Teaching English as an International Language in Chinese Context

【Abstract】The wide use of English has diversified teaching contexts. The role of English as an international language （EIL） challenges traditional English language teaching pedagogies. The study aims to explore the pedagogical implications of EIL in Chinese context. It is found that Chinese teachers and students should feel more confident in the claim of ownership of English.

【Key words】English as an International Language （EIL）; inner circle; outer circle; expanding circle; English varieties; ownership of English

【作者簡介】刘雪（1988.01-），女，汉族，山东潍坊人，天津中德应用技术大学应用外国语学院，硕士，对外英语教学，研究方向：英语教学。

1. Introduction

Kachru （1985） divided the countries where English is spoken into three concentric circles. The inner circle includes countries that are regarded as “the traditional bases of English” （Kachru， 1985）： UK， the US， Australia， New Zealand and Canada. In those countries， English is either the only or major official language. The outer circle consists of countries that are more linguistically diverse， such as Sri Lanka， India and Singapore. English spread initially in the outer circle due to colonization and has an official status in certain significant sectors， such as education， the press， administration and so on （Kachru， 1985）. The expanding circle is virtually “rest of the world” （Kachru， 1985） where English is learned as a foreign language to carry out international communication.

It is evident that English plays different roles in different countries and English learners learn English for different purposes. The spread of English has diversified teaching contexts and the role of English as an international language （EIL） has different implications in pedagogies in different contexts. English being an international language has changed its nature and challenges traditional English language teaching pedagogy， which has its root in linguistic imperialism and native-speaker models （McKay， 2003）.

2. Body

The recognition of English varieties. The role of English as an international language implies that English is no longer owned by specific countries and people who use English to communicate can actually take the ownership of the language （Widdowson， 1994）. Nonetheless， it turns out in reality that many non-native speakers are not confident enough to claim the ownership since they feel intimidated by the native-speaker norm （Jenkins，2000）.Nonnative speakers are the majority of English speakers with increasing numbers and proficiency while much of the interaction through the medium of English does not involve native speakers （Kachru， 1991）. Considering the fact， the native-nonnative dichotomy needs to be reexamined.

The ambivalence in attitudes towards the claim of ownership has been manifested by the divergence of attitudes people in the outer circle hold towards their own local variety of English. Some people believe the variety is a claim of ownership of English and a self-expression of their own identity while others regard the variety as sub-standard （McKay， 2003）. This controversy implies that theoretically speaking， all varieties of a language are equal. That equal status needs to be recognized pedagogically for EIL teaching.

The pedagogical implications of the variety of Englishes. The variety of Englishes leave the educators with different instructional models to choose from. In most of English courses， only one particular variety of English is selected as the main instructional model.

No matter which variety is adopted as the main instructional model， students must be aware that what they are learning is not the single legitimate variety of English. If only one variety of English is presented in class， students are misled to assume this variety is superior to the others and this wrong assumption could lead to their failure in communication that involves different varieties of English. It is highly significant that students are exposed to multiple varieties of English and recognize the diversity in world Englishes since each variety is a manifestation of culture and indigenous values （Matsuda & Friedrich， 2011）. Hence，teaching English as an international language needs to recognize the variety of Englishes pedagogically to establish students’ awareness of world Englishes.

Implications of teaching EIL in China. As one of the expanding circle countries， English is being learned and taught in China as a foreign language. Teachers are obsessed with teaching American cultures and students are obsessed with an American accent. Native English speaker （NES） teachers from America are sought after and get paid higher than teachers from other inner circle countries， not to mention nonnative English speaker （NNES） teachers. This is particularly the case in private institutions.

The study of American English alone is far from sufficient for them to deal with all sorts of international encounters. Chinese learners of English should really start seeing English as an international language， other than a particular English linked to a particular country since English has been denationalized or renationalized in the process of its spread （McKay， 2003）. They should recognize the ownership of English by all the speakers and claim this ownership themselves It is not wrong to mainly study one particular English but it is also important to get acquainted with other world Englishes that are in wide currency. A knowledge of different varieties of English in terms of variations in lexicons， grammar， phonology will prepare students for comprehensibility in diverse international encounters.

China is the most powerful expanding circle country politically without a doubt and has been offering the rest of the world with English lexicons with Chinese features， such as ‘no zuo no die’， ‘long time no see’， which are included into English dictionaries. There are also a lot of political jargons associated with political events and policies in China and are frequently quoted by western media as well. Hino’s proposal （2008） makes it possible for Chinese English to become a new variety of English and Chinese English teachers should not overlook the teaching of those Chinese English since it represents the claim of English ownership by Chinese people and helps promote Chinese culture through English. Pedagogically， English teachers need to raise students’ consciousness of EIL and qualify the students as legitimate users of English just as native speakers of English （Shuo， 2010）.

English language teaching in China usually adopts target culture materials with textbooks centering cultural content about countries like America， the UK， Australia where English is spoken as the first language. Teaching EIL implies that teachers are free to include teaching materials about international target culture and source culture as well， in order to help develop students’ intercultural competence （McKay， 2003）.

English proficiency is just one single aspect that makes a qualified English teacher. In pedagogy-wise， local bilingual teachers could be more qualified in teaching EIL since they share the first language and experiences of second language acquisition with their students， are well trained to teach English （McKay， 2003）. Administrators in China should empower bilingual teachers as legitimate teachers of English as native speakers in the recruitment.

3. Conclusion

To draw a conclusion， teaching EIL needs to recognize the legitimate status of world Englishes and take local contextual factors into account， including local language needs and local culture of learning. This pedagogy of EIL has implications in teaching EIL in Chinese context： Chinese students need to develop their consciousness of English varieties and claim their ownership as legitimate speakers of English; Chinese teachers need to ditch the NES-NNES dichotomy in teaching and teach more than one variety of English and target culture materials at class; administrators should change their blind preference for native speakers in recruitment and empower local bilingual teachers.

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