ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter outlines the purpose of Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities, which will be of interest to those who are thinking of pursuing or are already engaged in researching, teaching or learning Mandarin Chinese as a modern world language or working in the field of language and intercultural communication. This book is also relevant to institutions, organizations and networks engaged with the teaching and learning of Mandarin Chinese. The chapter addresses the range of critical perspectives and themes that inform the discussions of interculturality which run throughout its seven chapters. Following the introduction to ‘interculturality’, the chapter moves forward to a discussion of the teaching and learning of Chinese within international contexts. This opening chapter also presents the broad ecological approach towards the teaching and learning of Chinese, which embraces social, historical, cultural, political and educational contexts. This chapter also provides details of the research upon which the book draws.
