ABSTRACT

As China and Chinese language learning moves centre stage economically and politically, questions of interculturality assume even greater significance. In this book interculturality draws attention to the processes involved in people engaging and exchanging with each other across languages, nationalities and ethnicities.

The study, which adopts an ecological perspective, critically examines a range of issues and uses a variety of sources to conduct a multifaceted investigation. Data gathered from interviews with students of Mandarin sit alongside a critical discussion of a wide range of sources.

Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities will be of interest to students and academics studying and researching Chinese language education, and academics working in the fields of language and intercultural communication, intercultural education and language education in general.

chapter 1|19 pages

Introduction

Interculturality and the learning of Mandarin Chinese

chapter 2|22 pages

Changing ideologies, institutions and contexts

The rise of Chinese and ‘foreign’ language policy

chapter 3|22 pages

Changing ideologies, institutions and contexts

University students, courses and textbooks

chapter 4|22 pages

Moving towards interculturality

Students’ understandings of ‘culture’

chapter 5|19 pages

Emerging identities

Students as ‘intercultural individuals’

chapter 6|18 pages

Moving beyond ‘intercultural competence’

Students talk about their learning experience

chapter 8|10 pages

Conclusion

Looking to the future