Teaching English as an International Language in Mainland China

Abstract

English has been increasingly used as an international language along with the development of globalization. It is employed to communicate between native speakers and non-native speakers, but also, more often than not, among non-native speakers such as Japanese and Norwegians, etc. There is not much debate on the role of English as an International Language (EIL) in Mainland China, and pedagogical decisions on what to be taught and what is to be achieved in English teaching have not been transparent and explicitly stated. This paper will contextualize the situation in Mainland China. It starts with the current education system and English teaching in China to provide the reader with relevant background information. It then describes, discusses and explains what is stated in the English teaching syllabuses across different levels of formal instruction concerning the issue of EIL, followed by a diachronic account of scholars' and teachers' views of teaching EIL. Finally, the paper presents a model for pedagogical practice.