Table Of ContentLanguage Management
and Its Impact
This book provides a comprehensive account of language management
and planning at Confucius Institutes in the UK, implementing an
ethnographic approach grounded in language management theory. As
a global language promotion organisation, Confucius Institutes have
previously been discussed in the literature with respect to socio-political
issues, but this volume will shed particular light on their role in shaping
and informing Chinese language policy at both the institutional and
individual classroom levels. The book focuses specifically on Confucius
Institutes in the UK, demonstrating how language teaching practice in
these organisations is informed and shaped not only by organisational
paradigms but also local language needs and institutional attitudes of
host institutions. In turn, Li highlights how these organisations’ unique
position in a multilingual region such as the UK can offer new insights
into language management by illustrating their roles as platforms for
both individuals and institutions to become involved in the making and
implementation of language policy. This volume will be of particular
interest to students and researchers in language policy and planning,
language education, applied linguistics, and Chinese linguistics.
Linda Mingfang Li is Principal Lecturer and Subject Group Leader for
Chinese, Russian, and Japanese in the Regent’s Institute of Languages
and Culture at Regent’s University London, UK.
Routledge Studies in Applied Linguistics
Grounded Theory in Applied Linguistics Research
A Practical Guide
Gregory Hadley
Project-Based Language Learning with Technology
Learner Collaboration in an EFL Classroom in Japan
Michael Thomas
Metacognition in Language Learning and Teaching
Edited by Åsta Haukås, Camilla Bjørke and Magne Dypedahl
Language Management and Its Impact
The Policies and Practices of Confucius Institutes
Linda Mingfang Li
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
Routledge-Studies-in-Applied-Linguistics/book-series/RSAL
Language Management
and Its Impact
The Policies and Practices of
Confucius Institutes
Linda Mingfang Li
First published 2019
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2019 Taylor & Francis
The right of Linda Mingfang Li to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
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trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-48001-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-06406-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Preface vi
Abbreviations vii
List of figures ix
List of tables x
1 Introduction 1
2 Language Promotion Organisations and
Confucius Institutes in the UK 24
3 Studies on Confucius Institute and
Language Management 47
4 Chinese Language Management at the
Institution Level 73
5 Language Management at Confucius Institute Level 95
6 Language Management at Confucius Institute
Classroom Level 128
7 Conclusions 168
Bibliography 179
Index 191
Preface
First of all, I would like to thank all the participants who took part in
the research: directors, teachers seconded from Hanban and employed
locally, and students studying in the two Confucius Institutes where
I conducted the field study.
I am most grateful to professor Li Wei and Professor Zhu Hua, who
despite a very busy schedule never failed to provide me timely advice and
guidance. It was their encouragement and support that helped me to tide
over times when I had to struggle between full-time work, family and
many other commitments, and the study. On this, I should also thank
Regent’s University London and colleagues there for their support and
encouragement.
I also owe a great deal to my husband George Xinsheng Zhang, our
sons Jialiang Luke Zhang and Jialu Louis Zhang for their continuous
support and help so that I could concentrate on my work and research.
Without their sacrifice and support, it would not have been possible at
all for me even to contemplate the idea of doing this research in the first
place.
Finally, I thank Elysse Propesi, who not only encouraged me to turn
the research into the current book format but also provided me with
the much-needed expertise, advice, and guidance during the process; and
Routledge for making my research available to anyone interested in the
still being debated but awesome phenomenon of Confucius Institute. The
completion of this research is only a beginning, as there are many inter-
esting areas that can be further explored on Confucius Institute. I hope
my research contributes, from a fresh perspective of language manage-
ment, to the discussions on Confucius Institute which seems to have an
interesting path ahead.
Abbreviations
ATLAS qualitative data analysis software (Automatically Tuned
Linear Algebra Software)
BCT Business Chinese Test
BULATS Business Language Testing Service
CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages
CELTA Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages
CI Confucius Institute
CILT Centre of Information for Language Teaching for England
CNED National Centre for Distance Education
DELTA Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages
DFID Department for International Development
EC European Commission
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ESOL English for speakers of other languages
FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office
GIDS Graded Intergenerational Distribution Scale
Hanban Chinese Language Teaching Council International (also
known as Confucius Institute Headquarters)
HEI higher education institution
HSK Chinese Proficiency Test
HSKK Chinese Proficiency Speaking Test
IDP International Development Program
IELTS International English Language Testing System
IMF International Monetary Fund
LPP language policy and language planning
MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software for Windows and Mac
OS X
MOOC massive open online course
MTCSOL Master Degree of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other
Languages
viii Abbreviations
NOCFL National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign
Language
PRC People’s Republic of China
SCILT Scotland’s National Centre for Languages
SDR Special Drawing Right
SSAT Special School and Academy Trust
TCFL teaching Chinese as a foreign language
UCL-IOE University College London—Institute of Education
UCML University Council of Modern Languages
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
WTO World Trade Organisation
YCT Youth Chinese Test
Figures
1.1 Number of Confucius Institutes and Confucius
Classrooms 2005–2017 11
1.2 Teachers and Volunteers at Confucius
Institutes 2005–2017 14
1.3 Distribution of Teaching Materials from the
Confucius Institute Headquarters 15
2.1 Number of Confucius Institutes and Confucius
Classrooms in the UK 2005–2017 39
2.2 UK and Europe: Number of Confucius Institutes and
Confucius Classrooms by 2017 40
2.3 UK’s Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in
Europe (by percentage) by 2017 40
3.1 Research Methodologies and Research Instruments 62
