Is-English-a-threat-to-Chinese-language-and-cultur

English Today services for English Today:Email alerts: Click hereSubscriptions: Click hereCommercial reprints: Click hereTerms of use : Click hereIs English a threat to Chinese language and culture?Lin Pan and Philip SeargeantEnglish Today / Volume 28 / Issue 03 / September 2012, pp 60 ­ 66DOI: 10.1017/S0266078412000302, Published online: Link to this article:  to cite this article:Lin Pan and Philip Seargeant (2012). Is English a threat to Chinese language and culture?. English Today,28, pp 60­66 doi:10.1017/S0266078412000302Request Permissions : Click hereDownloaded from  IP address: 152.78.209.152 on 17 Sep 2012:152.78.209.152IsEnglishathreattoChineselanguageandculture?LINPAN(潘琳)ANDPHILIPSEARGEANTThe‘threat’ofEnglishinChinamightbebalancedbythepromotionofChineselanguageandcultureIntroductionInanarticlepublishedinEnglishTodayin2005,NiuandWoolfcontendthat:EFLisamoderndayTrojanhorsefilledwithEFLteachers/soldiersormissionaries,armedwithEnglishwordsratherthanbullets,intentuponre-colonizingtheworldtoremakeitintheimageofWesterndemocracy.ChinahasbroughttheTrojanHorsewithinitsgatesandthearmyofEFLteachersishardatworkWesternizingChina.TheargumentthatEnglish,andbyextensiontheELTindustry,isathreattolocalcultureandsocietywasfirstbroughttopublicattentioninChinain1995,whenagroupofgraduatestudentsinaneliteuniversityinShanghaifailedanimportantChineseexam(Zhou,2007).TheblameforthisfailurewasascribedtoboththeintensivelearningofEnglishincollegeandaconcomitantignoranceofChinesestudies;andthenewsthatwasgener-atedbytheincidentsparkedagreatdealofreflec-tionandcritiqueabouteducationalprioritiesinChina.Intheyearssince,therehasbeenmuchdebateaboutwhetheritisnecessaryfortheChinesetolearnEnglishandwhethertheEnglishlanguagewillhavenegativeeffectsonChineselanguageandculture.Forexample,XieKechang,aprofessorattheTaiyuanUniversityofScienceandTechnology,questionedthenecessityfortheentirenationtolearnEnglishduringaspeechattheNationalCommitteeofCPPCC(ChinesePeople’sPoliticalConsultativeConference)in2004(Cai,2006).Otherscholarshaveassertedthat‘teachinginEnglishandwritinginEnglishinChina[has]resultedinanumberofpeoplewhoarenotabletowriteacceptableChinese’andthat‘theinternationalizationofEnglishismak-ingChineseadialect’(Zhou,2007:85).ThisdiscourseofEnglishasathreat,knowninChineseasyingyuweixielun英语威胁论[lit.‘Englishlanguagethreatdiscussion’]hasbecomeparticularlymarkedfollowingchangesinalanguagepolicywhichpreviouslydemonizedEnglish,aswellasinternationalizationinitiativessuchasthosesurroundingtheBeijingOlympicsin2008.AsEnglishhasbecomemoreprominentinthecountryinthelasttenyears,sopubliccontroversyaboutitsrolehasgrown.YetwhileassertionsandevaluationsofthesortquotedabovehavefrequentlybeenLINPANworksatBeijingLanguageandCultureUniversity.Herresearchinterestsincludelanguageideologyandidentities,globalization,andthelinguisticlandscape.ShehaspublishedarticlesinjournalssuchasLanguagePolicy,VisualCommunication,System,AppliedLinguisticReview,andLanguageLearningJournal.Email:[e-mail]uthorofExploringWorldEnglishesandTheIdeaofEnglishinJapan,andeditorofEnglishintheWorld:History,Diversity,Change(withJoanSwann)andEnglishinJapanintheEraofGlobalization.HeworksattheOpenUniversity,UK.Email:[e-mail]:10.1017/S026607841200030260EnglishToday111,Vol.28,No.3(September2012).PrintedintheUnitedKingdom©2012CambridgeUniversityPress:152.78.209.152voicedbyscholarsandeducationalists,therehas,todate,beenarelativelackofempiricaldataontheperspectivesoflanguagelearnersinChina.WhatdolearnersandusersofEnglishinChinathem-selvesthinkabouttheeffectthatEnglishishavingonthesocietyandcultureinwhichtheylive?Dotheyfeelthatthelanguageisinextricablyassoci-atedwithculturalandpoliticalvaluesinthewaythatNiuandWoolfassert?Andhowdotheseargu-mentsaffectthestudents’attitudestolearningthelanguage,andtotheirownsenseofculturaliden-tity?ThisarticlewillinvestigatetheseissuesbymeansofdatacollectedfromquestionnairesurveysandinterviewswithabroadrangeofpeopleinvestedinthelearningofEnglish;andindoingso,itwillconsiderhowthediscourseofyingyuweixie(‘Englishasathreat’)inChinafitswithinbroaderdebatesaboutthehegemonyofEnglishintheeraofglobalization.GloballanguagesandlocalculturesBeforemovingtotheanalysisofthedata,itisworthcontextualizingthediscourseofyingyuweixiewithinthetheoreticalworkthathasexam-inedthehegemonicrolethatEnglishplaysaroundtheworld.StudieswhichexaminethepoliticalinfluenceandinterestsofglobalELThavetakenvariousfocusesoverthelastquarterofacentury.Themetaphorof‘EnglishasaTrojanhorse’wasfirstusedbyCooke(1988),whoarguedthatEnglishoperatesaroundtheworldasalanguagebothofimperialismandofparticularclassinter-ests.Earlier,heandJudd(1983)drewattentiontothemoralandpoliticalimplicationsofglobalEnglishteachingintermsofthepurport