Teacher beliefs about teaching French as a foreign language in a Chinese university: a multilingual perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.viVIII.29247Keywords:
teacher belief, French as a foreign language, language education, French teaching, multilingualismAbstract
While French is an important European language being taught in Chinese universities, not much is known about French language teachers’ beliefs about its teaching as a foreign language, particularly not from a multilingual perspective. Adopting a multiple-case design, this study examined 5 French language teachers’ beliefs about the French language and the learner. Analysing data collected via interviews, the study revealed that teachers’ beliefs reflected neither the linguistic landscape of the French language nor the learner’s existing level of multilingualism. However, the teachers’ monolingual ideology as reflected in their beliefs seemed to co-exist with beliefs that reflected their multilingual ideology; the cultural capital brought by learning French as a foreign language prevailed in teachers’ beliefs about the language with reference to the value of French learning in their students’ future international communication in a multilingual world, and the teachers also perceived their students as French learners with English learning experience that could lend support to their French learning.
FUNDING INFORMATION. This research was funded by “Research on the Innovation of Foreign Language Education in China” (grant number: 22JJD740011), a major project of the Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education, as well as supported by the Beijing Foreign Studies University “Double First-Class” Fund (project title: “Construction of Standards for Foreign Language Education and Foreign Language Talents Training in Higher Education”, project number: 2022SYLZD010).
Downloads
References
Alisaari, J., & Heikkola, L. M. (2017). Songs and poems in the language classroom: Teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 231–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.021
Alisaari, J., Heikkola, L. M., Commins, N., & Acquah, E. O. (2019). Monolingual ideologies confronting multilingual realities: Finnish teachers’ beliefs about linguistic diversity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 80, 48–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.01.003
Andrews, S. (2003). Teacher language awareness and the professional knowledge base of the L2 teacher. Language Awareness, 12(2), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410308667068
Bell, P., Fortier, V., & Gauvin, I. (2020). Using L1 knowledge about language during L2 error correction: Do students make cross-linguistic connections?. Language Awareness, 29(2), 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2020.1729783
Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language Teaching, 36(2), 81–109. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444803001903
Bourdieu, P. (1979). La distinction: Critique sociale du jugement. Paris: Minuit.
Calafato, R. (2020). Language teacher multilingualism in Norway and Russia: Identity and beliefs. European Journal of Education, 55(4), 602–617. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12418
Carter, R. (2003). Language awareness. ELT Journal, 57(1), 64–65. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/57.1.64
Chen, X. & Rocher, R. (2019). La litérature française contemporaine a-t-elle sa place dans le manuel « Le Français » ?. Synergies Chine, 14, 145–158.
Chen, X. & Xu, H. (2015). Understanding interaction inside and outside the EFL self-concept system: A case study of Chinese learners in junior high school. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 38(2), 133–149. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2015-0008
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education (8th ed.). London/New York: Routledge.
Curran, J. E., & Chern, C. L. (2017). Pre-service English teachers’ attitudes towards English as a lingua franca. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.04.007
Dai, D. (2020). La diffusion du français en Chine. Études de linguistique appliquée, 199, 271–285. https://doi.org/10.3917/ela.199.0016
Espinosa, E. B. (2014). Creencias sobre el aprendizaje de una lengua del futuro profesorado de inglés de Educación Primaria. Porta Linguarum, 22, 73–93.
Vez Jeremías, J. M. (1996). The social context of EFL. In N. McLaren & D. Madrid (Eds.), A handbook for TEFL (pp. 25–34). Alicante: Editorial Marfil.
Falk, Y., & Lindqvist, C. (2022). Teachers’ attitudes towards multilingualism in the foreign language classroom: The case of French and German in the Swedish context. In A Krulatz, G. Neokleous, & A. Dahl (Eds.), Theoretical and applied perspectives on teaching foreign languages in multilingual settings: Pedagogical Implications (pp. 139–152). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Gao, X., & Zheng, Y. (2019). Multilingualism and higher education in Greater China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(7), 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1571073
Guo, Q., Zhou, X., & Gao, X. (2021). Research on learning and teaching of languages other than English in System. System, 100, 102541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102541
Haim, O., & Tannenbaum, M. (2022). Teaching English to multilingual immigrant students: Understanding teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teachers and Teaching, 28(4), 420–439. http://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2022.2062737
Hee, C.H. (2021). Teachers’ perceptions and beliefs of multilingualism in primary English education. Foreign Languages Education, 28(4), 51–75. https://doi.org/10.15334/FLE.2021.28.4.51
Kang, M., Shen, Q., & Zheng, Y. (2022). LOTE (languages other than English) teachers’ emotions and professional identity in response to educational reforms: A social-psychological perspective. Sustainability, 14(17). 10788. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710788
Lee, S. Y., & Choe, H. (2021). Modelling beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours regarding the spread of English. English Today, 37(2), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266078419000452
Li, H. (2016). L’exposé comme outil d’actualisation. Synergies Chine, 11, 101–109.
Li, W. (2022). Unpacking the complexities of teacher identity: Narratives of two Chinese teachers of English in China. Language Teaching Research, 26(4), 579–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820910955
Li. Y. (2021). L’apprentissage de l’orthographe lexicale par les apprenants chinois de français langue étrangère: Analyse et réflexions didactiques à partir d’un corpus écrit. Synergies Chine, 16, 93–105.
Lundberg, A. (2019a). Teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism: Findings from Q method research. Current Issues in Language Planning, 20(3), 266–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2018.1495373
Lundberg, A. (2019b). Teachers’ viewpoints about an educational reform concerning multilingualism in German-speaking Switzerland. Learning and Instruction, 64, 101244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101244
Lv, L., Gao, X., & Teo, T. (2017). Intercultural orientations as Japanese language learners’ motivation in mainland China. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 14(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2016.1217739
Ma, L., & Liu, N. (2022). Teacher belief about integrating critical thinking in English teaching in China. Journal of Education for Teaching. (online first) https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2022.2044267
Melo-Pfeifer, S., & Chik, A. (2022). Multimodal linguistic biographies of prospective foreign language teachers in Germany: Reconstructing beliefs about languages and multilingual language learning in initial teacher education. International Journal of Multilingualism, 19(4), 499–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1753748
Morrison, K., & Lui, I. (2000). Ideology, linguistic capital and the medium of instruction in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 21(6), 471–486. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630008666418
Odo, D. M. (2017). Korean EFL teachers’ beliefs regarding English language reading instruction. Secondary English Education, 10(1), 31–64.
Reutner, U. (ed.) (2017). Manuel des francophonies. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Rose, H., McKinley, J., & Galloway, N. (2021). Global Englishes and language teaching: A review of pedagogical research. Language Teaching, 54(2), 157–189. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444820000518
Shan, Z., & Xu, H. (2022). Exploring multilingual awareness development in learners of multiple foreign languages: A social cognitive perspective. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. (online first) https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2092119
Stille, S.V., Bethke, R., Bradley-Brown, J., Giberson, J., & Hall, G. (2016). Broadening educational practice to include translanguaging: An outcome of educator inquiry into multilingual students’ learning needs. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 72(4), 480–503. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.3432
Wang, W. (2015). Teaching English as an international language in China: Investigating university teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards China English. System, 53, 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.06.008
Wang, W., & Xu, H. (2023). General report. In W. Wang & H. Xu (Eds.), 2022 annual report of foreign language education in China (pp. 1–7). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Xu, H. (2015). The development of teacher autonomy in collaborative lesson preparation: A multiple-case study of EFL teachers in China. System, 52, 139–148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.05.007
Xu, H. (2019). Putonghua as “admission ticket” to linguistic market in minority regions in China. Language Policy, 18(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-018-9462-x
Xu, H., & Pu, S. (2020). The impact of multilingual education policy on university language teachers’ professional development. Círculo de Lingüística Aplicada a la Comunicación, 84, 77–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/clac.71997
Yin, R.K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Zheng, H. (2009). A review of research on EFL pre-service teachers’ beliefs and practices. Journal of Cambridge Studies, 4(1), 73–81. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.1579
Zheng, H. (2015). Teacher beliefs as a complex system: English language teachers in China. New York: Springer.
Zheng, Y., Lu, X., & Ren, W. (2019). Profiling Chinese university students’ motivation to learn multiple languages. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(7), 590–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1571074
Zhou, Y. (2011). Yong jingshen xingzou de ren [Those travelling by spirit]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Zhu, X. (2021). Approche actionnelle dans l’enseignement du français en milieu universitaire chinois. Synergies Chine, 16, 63–73.
Zhunussova, G. (2021). Language teachers’ attitudes towards English in a multilingual setting. System, 100, 102558. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102558
*****
FUNDING INFORMATION. This research was funded by “Research on the Innovation of Foreign Language Education in China” (grant number: 22JJD740011), a major project of the Key Research Institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education, as well as supported by the Beijing Foreign Studies University “Double First-Class” Fund (project title: “Construction of Standards for Foreign Language Education and Foreign Language Talents Training in Higher Education”, project number: 2022SYLZD010).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- The authors retain copyright and guarantee to the journal the right to be the first to publish the work as well as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the authorship of the work and the initial publication in this journal.
- Authors may separately enter into additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (e.g., placing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), with acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their own website) before and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).