A tale of two eras: From the Cultural Revolution to the Tian'anmen generation. A narrative study of Chinese visiting scholars' and graduate students' perspectives on socio-political influence on English language learning in China

This research is a narrative inquiry into Chinese learners' perspectives on social and political influences on the learning of the English language in China. I conducted semi-structured interviews in North America with Chinese visiting scholars or graduate students of two generations, namely, the Cultural Revolution generation and the Tian'anmen generation. Six in-depth narrative profiles were crafted to contextualize participants' learning experiences. I then analyzed similarities and differences among participants within the same generation and between the two generations, establishing connections in time and space within each context. The results of this study demonstrate how the learning of the English language has been greatly influenced by social changes and political movements in China, and the consequences have affected people's learning and settlement in the West. I identify eight elements of learning that had been affected, which implicitly indicate the factors that had exerted these influences. This study calls for understanding of learners' backgrounds within and beyond the curriculum.