Studying Chinese, studying in Chinese and studying with the Chinese
International students' experiences and identity construction in Chinese-medium instruction (CMI) programs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4096665 |
|---|---|
| Authors | W Xu (0000-0003-1015-0240, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1488-1500 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2024.2383950 |
| OpenAlex | W4401034494 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 38 |
While extensive studies have been devoted to English-medium instruction (EMI) in the internationalisation of higher education, only a few studies have investigated the language-related experiences and perceptions of international students in non-Anglophone contexts where the local/national language(s) serve as a medium of instruction for academic purposes. Given that Chinese universities have adopted a strong Chinese-medium instruction (CMI) initiative for international students in the past decade, this article makes a critical analysis of interviews with 48 African students to uncover CMI implementation in Chinese universities. The findings reveal that the students generally held positive attitudes towards the top-down CMI policy being implemented, despite the challenges encountered. However, the uncritical curriculum ‘Sinicisation’ also raised concerns about Chinese-only practices, the absence of appropriate learning materials and testing regimes, a lack of institutional support for using Chinese as an academic lingua franca, epistemic and social marginalisation of international students. As such, the article presents a complex interplay of language attitudes, language practices and identity construction in CMI programs, highlighting a hiatus between policy intentions and actual practices in classrooms. I conclude the article with recommendations for policymakers and future research on CMI policies and practices in China
Business · China · Curriculum · English as a lingua franca · Higher education · Internationalization · Internationalization of Higher Education · Language policy · Language proficiency · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Medium of instruction · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
Examining the impacts of visa policy changes on international student enrolment and mobility
A bibliometric analysis of international student mobility research in Asia
Transnational academic mobility and knowledge production
Language ideologies and practices of international students in a course in Chinese for Academic Purposes(CAP)
Simple Chinese is better than broken English
Language Management
Student Self-Formation in International Education
An analysis of Japan’s English as medium of instruction initiatives within higher education
English-medium instruction in Chinese higher education
Three dimensions of China’s “outward-oriented” higher education internationalization
China ‘goes out’ in a centre–periphery world
Exploring the Experiences of International Students in China
Native-speakerism
Towards Epistemic Justice
The ‘internationalisation’, or ‘Englishisation’, of higher education in East Asia
Understanding classroom participation and identity negotiation
EMI in Chinese higher education
Linguistic Entrepreneurship in Sino-African Student Mobility
Language policies in the context of German higher education
Korean Science and Engineering Students’ Perceptions of English-Medium Instruction and Korean-Medium Instruction
Identities and Language Use across Contexts in a Multilingual University in Hong Kong
Towards an integrative understanding of contemporary educational mobilities
Experiencing Chinese education
English medium instruction, identity construction and negotiation of Teochew-speaking learners of English
A translanguaging perspective on medium of instruction in the CFL classroom
English-medium instruction policies in China
Elite appropriation of English as a medium of instruction policy and epistemic inequalities in Himalayan schools
The promise of Chinese
China's recruitment of African university students
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Identity, language learning, and social change
English as a medium of instruction and the discursive construction of elite identity
Higher education, English, and the idea of 'the West
Situated Learning
Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis
Language choices and 'blind shadows
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |