Exploration of changing identity, linguistic challenges and cultural surprises -- a case study of a UK University group of diverse Chinese language students studying abroad

Abstract

With the development of the internationalisation of China and Chinese universities as well as China’s increasing prominence economically, there are increasing numbers of international students who choose Chinese studies as their major and come to China to learn the Chinese language. However, nowadays, in the research field of teaching and learning Chinese as a second language, few researchers concentrate on the beliefs, perspectives and sense of self of these students of Chinese during their Study Abroad experiences. Therefore, this research focuses on investigating the identity challenges, cultural engagement and linguistic opportunities of students of Chinese in one Higher Education institution during this important transitional experience, before, during and after studying Chinese in Mainland China.

Drawing on poststructuralist perspectives to establish a theoretical position and narrative identity theory as a key conceptual frame, an instrumental case study formed the approach to data collection. The case study involved diverse learners of Chinese as a second language on courses at a UK higher university and with experience of studying abroad in China or other Chinese-speaking jurisdictions. Interviews were used as a means of gaining rich data and insights into personal experiences and conflicting interactions as the students attempted to develop linguistically but also tried to negotiate a sense of belonging within this new environment.

The results are reported using different narrative strands of the Chinese language (CL) learners and how they defined and redefined the concept of who they were and who they were becoming as they experienced Chinese language interactions and Chinese culture during their experiences abroad and on their return.

The findings concluded with three main narrative strands: i) Linguistic self: after studying in China, Chinese language learners (CLL) believed that they were ‘not afraid to speak Chinese’ and felt a sense of achievement as they engaged in diverse interactions and gradually achieved some degree of acceptance as new Chinese speakers. ii) Social and cultural self: The acculturation process was very much shaped by individuals’ unique choices and experiences. The desire to speak Chinese, the acceptance of and engagement with Chinese culture, and native speakers’ approval of their efforts, helped them to develop a sense of belonging, creating a shift in CLLs’ socio-cultural identity. iii) Hybrid self: Their original cultural identity, whether monocultural or intercultural as part of the learner’s background, played an important role in influencing the learner’s sense of self in the target language community. Most of the CLLs believed that they came through this transcultural journey with a more nuanced cultural hybrid identity after living in China, but they always had some degree of still feeling like an ‘‘outsider’’.