English Language Proficiency in Higher Education: Through the Lens of the Chinese State (abstract only)  

Oleh:

Ashley, Yarong

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: The International Symposium on Social Sciences (TISSS) and Hong Kong International Conference on Education, Psychology and Society (HKICEPS) at Hongkong, December 2013, page 592.
Topik: English; Proficiency; Chinese
Fulltext: Hong Kong-Conference 95.pdf (212.35KB)

Isi artikel

In the past decades, there has been an explosion in the development of public school English programs and private English language schools throughout China. In the words of the China Daily, English learning has become “the business of the whole nation.” Setting aside the market driven growth, this paper examines the evolving process of institutional mandate and provision of the Chinese government on English language proficiency requirement at higher education system. This process has taken place as China integrates into the world capitalist system. English language is not just intended to be a tool of communication; it is also seen as a vehicle for new knowledge and new opportunities and as a symbol of “modernity.” It is believed that there is a relationship among education, economic development and modernization. Governments act on this premise. They invest in education and thus education reflects the political philosophy of a nation and the goals of the ruling political elites. In China, where the education system is highly centralized, the state has the power to implement or prohibit education reforms. Today, English language, together with Chinese and mathematics, is one of the three core subjects required by schools at all academic levels and by the College Entrance Examination. English proficiency is also a universal requirement for graduate studies of all subjects in China regardless of its applicability. In recent years, such a requirement has been extended to faculty. Evaluation and promotion are tied to faculty’s ability to publish in English language foreign journals, to develop bilingual curriculum, and their connectivity with Western institutions. In accordance with the new policy, the government has allocated millions of dollars through the China Scholarship Council to sponsor short and long term faculty visits abroad. The paper will document this reform stage by stage by examining two Chinese universities and their institutional implementation of the policy. The paper argues that such transformative changes are closely linked to the transformations undertaken by the Chinese state itself. The changes reflect not only a new set of priorities established by the state but also a shift towards a new set of beliefs about China’s new place in the world and its relationship to other dominant nations.

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