Since the turn of the century, higher education policy in China has highlighted the importance of cultivating students＇ intercultural competences, particularly in the context of English language teaching. In spite of...Since the turn of the century, higher education policy in China has highlighted the importance of cultivating students＇ intercultural competences, particularly in the context of English language teaching. In spite of this, studies show that to this day Chinese ELT classrooms in higher education have rarely taken a cultural turn and teachers＇ understanding of interculturalism remains insufficient. This paper reports an action research study on how intercultural awareness was developed in the context of an English reading course at an independent college of a major Chinese university. The study followed a teaching flow that integrates intercultural learning with critical thinking by challenging students to select, analyze, and raise questions about English texts on aspects of Chinese culture. Mapping the outputs of a cohort of 77 second-year undergraduate students onto Baker＇s （2012; 2015） model of intercultural awareness, the study shows that a majority of participants demonstrated a level beyond basic awareness. The paper concludes that reading courses can be used to help foster intercultural awareness among Chinese students, and it offers some pedagogical and theoretical reflections on integrating intercultural learning with ELT, and formulates a number of suggestions for further studies.展开更多
Despite the expansion of Chinese education and the steady rise in the educational level of urban and rural residents since reform and opening up, the problem of educational inequality has persisted. This study employs...Despite the expansion of Chinese education and the steady rise in the educational level of urban and rural residents since reform and opening up, the problem of educational inequality has persisted. This study employs CGSS2008 data to test the effects of household registration, family socio-economic status, years of parental education, and sibship size on educational opportunity at the three stages of junior middle school, senior middle school and higher education, as well as the changes in these effects over the period 1978-2008. The results show that there is no observable rural-urban disparity in opportunities for continuation to the junior middle school stage, but there is rising inequality in opporUmities for continuation to senior middle school and higher education; the influence of father＇s occupational status on children＇s educational opportunities remains largely the same, indicating that the stratification of educational attainment has not changed markedly since 1978： years of varental education play a marked and increasing role in children＇s educational attainment; and educational inequality due to sibship size also displays a rising tendency. To understand the structure and evolution of inequality in Chinese education since reform and opening up, it is necessary to study the micro-level mechanisms affecting residents＇ educational decision-making.展开更多
The English language is seen by the Chinese as a tool of significant pragmatic value, both by the individual and the state. Discourse on English language education within China has, both historically and at present, p...The English language is seen by the Chinese as a tool of significant pragmatic value, both by the individual and the state. Discourse on English language education within China has, both historically and at present, pitted the pragmatic value of English against concerns of cultural and linguistic erosion and imposition. Concerns over the corrupting impact the English language may have on the Chinese language, and further on Chinese culture, uneasily coexist with an acceptance of the English language＇s role as the key to modernization and economic development. Voices of past and present, have at their core a desire for the protection of a reified cultural identity or essence. However, cultural and linguistic influence has not merely been imposed upon China from external forces, but has been actively drawn in by domestic forces. Such domestic forces range from foreign language education policies that meet the demands of a globalized market-driven economy, to a market demand for English language media such as TV programs, movies and literature. Ultimately, the presence and significance of these domestic forces undermines a view of the English language as a vehicle of cultural imperialism in China.展开更多
文摘Since the turn of the century, higher education policy in China has highlighted the importance of cultivating students＇ intercultural competences, particularly in the context of English language teaching. In spite of this, studies show that to this day Chinese ELT classrooms in higher education have rarely taken a cultural turn and teachers＇ understanding of interculturalism remains insufficient. This paper reports an action research study on how intercultural awareness was developed in the context of an English reading course at an independent college of a major Chinese university. The study followed a teaching flow that integrates intercultural learning with critical thinking by challenging students to select, analyze, and raise questions about English texts on aspects of Chinese culture. Mapping the outputs of a cohort of 77 second-year undergraduate students onto Baker＇s （2012; 2015） model of intercultural awareness, the study shows that a majority of participants demonstrated a level beyond basic awareness. The paper concludes that reading courses can be used to help foster intercultural awareness among Chinese students, and it offers some pedagogical and theoretical reflections on integrating intercultural learning with ELT, and formulates a number of suggestions for further studies.
基金is the outcome of "A Study of the Impact of Modern Education on Social Stratification and Mobility"(CFA090096),a topic for young scholars of education under the 11th Five-year Plan of the National Social Science Fund,with support from both the "Program for Supporting Outstanding Talent of the New Century"(2011) of the Ministry of Education and "Research on Educational Equality in China,"a major Shandong University project in the humanities and social sciences
文摘Despite the expansion of Chinese education and the steady rise in the educational level of urban and rural residents since reform and opening up, the problem of educational inequality has persisted. This study employs CGSS2008 data to test the effects of household registration, family socio-economic status, years of parental education, and sibship size on educational opportunity at the three stages of junior middle school, senior middle school and higher education, as well as the changes in these effects over the period 1978-2008. The results show that there is no observable rural-urban disparity in opportunities for continuation to the junior middle school stage, but there is rising inequality in opporUmities for continuation to senior middle school and higher education; the influence of father＇s occupational status on children＇s educational opportunities remains largely the same, indicating that the stratification of educational attainment has not changed markedly since 1978： years of varental education play a marked and increasing role in children＇s educational attainment; and educational inequality due to sibship size also displays a rising tendency. To understand the structure and evolution of inequality in Chinese education since reform and opening up, it is necessary to study the micro-level mechanisms affecting residents＇ educational decision-making.
文摘The English language is seen by the Chinese as a tool of significant pragmatic value, both by the individual and the state. Discourse on English language education within China has, both historically and at present, pitted the pragmatic value of English against concerns of cultural and linguistic erosion and imposition. Concerns over the corrupting impact the English language may have on the Chinese language, and further on Chinese culture, uneasily coexist with an acceptance of the English language＇s role as the key to modernization and economic development. Voices of past and present, have at their core a desire for the protection of a reified cultural identity or essence. However, cultural and linguistic influence has not merely been imposed upon China from external forces, but has been actively drawn in by domestic forces. Such domestic forces range from foreign language education policies that meet the demands of a globalized market-driven economy, to a market demand for English language media such as TV programs, movies and literature. Ultimately, the presence and significance of these domestic forces undermines a view of the English language as a vehicle of cultural imperialism in China.
