Soft Power and the Worldwide Promotion of Chinese Language Learning

This book evaluates China’s attempts to exert soft power through the Confucius Institutes and other language-related activities. Although these have enhanced Chinese language learning and teaching, they have not necessarily improved China’s standing on the global stage. The author examines the reasons for this and its implications.

Jeffrey Gil is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics, Flinders University, Australia. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy and Chinese as a foreign language.

Jeffrey Gil is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages and Applied Linguistics, Flinders University, Australia. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy and Chinese as a foreign language.

The mere mention of the Confucius Institute raises polarised reactions. This book presents a balanced, informative and highly readable overview of the Institute since its inception, in the context of the particularities of China’s soft-power initiatives. This is an essential resource for those wanting to know what the Institute is all about.

The rapid expansion of Confucius Institutes promoting the learning of Chinese language and culture around the world mirrors the meteoric rise of China in recent times. In his thoughtful, balanced and accessible book, Jeffrey Gil skillfully evaluates the impact of these Institutes as a conduit for the development of China’s soft power.

Jeffrey Gil’s critical review of China’s attempt to gain further influence on the world’s politico-economic stage through promoting Chinese as a global language is a timely contribution that has wide-ranging implications for policy and practice. Its international perspective in particular marks it out among the emerging body of literature on the proliferation of Confucius Institutes worldwide.