnic identity, language attitude and culture recombination. During this process, the members of the ethnic minority groups have to contact andlearn Mandarin Chinese and culture, which may affect their ethnic identity, languageattitude and culture orientation.Based on this background, this study aims to examine Bai senior middle schoolstudents’ degree of identification with their ethnic group and their language attitudetowards their first language and second language, and to investigate the currentculture integration situation of Bai students. A combination of quantitative andqualitative methods was adopted in data collecting and analyzing. This study wasconducted in Xiaguan, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. A number of100Baistudents from five senior middle schools were involved in this study.Findings from the study revealed that Bai students of this research hold a highdegree of identification with their own group. In addition, they have a positive attitudetowards other groups. Male students scored higher than female students on ethnicidentity in this study. Most of students thought that Chinese have a higher positionand much more functional and influential than Bai language in the society. Baistudents often speak Bai language at home. At schools, most of the time they speaklocal dialect or Mandarin with others. The findings also displayed that Bai students ofsenior middle school hold a positive attitude and identity towards both Bai and Hanculture, which means that they can integrate two cultures. However, Bai students ofthis study hold a more positive attitude toward the culture of Han.This study is significant in the fact that it provides the description as well asanalysis of the current situation of the ethnic identity and language attitudes of the Baistudents in the context of Han culture dominant. The language choices and attitudes ofethnic students will influence the development of their native language andmaintenance of their ethnic identity, which is of great importance to the construction of harmonious society and harmonious ecological language environment in China.The present study is expected to stipulate appropriate or applicable language planningand policy for the schools and the government in this minority region.