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English Teachers’ Beliefs About Multilingual Awareness in L3 Learning and Their Teaching Practice in Chinese EFL Context

  • Baiyinna Wu

    Baiyinna WU is Professor of Second Language Acquisition at School of Foreign Languages, Inner Mongolia Normal University. Mentored by Prof. Qiufang WEN (Beijing Foreign Studies University) and Prof. Rex. A. SPROUSE (Indiana University), he focuses his research interests in third language acquisition, foreign language teaching and teacher development.
Published/Copyright: August 21, 2022
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Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics
From the journal Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics Volume 45 Issue 3

Abstract

Teachers’ beliefs toward multilingual awareness in target language learning play a significant role in shaping learners’ attitudes to language awareness, affect learners’ linguistic behavior and teachers’ teaching practice. Therefore, the present study was aimed to explore English teachers’ beliefs about Inner Mongolian university students’ multilingual awareness in L3 learning and their teaching practice in Chinese EFL context. One hundred English teachers from six universities in Inner Mongolia, China, participated in this investigation. The data was collected through a questionnaire and teacher interviews. The results indicate that English teachers hold positive attitudes to multilingual awareness in general; however, there are belief differences between Mongolian and Han teachers; there exist discrepancies between English teachers’ beliefs about multilingual awareness and their teaching practice, and social-cultural environment, family language policy, teacher identity, learning experience, teaching materials, and, more importantly, teachers’ lack of awareness of fostering learners’ multilingual awareness lead to the discrepancies. The present research highlights the necessity of raising teacher awareness of cultivating multilingual awareness in future teacher development and emphasizes the significance of exploring the potential cognitive advantages of multilingualism in promoting L3 learning and developing English learners’ multilingual competence in the EFL context in China.

Keywords: teacher belief; multilingual awareness; multilingual competence; metalinguistic awareness; cross-linguistic awareness; L3 teaching practice

About the author

Baiyinna Wu

Baiyinna WU is Professor of Second Language Acquisition at School of Foreign Languages, Inner Mongolia Normal University. Mentored by Prof. Qiufang WEN (Beijing Foreign Studies University) and Prof. Rex. A. SPROUSE (Indiana University), he focuses his research interests in third language acquisition, foreign language teaching and teacher development.

Acknowledgments

The present research was conducted with the assistance of my supervisor Professor Rex. A. Sprouse, from the Department of Second Language Studies, Indiana University, and with the financial support of the China Scholarship Council, and Inner Mongolia Social Science Planning Project (2017ZWY011). Without such assistance and support, it would not have been possible for me to accomplish the study.

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Published Online: 2022-08-21
Published in Print: 2022-08-26

© 2022 BFSU, FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Early Bilingual Vocabulary Development Among Low-SES Ethnic Minority Learners in China: The Case of Uyghur and Kazak Children
  3. “Even I Can Do It”: Chinese Ethnolinguistic Minority Learners’ Investment in Creative Writing and Its Impact
  4. Research on the Students’ Attitudes Towards Multilingualism: Li Minority Students in Hainan
  5. Teaching Chinese to Ethnic Minority Students in Hong Kong: A Systematic Review
  6. Language Education for Ethnolinguistic Minority Students in China: A Review
  7. On Identity, Motivation, and Multilingual Education in Asian Contexts
  8. Teacher Development
  9. Motivational Practices in Foreign Language Teaching: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory
  10. English Teachers’ Beliefs About Multilingual Awareness in L3 Learning and Their Teaching Practice in Chinese EFL Context
  11. Cross-Cultural Communications
  12. Developing Students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence Through Threads of Personal Experiences: A Reflective Approach
  13. Second Language Writing
  14. Effects of Written Corrective Feedback on College EFL Students’ Writing Accuracy and Linguistic Knowledge Acquisition
  15. Discourse Analysis
  16. Exploring Generic Features in China-Africa Corporate Advertising: A Critical Genre Analysis
  17. Abstracts
  18. Chinese Abstracts
https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2022-0308
Keywords for this article
teacher belief; multilingual awareness; multilingual competence; metalinguistic awareness; cross-linguistic awareness; L3 teaching practice

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Early Bilingual Vocabulary Development Among Low-SES Ethnic Minority Learners in China: The Case of Uyghur and Kazak Children
  3. “Even I Can Do It”: Chinese Ethnolinguistic Minority Learners’ Investment in Creative Writing and Its Impact
  4. Research on the Students’ Attitudes Towards Multilingualism: Li Minority Students in Hainan
  5. Teaching Chinese to Ethnic Minority Students in Hong Kong: A Systematic Review
  6. Language Education for Ethnolinguistic Minority Students in China: A Review
  7. On Identity, Motivation, and Multilingual Education in Asian Contexts
  8. Teacher Development
  9. Motivational Practices in Foreign Language Teaching: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory
  10. English Teachers’ Beliefs About Multilingual Awareness in L3 Learning and Their Teaching Practice in Chinese EFL Context
  11. Cross-Cultural Communications
  12. Developing Students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence Through Threads of Personal Experiences: A Reflective Approach
  13. Second Language Writing
  14. Effects of Written Corrective Feedback on College EFL Students’ Writing Accuracy and Linguistic Knowledge Acquisition
  15. Discourse Analysis
  16. Exploring Generic Features in China-Africa Corporate Advertising: A Critical Genre Analysis
  17. Abstracts
  18. Chinese Abstracts
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