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Trilingualism and education in an ethnic minority group of China : from an ecological perspective
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Type
Thesis
Author
Wu, Ying
Supervisor
Silver, Rita
Abstract
This study, situated in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), investigates the language practices and attitudes of education actors in this multilingual region at tertiary level. The study follows a Haugenian language ecology framework (Haugen, 1972/2001; Li, 1991) that positions subjectivity as determinant in the language ecology where language functions by relating language users to one another and to their social and natural environment. Recent studies of multilingualism have highlighted the growing demand of English in the education system of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as globalization accelerates. Meanwhile, among 55 ethnic minorities the Zhuangzu are the most populous minority group with their minority language, Zhuangyu. Thus, three legitimate languages – Zhuangyu, Chinese/Putonghua and English are available, to varying degrees, in the tertiary education system in Zhuang areas of the PRC.
A mixed methods study was conducted using two questionnaires primarily based on Lasagabaster and Huguet (2007) (576 students and 16 teachers across universities in the GZAR) and interviews (48 students and 16 teachers in interviews in a regional university for ethnic minorities). The purposes of the study are two: to provide synchronic information of language use and attitudes of actors in GZAR; and, to explore the ecological factors in the GZAR in order to understand the dynamics of language practices and attitudes.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed a hierarchical preference of Chinese/Putonghua, English and Zhuangyu. Students and teachers were generally consistent in their practices of and attitudes toward Standard Chinese/Putonghua. However, practices of and attitudes toward Zhuangyu and English were divergent and paradoxical. They were divergent in the sense that teachers cared about the pragmatic use of English, e.g., for their academic reputation, while students developed strong cultural attachment to English. They were paradoxical in terms of attitudes and practices: Students might devalue English after graduation from university while subconsciously continuing to practice English in their daily life (e.g., through entertainment); also, while teachers and students valued Zhuangyu highly (especially considering the connection of Zhuangyu to their ethnic or ancestral culture), they hesitated to invest in learning Zhuangyu.
Specifically considering Zhuangyu, its role in the language ecology and opportunity for language vitality, analysis shows that the subjective vitality of Zhuangyu is weakening, which corroborates the prior research of trilingualism and education in China (Feng & Sunuodula, 2009; Grey, 2017, 2019). In addition, the findings show that actors actively position themselves within the environment in relation to their language practices and attitudes. Within the broader ecology of globalization, actors tend to prioritize factors located in the sociocultural language ecology to rationalize these practices and attitudes. Theoretically, the study suggests that the subjectivities of actors are crucial and future ecological studies might need to focus more on the force of factors located in sociocultural language ecology rather than be subject to the influence of natural and symbolic language ecology.
Limitations of the study include the small sample of teacher data as compared with student data, which limits the comparison of teachers’ and students’ practices and attitudes. In addition, some other factors (e.g., in classroom, home and media language practices) would be useful for developing a more detailed picture of the language ecology. Future studies could extend trilingualism research by bringing in a close analysis of language practices in different domains or in-depth, longitudinal case-by-case studies.
A mixed methods study was conducted using two questionnaires primarily based on Lasagabaster and Huguet (2007) (576 students and 16 teachers across universities in the GZAR) and interviews (48 students and 16 teachers in interviews in a regional university for ethnic minorities). The purposes of the study are two: to provide synchronic information of language use and attitudes of actors in GZAR; and, to explore the ecological factors in the GZAR in order to understand the dynamics of language practices and attitudes.
Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed a hierarchical preference of Chinese/Putonghua, English and Zhuangyu. Students and teachers were generally consistent in their practices of and attitudes toward Standard Chinese/Putonghua. However, practices of and attitudes toward Zhuangyu and English were divergent and paradoxical. They were divergent in the sense that teachers cared about the pragmatic use of English, e.g., for their academic reputation, while students developed strong cultural attachment to English. They were paradoxical in terms of attitudes and practices: Students might devalue English after graduation from university while subconsciously continuing to practice English in their daily life (e.g., through entertainment); also, while teachers and students valued Zhuangyu highly (especially considering the connection of Zhuangyu to their ethnic or ancestral culture), they hesitated to invest in learning Zhuangyu.
Specifically considering Zhuangyu, its role in the language ecology and opportunity for language vitality, analysis shows that the subjective vitality of Zhuangyu is weakening, which corroborates the prior research of trilingualism and education in China (Feng & Sunuodula, 2009; Grey, 2017, 2019). In addition, the findings show that actors actively position themselves within the environment in relation to their language practices and attitudes. Within the broader ecology of globalization, actors tend to prioritize factors located in the sociocultural language ecology to rationalize these practices and attitudes. Theoretically, the study suggests that the subjectivities of actors are crucial and future ecological studies might need to focus more on the force of factors located in sociocultural language ecology rather than be subject to the influence of natural and symbolic language ecology.
Limitations of the study include the small sample of teacher data as compared with student data, which limits the comparison of teachers’ and students’ practices and attitudes. In addition, some other factors (e.g., in classroom, home and media language practices) would be useful for developing a more detailed picture of the language ecology. Future studies could extend trilingualism research by bringing in a close analysis of language practices in different domains or in-depth, longitudinal case-by-case studies.
Date Issued
2021
Call Number
LC3737.C6 Wu
Date Submitted
2021