Language and the Capital: A Case Study of English ‘Language Shock’ among Chinese Students in London

Abstract

The paper deals with the experience of a group of Chinese teachers of English studying on ELT/Applied Linguistics-related MA courses at a London university. Drawing mainly on data from questionnaires, it shows how the early part of their stay was marked by surprise, disappointment and disorientation at the diversity and perceived poor quality of the Englishes they encountered. It is suggested that this ‘language shock’ can be attributed in large part to the students’ lack of sociolinguistic awareness, in that they expected London speech to provide a model of ‘good’ English, in line with their perceptions of Beijing Chinese. They also expected to hear only ‘good’ English within a university, and were surprised to hear lecturers with regional accents, associating non-RP accents with non-standard forms of the language. Given that these kinds of experience are unlikely to be restricted solely to Chinese students, or even to those studying in London, it is recommended that some sociolinguistic awareness-raising be built into UK universities’ EAP provision. This would enable overseas students to understand better the new linguistic environment in which they find themselves, and thus to become more effective and productive learners, more quickly.

Keywords:

• China
• EAP
• English
• London
• sociolinguistics