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Language policy and learning experience in China: Six case histories Agnes Lam University of Hong Kong Abstract Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, three main language policies have been implemented. Firstly, Chinese was standardized with the simplification of the Chinese script and the propagation of Putonghua. Secondly, the codification of minority languages in China was carried out. Thirdly, in terms of foreign language enhancement, Russian was initially promoted but soon after 1957, English was identified as the most important foreign language in China. The only remission to this emphasis was during part of the Cultural Revolution. As a result of these policies, learners educated at different times have had different experiences. In this paper, the learning experiences of six learners differing in language background and age are presented. By and large, the individual learning histories reflect the policy changes in terms of general directions. Introduction China is a multidialectal and multilingual country. For the majority language group, the Han Chinese, there are two main groups of dialects: the northern dialects and the southern dialects. The northern dialects can be subdivided into seven sub-groups and the southern dialects into six sub- groups (Huang, 1987, p. 33-45). In addition, among the 55 ethnic minorities, over 80 languages are used (State Language Commission, 1995, p. 159). The official language in China is Chinese. The standard dialect, Putonghua, maps well onto the written form of modern Chinese. Since the mid 1950s, all Han Chinese have been required to learn Putonghua. At the same time, the minorities have been encouraged, though not required, to become bilingual in their native languages and Putonghua, especially more recently. In terms of foreign language learning, the language first promoted by the People’s Republic was Russian. When relations with the Soviet Union failed to develop, China began to look West and English resumed its importance, except during the early years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) when all scholarly studies were repudiated. Other foreign languages of secondary importance in China include German, French and Japanese. Because there are Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics 7,2 (2002); pp. 57–72 58 A. Lam several dialects and languages at play in China, learners with different native dialects or languages have different learning experiences. The policy emphases at different times may also have affected them differently. In this paper, some case histories of learners from different backgrounds are provided to illustrate such variation. Language policies in China The People’s Republic has implemented and maintained three main language policies in the last half century: 1. The standardization of Chinese 2. The development of minority languages 3. The propagation of English The standardization of Chinese The standardization of Chinese took a two-pronged approach: in the script and in the pronunciation. In 1954, discussion on the simplification of the script was initiated. This was motivated by the hope that simplified characters would help to improve literacy rates. In 1956, the First Character Simplification Scheme was announced. It was confirmed in 1964 and reaffirmed in 1986. The Scheme contained 2,235 simplified characters and 14 radicals (a radical is part of a Chinese character). 1956 also saw the directive that all schools for Han Chinese should teach in Putonghua. Workshops to train teachers were organized. To facilitate the learning of a standard pronunciation based on Putonghua, a phonetic alphabet, hanyu pinyin, was publicized in 1958 (see State Language Commission, 1996, for details). Although Chinese dialects share one writing script, they can be quite different in pronunciation, word order for some constructions, particles and vocabulary. This is particularly true of the southern dialects. The northern dialect groups share more similarity in pronunciation though differences in tone and vocabulary still exist. Since the standard dialect, Putonghua, is a northern dialect, native speakers of the southern dialects have the greater learning task when developing their competence in Putonghua. The development of minority languages The total minority population of 91,200,000 constitutes only about 7.5% of the total population in China but they live in a widespread area of about Language policy and learning experience 59 64% of the total area of China (Dai et. al., 1997, p. 10). Literacy plans for the minorities, also referred to as nationalities, are therefore not easy to implement. Before 1949, 20 of the 55 minorities already had a written form for their languages. From the 1950s up till the 1980s, new orthographies were developed for seven ethnic groups and orthographies were also modified or supplemented with additional Latin orthographies for another eight ethnic groups. The adoption of the Latin alphabet for several new orthographies was in line with the use of hanyu pinyin to propagate Putonghua (State Language Commission, 1996, p. 16). Although the minorities, apart from the cadres, have not been required to learn Putonghua, they have been encouraged to become bilingual in their own language as well as Putonghua (State Language Commission, 1996, p. 37). For minority groups small in numbers, educational or economic advancement may become possible only if they become proficient in Chinese. The propagation of English Recent foreign language teaching in China can be divided into six phases (Figure 1): 1. The interlude with Russian 2. The back-to-English movement 3. Repudiation of foreign learning 4. English for renewing ties with the West 5. English for modernization 6. English for international stature When the People’s Republic was established, Russian was the most important foreign language for a short period. Many people have the impression that the learning of English was promoted only after the Cultural Revolution. In reality, English was accorded importance in China soon after relations with the Soviet Union became tense in the mid 1950s. As early as 1957, a draft syllabus for teaching English in junior secondary school was distributed. In 1961, the syllabus for English majors at university and college level was defined. 1960 to 1965 saw the establishment of some foreign language schools in China. 60 A. Lam Figure 1. Six phases in foreign language education in China Historical period Phase in foreign language education Years Before the Cultural 1. The interlude with Russian Early 1950s Revolution 2. The back-to-English movement 1957–1965 During the Cultural 3. Repudiation of foreign learning 1966–1970 Revolution 4. English for renewing ties with the 1971–1976 West After the Cultural 5. English for modernization 1977–1990 Revolution 6. English for international stature From 1991 Even during the dark years of the Cultural Revolution, Premier Zhou Enlai managed to deploy a remnant of foreign language majors to posts requiring foreign language expertise. In 1971, China replaced Taiwan in the United Nations and in 1972, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, visited China clearing the way for exchange between China and America. After the Cultural Revolution was over and university admission resumed in 1978, more attention was paid to English for non-English majors and English in schools. With Deng Xiaoping’s Policy of Four Modernizations announced in the same year, the prominence of English escalated and has not abated since. (See Lam, 2002, for details.) The experience of learners: Six case studies Policy changes have been experienced differently by learners from different backgrounds. Here are excerpts from six learning histories with interviewees differing in language background, age and occupation. The learners were interviewed in Putonghua during fieldtrips to China in 1999 and 2000. Interviewees had all completed university and were contacted through the universities. Although the majority of learners in China do not make it to university, these interviewees were chosen to give an idea of the language learning experience at every educational level. Each interview took about an hour. Interviewees were prompted to speak freely on their language learning experience. In the following excerpts, the interviewee’s age was that Language policy and learning experience 61 in 2000. All names are pseudonyms. The interviewer’s comments are in square brackets. Figure 2. Six case histories Pseudonym Native language Age Sex Occupation Yan Northern 44 Male Political scientist Chinese Xin 27 Female Foreign language teacher Tian Southern 38 Male Chinese language Chinese teacher Danny 28 Male Hotel employee Fang Minority 51 Female Nationalities expert language He 29 Male Computer scientist Yan (Northern Chinese Interviewee 12, male, aged 44, political scientist) Background. I was born in 1956 near Changan [now Xian]. I started going to school in 1962. In those days, because of the Cultural Revolution, school was irregular. There was no clear graduation from primary school to junior secondary school. In 1970, I went to a senior secondary school about seven or eight li (a li is about half a kilometre) away from home. I was the only one from my class that entered a senior secondary school. In 1973, I returned to my village as a zhi1 qing1 [intellectual youth]. I worked as a farmer in our production brigade. From 1975 to 1977, I studied at a Teachers’ College in Xian. After that, I taught politics for half-a-year in a secondary school. In 1978, the universities resumed admission and I came to this university [in the northern interior]. Upon graduation in 1982, I started teaching political science here. The Xian dialect. I spoke the Xian dialect from birth because it was spoken around me. I was educated in the Xian dialect even during my junior secondary schooldays. We did not bother with language matters very much then. Even in senior secondary school, not every teacher taught us in 62 A. Lam Putonghua. My Chinese teacher even pronounced my name wrongly in Putonghua. He was a good teacher though.

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