Revisiting symbolic power and elite language education in China: a critical narrative ethnography of the English education major at a top language university in Shanghai

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the promise of English language teaching and the use of English as a medium of instruction, concerns have been growing about the decline in the number of English majors as well as structural problems in elite language education reflected in the rural-urban divide and resulting educational gaps in China. The English education major at a top language-intensive university could serve as a key site for this investigation. However, existing literature has significantly overlooked this important area. This study explored the life course stages of Chinese students who were originally from rural areas or socioeconomically underrepresented regions/districts and majoring in English education at a top language-intensive university located in Shanghai. By adopting a critical narrative ethnographic approach, the authors wrote field notes and conducted in-depth interviews with 18 study participants. The findings showed that mothers’ involvement significantly influenced students’ motivation to learn English, college admission, and academic major choice. However, students also developed personal perceptions about career prospects while in college. By applying the Bourdieusian approach to language and symbolic power, this study interpreted participants’ developmental process of linguistic habitus and capital, regardless of their socioeconomic status. This study further interpreted their management of accumulated linguistic capital, while critiquing existing structural problems of the elite language education system, along with the English major crisis in the Chinese higher education system. As critical narrative ethnographers, the authors presented their reflexive turns on symbolic power and the future of English education in a Sino-Anglo context.