Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities

As China and Chinese language learning moves centre stage economically and politically, questions of interculturality assume even greater significance. In this book interculturality draws attention to the processes involved in people engaging and exchanging with each other across languages, nationalities and ethnicities.
The study, which adopts an ecological perspective, critically examines a range of issues and uses a variety of sources to conduct a multifaceted investigation. Data gathered from interviews with students of Mandarin sit alongside a critical discussion of a wide range of sources.
Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities will be of interest to students and academics studying and researching Chinese language education, and academics working in the fields of language and intercultural communication, intercultural education and language education in general.

Tinghe Jin joined the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of East Anglia (UEA) following the award of a postdoctoral fellowship from the British Academy. She completed her PhD as a Centenary Scholar at University College London (UCL) Institute of Education. She then became an assistant professor in research at Durham University with the British Academy postdoctoral fellowship award. Her research specialises in intercultural education, specifically in relation to the teaching and learning of Chinese. She has published several articles and book chapters on Chinese language education and teachers' professional development and has co-edited books and journal special issues which address issues and developments in Chinese educational research. She is also the founding president of the Chinese Educational Research Association in the UK.

Contents Chapter 1 Introduction: Interculturality and the learning of Mandarin Chinese Key themes and perspectives of interculturality The contextual perspective 'Small cultures' A critical turn Chinese language studies Researching interculturality through perspectives of students of Chinese Thinking ecologically The research undertaken Structure of the book References Chapter 2 Changing ideologies, institutions and contexts: the rise of Chinese and 'foreign' language policy Interculturality and ideology Developments in wider contexts British Chinese and Chinese residents and visitors in the UK Initiatives at school level Hanban and the Confucius Institute UK 'Foreign' language policy On-going concerns about national language capabilities HEFCE initiatives on Chinese studies The rise of China and Mandarin Chinese Emerging theme of 'intercultural' Concluding remarks References Chapter 3 Changing ideologies, institutions and contexts: university students, courses and textbooks The changing ideology of learning Chinese: students' perspectives Developments of the teaching and learning of Chinese within British universities University provision of Chinese languages courses in the UK Approaches to teaching cultural elements Chinese language learning materials Authors and learning materials in geo-historical context Ideological influences of textbooks Critical views of students Examples of textbooks of Chinese A different approach Concluding remarks References Chapter 4 Moving towards interculturality: Students' understandings of 'culture' Interculturality and the concept of 'culture' Critical reflections on 'Chinese culture' Evolving understandings of the concept of 'culture' Moving towards 'interculturality' Researching cultural specifics with students Cultures, languages, dialects - Mixed multilingual and multicultural landscapes Students' perspectives to culture-related questions Developing critical cultural awareness Concluding remarks References Chapter 5 Emerging identities: Students as 'intercultural individuals' Interculturality and identity Cultural self-awareness The 'intercultural individual' The Chinese language identity of learners Concluding remarks References Chapter 6 Moving beyond 'intercultural competence': Students talk about their learning experience Interculturality and intercultural competence Intercultural responsiveness Respect and transnational cooperation Decentring perspectives Decentring of cultural prejudices and assumptions Adopting global perspectives Attitudes toward learning the local language Concluding remarks References Chapter 7 An intercultural approach to teaching and learning Chinese Interculturality and intercultural education Education ideologies on language teaching and learning The role of culture in an intercultural approach to teaching and learning Chinese Including cultural and intercultural elements: Perspectives of students and lecturers Acquiring language proficiency as the primary goal The translation-grammar approach and beyond Individual autonomy in the use of teaching approaches A focus on learning process and teacher-student relationships Openness to interpretation and learning Ethnographic approach Concluding remarks References Chapter 8 Conclusion: Looking to the future Complexity of the field of study Changing ideologies Moving beyond 'intercultural competence' Cultural understanding and identity Taking account of disruption, confusion and challenges Intercultural individuals, superdiversity and translanguaging Legacy of orientalism and promoting a decentred view Intercultural approach and British universities Interculturalization of higher education and student mobility Perspectives derived from other languages Looking to the future Implications for university courses Support for lecturers Governmental and institutional policy implications References Abbreviations Appendix - Biographical details of student interviewees Index