The Use of Media Supplementaries to Change Chinese EFL Learners’ Attitudes toward English as an Intercultural Language

Abstract

The advent of EIcL renders us to treat the English language spoken in any specific country as a local variety, which is neutral in terms of language prestige. This paper delves into some properties of EIcL in relation to WEs and EIL and examines how Chinese EFL learners understand the notion of EIcL and how they change their attitudes toward 8 language varieties after 15 weeks’ pedagogical intervention. For our discussion, we have conducted a survey among 76 Chinese university students. The results of the survey are as follows. First, the subjects overwhelmingly prefer the two major varieties, American (93.42%) and British English (82.89%). Second, they increase their preference for the other 6 minor varieties after explicit instruction. Finally, they change their attitudes toward these minorities, affected mainly by their cultural aspects reflected in media supplementaries.