Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2021)

Exploring the Influence of English Subject Reform in China’s Compulsory Education System

Authors
Maojia Sun1, , Kaiyi Wu2, *, , Xiaohan Yi3, , Ruohong Zhang4,
1Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, 43400, Malaysia
2School of Education, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, Australia
3Communication and Media, University College London, London, WC1E6BT, UK
4Letter and Science College, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA

Those authors contributed equally.

*Corresponding author. Email: 2kawu7147@uni.sydney.edu.au
Corresponding Author
Kaiyi Wu
Available Online 1 February 2022.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220131.099How to use a DOI?
Keywords
English Subject Reform; China’s Compulsory Education; Second Language
Abstract

This paper aims to address the policy reform debate on whether English will continue to be the only mandatory foreign language subject in China’s compulsory education system. It explores the role of English as a compulsory subject in China’s nine-year compulsory education system and critically reflects the need for English as a compulsory subject in China. This paper presents three research questions: 1) what do learners think about the importance of English in China? 2) What are learners’ motivations for learning English in China? 3) What is the learner’s attitude towards English learning? This paper studies three questions and uses a qualitative research method to conduct a one-to-one interview with six graduate students who have received nine years of compulsory education in China. The results of the research mainly focus on three aspects: English language’s status in China and its impacts, two English learning motivations, learners’ attitudes towards English subject learning and English education inequality issues. This paper finds that the globalization of English leads to the globalization of other languages and cultures. It is difficult for Chinese students to choose L2 according to their interests, while unified English learning will alleviate the problem of unfair distribution of educational resources in China. This paper wishes to provide educational implications for reference for Chinese educational policymakers to formulate reforms in the future.

Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2021)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
1 February 2022
ISBN
978-94-6239-527-5
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.220131.099How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.
Open Access
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Maojia Sun
AU  - Kaiyi Wu
AU  - Xiaohan Yi
AU  - Ruohong Zhang
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/02/01
TI  - Exploring the Influence of English Subject Reform in China’s Compulsory Education System
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 548
EP  - 556
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220131.099
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220131.099
ID  - Sun2022
ER  -