“My name is Money”: name choices and global identifications at a South-Chinese university

Abstract

Recent communicative language teaching reforms in China have focused on the creative use of English in classroom activities. In response to these reforms, many students have chosen to use English names in classroom, online, and professional contexts, particularly with foreign teachers. Based at a university closely linked to national teaching reforms, this article examines the reasons why university students in China select their English names, and the roles foreign and Chinese teachers play in these choices. Data include interviews with student and teacher participants, student journals from a classroom project on English names, and multiple discussions at a student English club. The article reveals that many students choose English names that are associated with foreign English-speaking communities, but other students chose names that represent their individuality, playfulness, and creativity. The article ends with a discussion of how English name choices complicate the separation of local and global spaces and can become a revealing topic in language classrooms, provoking playful appropriation as well as critical reflection on language learning.