Tibetan students at an interior university in China: negotiating identity, language, and power

ABSTRACT

Using Norton’s conception of identity and Harré and Moghaddam’s positioning theory, the current study examines how a group of Tibetan students’ situated context affects their identity (re)construction in a traditionally non-multiethnic interior university in China. Drawing from interview, biographies, document, and artefact data, our findings suggest that the construction and negotiation of ethnic Tibetan students’ identities is a complex, power driven, and unstable process. In particular, the participants’ identity positioning at the host university is inextricably linked to stereotypical images of Tibetans, linguistic integration in the interior academic environment via English, Putonghua, and Tibetan language, and larger institutional practices. Tangible pedagogical implications are discussed, such as providing critical multicultural and multilingual education at the university are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Education
• identity
• position
• ethnic minorities
• power relations
• language

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Notes

1. Gaokao is known as a national college entrance exam in China. Because of its large scale and authority, it has become a high stake test.

2. cet-4 is a large-scale standardized test that aims to assess students’ English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating against certain criteria.

3. cet-6 is a large-scale standardized test that aims to assess students’ English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating against certain criteria.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China [2018-GMD-040]; Zhejiang Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences Circles [2019N61].

Notes on contributors

Hao Wang

Hao Wang is an ELT lecturer at Zhejiang International Studies University, China, where he teaches comprehensive English, and speaking and listening. He holds a PhD in Educational Linguistics from the University of Alabama. His research interests include identity inquiry in Applied Linguistics, critical Applied Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, sociocultural/poststructural theory in second language acquisition; critical pedagogy.

Xia Chao

Xia Chao is Assistant Professor of Second Language (L2) acquisition and teaching at the Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education in the School of Education. She teaches courses in English language learners education in K-12 schools, culturally and linguistically diverse learners, and L2 literacy education. Dr. Chao’s publications appear in such diverse journals including Journal of Literacy Research, Anthropology and Education Quarterly, Linguistics and Education, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, and others.

Shunv Sun

Shunv Sun is Associate Professor at Zhejiang International Studies University, China, where she teaches Intercultural Communication and Comprehensive English. She holds a PhD in English Language and Literature from Zhejiang University. Her research interests include intercutural adaptation theories and cultural discourse studies.