Chinese College Students’ Views on Native English and Non-native English in EFL Classrooms

Oct 15, 2026

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Globalization has intensified the use of English among non-native speakers, prompting debates about English varieties and alignment with Standard English. Prior work often examines scholars’ attitudes, while college students’ perspectives remain limited. This study analyzes Chinese university students’ perceptions of native versus non-native English to inform mainstream EFL teaching in China, drawing on questionnaire data from 50 participants. Results suggest a superficial preference for native English alongside a possible inclination toward non-native English, indicating a need to revise current teaching practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background and terminology

Prior studies and research gap

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 7 No. 4; August 2016 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | Flourishing Creativity & Literacy | | | | | | Chinese College Students’ Views on Native English and Non-native English in EFL Classrooms Yang Qian School of Foreign Languages, China, Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang City, 443002, Hubei Province, PR, China E-mail: [skipalong_hi@163.com](skipalong_hi@163.com) Liu Jingxia (Corresponding author) School of Foreign Languages, China, Three Gorges University, 8 Daxue Road, Yichang City, 443002, Hubei Province, PR, China Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.84 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.84](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.7n.4p.84) Received: 12/03/2016 Accepted: 10/05/2016 The research is financed by Three Gorges University, China. No. 2015CX157 and Hubei Province Ministry of Education, China. No. 2013B071. Abstract With the development of globalization, English is clearly spoken by many more non-native than native speakers, which raises the discussion of English varieties and the debate regarding the conformity to Standard English. Although a large number of studies have shown scholars’ attitudes towards native English and non-native English, little research is conducted from the point of college students until recently. This paper focuses on Chinese college students’ perceptions of native English and non-native English in order to offer insights into the mainstream English language teaching in terms of its exclusive reference to English as a native language in China. This paper draws on the data contributed by 50 Chinese university students through questionnaires. The questionnaire responses displayed a superficial preference for native English and a potential inclination for non-native English in EFL classrooms. The article argues that factors behind the attitude point to the need of changing mainstream English teaching. Keywords: Native English, Non-native English, Chinese college students’ attitudes, mainstream English teaching 1. Introduction With the development of globalization, English has within a relatively short time become a language used by far more bilingual and multilingual speakers than monolinguals. The long and widespread use of English has led to non-native varieties such as Japanese English, Indian English or China English. Kachru’s (1992 in Murray 2003) principle of three concentric circles defines that Native English-Spoken countries belong to inner circle (for countries where English is spoken as the main first language, e.g. in the U.S. or Britain), second English language pertains to outer circle including countries where English is used as an additional institutionalized language, though not a mother tongue, e.g. in India or Nigeria and expanding circle including countries where English is widely studied as a foreign language, e.g. in China or Korea. British English and American English are regarded as the mainstream languages in China. Therefore, in this paper, native English refers to British English and American English. Non-native English includes Englishes which are used differently from American English and British English. When referred to native English and non-native English in English language teaching, Cook (1998 in Timmis 2002) has ever asked a very simple and challenging question: why should the attested language use of a native speaker community be a model for learners of English as an international language? In Murray’s (2003) study, native English is considered as currently prestigious. Not only do teaching materials around the world take native English as their model, but they also largely represent English as the medium of communication between two native speakers or between native speakers and non-native speakers. According to Seidlhofer (2011 in Wang 2013), non-native English manif

FAQs

What is the focus of the paper?

The paper examines Chinese college students’ perceptions of native English and non-native English in EFL classrooms, aiming to inform mainstream English language teaching in China.

How was the study conducted?

The study uses questionnaire data contributed by 50 Chinese university students to capture their attitudes toward native and non-native English.

What do the questionnaire responses indicate?

The responses show a superficial preference for native English and a potential inclination toward non-native English in EFL classrooms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Terk