Ideology and identity debate of English in China: past, present and future

Abstract

The sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of English language teaching (ELT) have become fundamental because language does not exist in a vacuum, especially when English is used today as a global language. This needs an understanding of English in relation to ideology and identity debate in different contexts. From the paradigm of global Englishes, this paper first presents the history of English in China and addresses the China English debate. The paper then moves to the ideology and identity debate of the English language on the Chinese language and culture and English as a medium of instruction as an example of language policy. From students’ interview data, this paper argues for the importance of viewing ELT from the multilingual perspective. It concludes that ELT should be equipped with a critical understanding of English as a global language and reconsidering the negotiation of local languages and English from a sociocultural and sociopolitical perspective.

Keywords:

• Global Englishes
• China English
• ideology
• identity
• English as a medium of instruction
• China