A pilot study on British students’ attitudes towards Mandarin Chinese and the development of intercultural sensitivity through learning Chinese Qi ZHANG

Overview Previous results Research design Results and discussion Implications for teaching

Previous results Instrumental vs. Integrative –practical reasons –identity Languages perceived as –difficult (students & parents) –aesthetic (parents)

Research Design 1 Questionnaire: 2 pages ( Anonymous ) –Part One: participants’ background information Gender Chinese language level 1 st language & parents’ 1 st languages

Research Design 2 –Part Two (eight statements): 1=Strongly disagree; 5=Strongly agree difficult/aesthetic e.g. “ Mandarin Chinese has four tones. I think this could be the main problem for me to achieve a high proficiency of Chinese. “ instrumental motivation e.g. “ Knowing Mandarin Chinese will bring me better career opportunities. “ integrative motivation e.g. “ Speaking Mandarin Chinese can help me to interact or identify with Chinese people. “

Research Design 3 –Part Three: 16-item Intercultural Sensitivity Inventory (ICSI, Bhawuk & Brislin 1992) 1=Strongly disagree; 5=Strongly agree 9 items for collectivism; 7 items for individualism “Imagine you are living and working in China. Then Circle the appropriate number to show to what extend you agree/disagree the following statements. “

Result 1 Participants: 63 university students –56 valid questionnaires * Speak Chinese dialects. One missing data. GenderMaleFemaleTotal With Chinese Background* YesNoTotal

Result 2 Mandarin Chinese Level LevelNumberPercentage Beg1832.1% Beg Cant610.7% Pre-Int1119.6% Int1017.9% Post-Int1017.9% Proficiency11.8%

Results 3 MeanStd. DMissingt-value Instrumental ** Integrative ** Aesthetic Difficult Note:** p=.000, <.01

Result 4 MeanStd. DMissingt-value Individualism * Collectivism Note:* p=.036, <.05

Implications 1 Mainly instrumentally motivated to learn Chinese: curriculum design, lesson plans, etc. Integrative motivation [Students with/without Chinese background: F (51, 2)=.05, p=.95, >.05]

Implications 2 Chinese is not particularly difficult: suitable input Chinese is not especially aesthetic: class activities Be aware of the cultural differences: lesson plans

References Bhawuk, D. and R. Brislin (1992). The measurement of intercultural sensitivity using the concepts of individualism and collectivism. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol. 16, pp Bullo-Alos, S. and Y. Wang (2009). Parental attitudes to language learning in Arabic and Chinese supplementary/complementary schools: a case study. Paper presented at the BAAL Language Learning and Teaching SIG conference. July Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequence: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. Luo, S-H. and R. L. Wiseman (2000). Ethnic language maintenance among Chinese immigrant children in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol. 24, Ou, Y. and H. P. McAdoo (1993). Socialization of Chinese American children. In H. P. McAdoo (Ed.), Family Ethnicity: Strength in Diversity (pp ). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Yang, F. (2006). An exploration of teaching Chinese as a second language in England. MA Dissertation, Manchester University.

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