Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of the Market Economy on English Teachers

  • Chapter
Spotlight on China

Part of the book series: Spotlight on China ((SPOT))

Abstract

Put simply, the Chinese government sees English language learning as paramount to the nation’s economic competiveness in the global market. Such an assumption constitutes the discourse of linguistic instrumentalism, which emphasizes utilitarianism of learning English for sustaining economic development as a society and for social mobility as individuals (Kubota, 2011; Wee, 2008).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borevskaya, N. (2003). The private sector in the Chinese educational system: Problems and prospects. Far Eastern Affairs, 4, 89–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai, J. (2006). ELT at tertiary level in China: Review, reflection and research. Shanghai: Fudan University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canagarajah, A. S. (2005). Introduction. In A. S. Canagarajah (Ed.), Reclaiming the local in the language policy and practice (pp. xiii–xxx). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chan, D., & Mok, K. H. (2001). Educational reforms and coping strategies under the tidal wave of marketization: A comparative study of Hong Kong and the mainland China. Comparative Education, 37(1), 21–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, L. (2008). The key to success: English language testing in China. Language Testing, 25(1), 15–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, L., & Qi, L. (2006). Description and examination of the national matriculation english test. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3(1), 53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, X. (2011). The ‘English Curriculum Standards’ in China: Rationales and issues. In A. Feng (Ed.), English language education across greater China (pp. 133–150). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • China Daily. (2009). Bringing equal education to the west. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.china.org.cn/government/central_government/2009–07/22/content_18180712.htm

    Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1999). Shaping a professional identity: Stories of education practice. London: Althouse Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D., & Wang, F. (2009). Poverty and wealth in postsocialist China: An overview. In D. Davis & W. Feng (Eds.), Creating wealth and poverty in postsocialist China (pp. 3–19). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, C., & Leitch, R. (2001). Teachers’ and teacher educators’ lives: The role of emotion. Teacher and Teaching Education, 17, 403–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Education Law of the People’s Republic of China. (1995). Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.china.org.cn/english/education/184669.htm

  • Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. London: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng, A. (2011). Introduction: The apex of ‘the third wave’ – English language across greater China. In A. Feng (Ed.), English language education across greater China (pp. 1–20). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao, Y. (2009). Sociocultural contexts and english in China: Retaining and reforming the cultural habitus. In J. L. Bianco, J. Orton, & Y. Gao (Eds.), China and english: Globalization and the dilemmas of identity (pp. 56–78). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gil, J., & Adamson, B. (2011). The english language in mainland China: A sociolinguistic profile. In A. Feng (Ed.), English language education across greater China (pp. 23–45). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guo, S., & Pungur, L. (2008). Exploring teacher education in the context of Canada and China: A crosscultural dialogue. Frontiers of Education in China, 3(2), 246–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, C., & White, M. K. (2009). The social contours of distributive justice feelings in contemporary China. In D. Davis & W. Feng (Eds.), Creating wealth and poverty in postsocialist China (pp. 193–212). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hangzhou Municipal Government. (2010). Hangzhou municipal government work report [in Chinese]. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://baike.baidu.com/view/3256234.html

  • Hangzhou Statistics Bureau. (2011). Hangzhou 2010 economic and social development report. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.hzstats.gov.cn/web/ShowNews.aspx?id=DwGeRFDvlVg=#

  • Jiang, Y. (2003). English as a Chinese language. English Today, 19(2), 3–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kubota, R. (1998). Ideologies on English in Japan. World Englishes, 17, 295–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubota, R. (2011). Questioning linguistic instrumentalism: English, neoliberalism, and language tests in Japan. Linguistics and Education, 22, 248–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwong, J. (1997). The reemergence of private schools in socialist China. Comparative Education Review, 41(3), 244–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, J. (2009). Motivational force and imagined community in ‘Crazy English’. In J. L. Bianco, J. Orton, & Y. Gao (Eds.), China and English: Globalization and the dilemmas of identity (pp. 211–223). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melchers, G., & Shaw, P. (2003). World Englishes. London: Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2001). Standard of English courses for 9–year compulsory education and general senior high schools (for experiment). Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.tefl–china.net/2003/ca13821.htm

  • Ministry of Education. (2003). Standard of English courses for general senior high schools (for experiment). Beijing: People’s Education Press. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.sxbjjy.com/upload/200741317124048074.doc

    Google Scholar 

  • Mok, K. H. (2005). Riding over socialism and global capitalism: Changing education governance and social policy paradigms in post–Mao China. Comparative Education, 41(2), 217–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oplatka, I. (2007). The context and profile of teachers in developing countries in the last decade. International Journal of Educational Management, 21(6), 476–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orton, J. (2009). East goes west. In J. L. Bianco, J. Orton, & Y. Gao (Eds.), China and English: Globalization and the dilemmas of identity (pp. 271–293). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennycook, A. (1998). English and the discourses of colonialism. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • People’s Education Press. (2005). Go for it. Students’ book 1 for grade 8. Beijing: People’s Education Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillipson, R. (2008). The linguistic imperialism of neoliberal empire. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 5, 1–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shanghai Curriculum and Teaching Material Reform Commission. (1999). Facing the 21st century: Research report on principles for action in Shanghai primary and senior high school foreign language education reform. Shanghai: Shanghai Education Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. (2002). Minban education: The planned elimination of the “people–managed” teachers in reforming China. International Journal of Educational Development, 22, 109–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, E. (2006). Teacher beliefs and practice in the implementation of a new English language curriculum in China. In J. Huang, M. Gu, & P. K. E. Cheung (Eds.), Research studies in education (pp. 198–208). Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wee, L. (2008). Linguistic instrumentalism in Singapore. In P. K. W. Tan & R. Rubdy (Eds.), Language as commodity: Global structures, local market places (pp. 31–43). London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenzhou Education Bureau. (2010). The development of Wenzhou minban education [in Chinese]. Wenzhou: Wenzhou Education Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenzhou Statistics Bureau. (2009). Wenzhou 2010 economic and social development report. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.wzstats.gov.cn/infoshow.asp?id=8836

  • Wenzhou Statistics Bureau. (2011). Wenzhou 2010 economic and social development report. Retrieved December 6, 2011, from http://www.wzstats.gov.cn/infoshow.asp?id=9303

  • Xu, J. (2007, February 1). Overemphasizing english learning haunts China. People’s Daily (Overseas Version), p. A2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, K. Q. (2004). The loss of Chinese culture in bilingual education. Foreign Language Education, 25(3), 86–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, D. (Ed.). (2006). The development report of China’s education. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Z. (2002). The teaching profession: To be or to do? Journal of Education for Teaching, 28(3), 211–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada

    Yan Guo

Authors
  1. Yan Guo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Calgary, Canada

    Shibao Guo

  2. University of Calgary, Canada

    Yan Guo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Sense Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Guo, Y. (2016). The Impact of the Market Economy on English Teachers. In: Guo, S., Guo, Y. (eds) Spotlight on China. Spotlight on China. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-881-7_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-881-7_8

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6209-881-7

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation