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Interplay between language and identity: Chinese returnee scholars in the internationalisation of higher education

  • Xujia Du ORCID logo , Jian Tao ORCID logo EMAIL logo and Xuesong Gao ORCID logo
Published/Copyright: October 3, 2022
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Applied Linguistics Review
From the journal Applied Linguistics Review Volume 15 Issue 3

Abstract

Returnee scholars are regarded as key agents to advance internationalisation in many non-Anglophone countries where internationalisation through the medium of English has raised concerns about the preservation of national language, culture, and identity. This study investigated how eight Chinese returnee scholars used their linguistic repertoires in their professional practice and daily lives and how their language practices interacted with multiple identities. Gathering data from a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and regular class observations, this study reveals that in research, all participants predominantly used English and many expressed concerns about their Chinese academic writing skills. In teaching and daily lives, most participants embraced bilingualism and were open to translingual practices. The participants’ language practices appeared to be linked to their self-conception as competent English users and English-mediated ideal professional identities. However, their bilingual practices did not correspond to a bicultural identity, indicating a disconnect between language use and cultural belonging. Drawing on the findings, suggestions are offered for institution- and state-level authorities to better facilitate the integration of returnee scholars into their home academic communities and to promote academic multilingualism.

Keywords: identity; internationalisation; language practice; neoliberalism; returnee scholar
Corresponding author: Jian Tao, School of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, P.R. China, E-mail:

Acknowledgment

We thank all the participants for their time and sharing. We were also grateful for the reviewers’ and the editor’s constructive comments and support. The study was supported by a collaborative research fund from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (RG222711), and a university teaching innovation team project from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (Grant number 2020110925).

Appendix A: Class observation protocol

  1. Language use in lecture

    1. Percentage of English/Chinese use in lecture and on lecture slides and other teaching materials

    2. Functional domains of English/Chinese (e.g. Explanation of terms and concepts, rapport building, etc.)

    3. Instances of flexible bilingualism

    4. Change in language use over the semester

  2. Explanation of language policy of the course

    1. Teacher and student language use during lectures

    2. Assignments

    3. Exams

    4. Office hour and other out-of-class activities

    5. Rationale for the language policy

  3. Comments on English learning or use

    1. Teacher sharing English learning experiences

    2. Teacher sharing English learning strategies

    3. Emphasis on the importance of English

  4. Comments on English proficiency level of self and students

  5. Issues that need to be further explored in interviews

Appendix B: Interview protocol (sample questions)

  1. Background

    1. Where and when did you do your PhD studies? Did you complete your PhD studies in English? What language did you use most frequently in daily life during your PhD studies?

    2. Can you briefly describe your previous international experience? Where have you studied/travelled?

  2. English learning and use

    1. Are you making efforts to improve your English now? How would you describe your language learning efforts as compared with the time when you were doing your PhD?

    2. How often do you use English now? In what contexts?

  3. Attitudes toward English and English-speaking communities

    1. What is your attitude toward English? How important is it to you? Do you like this language? Are you more concerned with its utility value?

    2. How do you view L1 speakers of English and English-speaking countries in general? How do you view L1 speakers of English in your field? Are most top researchers in your filed highly proficient in English? Does English matter to the chance of success in your field? To what extent?

  4. Language and cultural identities

    1. How would you rate your overall proficiency in English (1 = poor to 5 = like an L1 speaker)? What aspects or skills are you better at (listening, speaking, reading, writing)? The least? Do you mind letting us know your IELTS/TOEFL score? When did you sit the test?

    2. How do you define your language identity now? Do you think you are more of a proficient English user than learner?

    3. What’s your desired language identity? What can you do to become the person you want to be?

    4. How do you define your cultural identity? Do you see yourself as a Chinese or a somewhat bicultural/international person? In your opinion, how do other people around you perceive your cultural identity?

  5. Language practices and identities in teaching

    1. Can you briefly describe your goals for teaching? What kind of teacher do you aspire to be? Do you have a role model? Is being able to teach in English one of your professional goals? Why?

    2. What is the medium of instruction of the courses you have taught? Have you taught EMI/bilingual courses?

    3. Did you choose to teach bilingual/EMI courses or is it a requirement? Does your faculty or department have any policy on the medium of instruction?

    4. If it is not a requirement, why do you want to use Chinese and/or English in your course? What are the functional domains of these two languages?

  6. Language practices and identities in research

    1. Can you briefly describe your goals as a researcher? What kind of researcher do you aspire to be? Do you have a role model? Where are you now?

    2. Do you want to increase your academic impact internationally through publications/conference talks? How important is English proficiency for these purposes?

    3. Is being able to publish in English one of your professional goals? Why? How many of your readings or other research materials are in English? What kind of support do you need to publish in English-medium journals (research support/language support?)

    4. What’s your attitude towards English/Chinese publications? Do you consider one as better than the other in general?

  7. Language practices in daily life

    1. Who do you socialize with most often? Where are your friends from? What language(s) do you use with them? Do you have any international friends that you stay in constant touch with?

    2. What’s the percentage of English-medium cultural products (e.g. movies, dramas, songs, traveling destinations, etc.) you consume in your everyday life?

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Received: 2021-08-18
Accepted: 2022-09-14
Published Online: 2022-10-03
Published in Print: 2024-05-27

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Exploring open consonantal environments for at-home testing of vowel perception in advanced L2 speakers
  4. “Writing-to-learn”: the influence of task repetition on CSL writers’ attention to form
  5. Tourism, commodification of Dongba script and perceptions of the Naxi minority in the linguistic landscape of Lijiang: a diachronic perspective
  6. The early the better? Or, the more the merrier? The relative effects of onset age and exposure hours on EFL learners’ implicit and explicit grammatical attainment
  7. Stylistic alignment in natural conversation involving second language speakers
  8. Learner-internal and learner-external factors for boredom amongst Chinese university EFL students
  9. Epistemic positioning by science students and experts: a divide by applied and pure disciplines
  10. Sociocultural influence on engineering students’ collaborative design project: an Activity Theory perspective
  11. Interplay between language and identity: Chinese returnee scholars in the internationalisation of higher education
  12. The pedagogical remit of test preparation: the case of writing acquisition on an IELTS course
  13. Contributions of morphological awareness and lexical inferencing ability to L2 vocabulary knowledge among Chinese EFL learners: a structural equation modeling analysis
  14. Syntactic variation and Pan-Hispanic awareness in teachers of Spanish as a second language
  15. Strategic competence, task complexity, and foreign language learners’ speaking performance: a hierarchical linear modelling approach
  16. Effects of working memory capacity and distance-based complexity on agreement processing: a crosslinguistic competition account
  17. Review Article
  18. Oral corrective feedback on lexical errors: a systematic review
https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2021-0132
Keywords for this article
identity; internationalisation; language practice; neoliberalism; returnee scholar

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Research Articles
  3. Exploring open consonantal environments for at-home testing of vowel perception in advanced L2 speakers
  4. “Writing-to-learn”: the influence of task repetition on CSL writers’ attention to form
  5. Tourism, commodification of Dongba script and perceptions of the Naxi minority in the linguistic landscape of Lijiang: a diachronic perspective
  6. The early the better? Or, the more the merrier? The relative effects of onset age and exposure hours on EFL learners’ implicit and explicit grammatical attainment
  7. Stylistic alignment in natural conversation involving second language speakers
  8. Learner-internal and learner-external factors for boredom amongst Chinese university EFL students
  9. Epistemic positioning by science students and experts: a divide by applied and pure disciplines
  10. Sociocultural influence on engineering students’ collaborative design project: an Activity Theory perspective
  11. Interplay between language and identity: Chinese returnee scholars in the internationalisation of higher education
  12. The pedagogical remit of test preparation: the case of writing acquisition on an IELTS course
  13. Contributions of morphological awareness and lexical inferencing ability to L2 vocabulary knowledge among Chinese EFL learners: a structural equation modeling analysis
  14. Syntactic variation and Pan-Hispanic awareness in teachers of Spanish as a second language
  15. Strategic competence, task complexity, and foreign language learners’ speaking performance: a hierarchical linear modelling approach
  16. Effects of working memory capacity and distance-based complexity on agreement processing: a crosslinguistic competition account
  17. Review Article
  18. Oral corrective feedback on lexical errors: a systematic review
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