Along with the global spread of English and the wide recognition of World Englishes, a whole breadth of studies have been conducted to explore the attitudes of learners toward different varieties of English. In China, however, only two pioneering studies have examined this issue. To address this gap, this study investigated the attitudes of Chinese college students toward English.
By adopting the notion of World Englishes (WE) and English as an International Language (EIL) as the theoretical framework, this study has explored the attitudes of Chinese college students toward English, different varieties of English, and “China English.” The study has also investigated their attitudes toward the current English education policies and practices in China and their purposes for learning English. Furthermore, the attitudes of Chinese college students have been examined in relation to the factors that are likely to explain their attitudes, namely, gender, age, grade in college, major, starting age for learning English, years spent in English learning, experience with native English-speaking teachers and friends who are native English speakers, English knowledge of parents, and international experience.
This study adopted the concurrent embedded strategy of mixed methods design. In this approach, quantitative data from questionnaires of 398 respondents and qualitative data from interviews of 20 students were collected in the same visit to the
field. The secondary qualitative data were embedded within the predominant quantitative data to provide a supporting role in explaining and expanding the questionnaire results.
The study found that Chinese college students have positive attitudes toward the English language and “China English.” They are aware of different varieties of English and the majority of them consider nativization of English in China as a manifestation of Chinese culture. Regarding the English education policies and practices in China, attitudes of participants are complex. On the one hand, the students acknowledged that the Chinese government has attached much importance to English education; while on the other hand, they revealed concerns about this “utilitarian type of education,” since most of the students focus solely on obtaining high scores on English exams. In addition, they expressed dissatisfaction with the current college English instruction and stated that developing and maintaining students’ interests in English and building up strong communication skills should be the main goals of English education in China. Results have also shown that the longer students have studied English, the more likely they are to have positive attitudes toward English. Their experience with native English-speaking teachers and their majors also explain their positive attitudes toward English.
Several implications for Chinese college English instruction and policy-making in English education in China have emerged from the study. Possible directions for future research are also discussed.