A Qualitative Inquiry on English Learning Vision among Chinese Christian Graduate Students

Abstract

Vision represents an individual’s future image and is related to one’s psychological state. An individual’s second-language (L2) vision determines their language study goals, and religious or spiritual beliefs may be central to this vision of oneself. This study aimed to discover the participants’ L2 visions and explore how the Christian faith affects their L2 visions. The researchers adopted a qualitative research approach to examine how Christianity informed the L2 visions and English learning of four Chinese Christian graduate students. This study was performed in a provincial university in China and lasted from March 2021 to December 2021. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and informal talk. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis containing initial and axial coding. The findings showed that the participants’ L2 visions included their dissatisfaction with the L2 reality and the identification of their L2 expectations. Moreover, the data revealed that the participants’ Christian faith brought them devotion and self-discipline in English learning. Finally, the researchers found that the L2 vision and Christian faith can be combined into a unique vision to stimulate students’ English learning. One pedagogical implication is that students need to be encouraged by their teachers to discover their visions and develop different ones. Another implication is that teachers should simultaneously pay attention to students’ visions and adjust their teaching strategies to meet students’ needs.