What does Bourdieu Mean by the ‘Habitus’ and What Implications does This Idea Have for English Language Teaching in China?: Using Bourdieu: Introducing Habitus, Field and Capital

Abstract

Habitus remains an ambiguous and cryptic concept, triggering drastic debate not only in sociology and anthropology but also in culture studies and literary criticism. The topic has been cited by a range of writers, notably Mauss, Husserl and Bourdieu. Even Bourdieu did not provide a clear, authoritative or coherent definition of the term in his work. Due to the fact that habitus plays an indispensable part of social constructionism, which defines our understanding of the world. It is necessary for parents, schools and the government to learn about this concept, and utilize it to guide their education practice and policy enactment. This essay will explore the theoretical concept of “habitus” and its interrelationship with “field” and “capital”. Then discuss the wide disparity in different social groups, in terms of habitus and capital in China. Followed by an analysis of the imbalances in Chinese rural and urban schools respectively, in the field of English language teaching. It aims to help readers better understand the poor performance of students who come from less advantageous social groups in language learning, rather than attributing their failure to their individual defects. The essay will also introduce the 2003 English curriculum reform, illustrate the current status of its implementation in various family upbringing and school locations and put forward some feasible proposals for parents, teachers, students and government to promote social equity in English language teaching in China.