Study Of Critical Language-cultural Awareness In Chinese English Language Education For Intercultural Citizenship Education

Intercultural citizenship education is the extension and development ofintercultural education and citizenship education in the age of globalization. It is asignificant part of teaching intercultural communicative competence (ICC) inforeign language education. In recent years, Chinese foreign language educatorsand intercultural communication scholars began to focus on the development ofChinese citizenship education as well as global citizenship education. Thisresearch aims to explore the Chinese college students· cognition of the concept ofcitizenship and intercultural citizenship. Associated with relevant researches andtheories, the author argues for the importance and necessity of interculturalcitizenship education in foreign language education, and proposes the principlesof developing critical language-cultural awareness for intercultural citizenshipeducation in China.The present study mainly consists of two parts. The first part looks into theChinese college students· understanding of citizenship and interculturalcitizenship. A survey is conducted using the Intercultural CitizenshipQuestionnaire· designed by the Chinese scholars in an international project onintercultural citizenship education (ICE). Through statistical analysis of the datacollected from the questionnaire survey, the author finds that Chinese collegestudents· understanding of citizenship and intercultural citizenship is ratherinadequate. There is an urgent and important need to start intercultural citizenshipeducation in China, which can be realized through the integration of interculturalcitizenship education and intercultural English language education.The second part of the present study focuses on the practical approach of intercultural citizenship education in the Chinese English classrooms. Drawingfrom the bibliographical study of previous researches in intercultural foreignlanguage education (IFLE), intercultural citizenship education (ICE) andintercultural communicative competence from home and abroad, the authorcomes to the understanding that critical language-cultural awareness offers awell-grounded yet practical approach to English language education asintercultural citizenship education. The author contends that language isinseparable from culture, criticality is central to ICC and ICE, ICC and ICEshould be taken as the goal of Chinese English language education, andengagement in practical social and cultural activities is practice of interculturalcitizenship.This research argues for the importance of developing criticallanguage-cultural awareness for intercultural citizenship education in Chineseforeign language education. Based on such understandings, the author proposesfour principles for effective and appropriate integration of Chinese Englishlanguage education and ICE, namely1) the inseparability of language and culture,2) criticality,3) ICC and4) engagement in Chinese English language education.This research mainly attempts to study the above problems from theperspectives of English language education and its relevant theories. Developinglearners· critical language-cultural awareness effectively and practically integratesthe teaching of language with the teaching of critical cultural awareness. And theproposed four principles are expected to offer specific guidance for classroompractice in Chinese English language education for intercultural citizenshipeducation.