The paper explores how Chinese international students, studying in a postgraduate programme in the UK, perceive national identity and identify negotiation. It illustrates the impact of languages, cultures and power relations in multilingual and multicultural context on individuals’ identity negotiation.
Studying aboard means being exposed to different languages, cultures and beliefs among the outgroups. Differences brought by nationalities may not be recognized by the majority of people in today’s globalized world (Ryan, 2006). However, empirical studies have discovered that although some students such as Chinese are in the struggle with identity negotiation due to their traditional home culture and individual oversea experiences, students’ awareness of their national identity is more likely to be raised during transnational movements and interactions with other nationals. To unfold Chinese international students’ attitudes towards and perceptions of their identity negotiation, this case study explored how Chinese postgraduate students studying at a British university negotiate national identity with other nationals in multilingual and multicultural context. The research attempts to uncover their perceptions of national identity, the role of language in the communication with teachers and peers, and factors that mediate the identity in the transnational studying experience. Through a qualitative approach, data collected by using focus group and semi-structured demonstrated an overall strong national identity of Chinese students in the multilingual context. Even though Chinese students were not familiar with identity related topics, there were percussions clearly reflected in the discussions and interviews. Meanwhile, Chinese, a sign of linguistic identity, English, an important lingua franca, as well as common knowledge about cultures were illustrated by the data to be influential. The study implies that culture related education program should involve more innovative and also both culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies in delivery. It also reminds teachers that encouraging discussions on different cultures is essential in multilingual classrooms. Ryan, S. (2006) ‘Language learning motivation within the context of globalisation: an L2 self within an imagined global community’. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies: An International Journal, 3(1), pp.23-45.
