Language has been found to play an important role in creating a sense of intimacy among national group members (Gu, 2011). Language use among international students is more complicated than among domestic students who are studying in their own country because they are immersed in a multi-lingual environment. The intimacy Chinese students are building in the UK with local and Chinese communities in the UK is twofold: a sense of belonging to the culture of origin and localism to the host culture. This section discusses Chinese students' language choice in daily encounters and how their language choice links to their sense of belonging to the Chinese community or the local community.
The everyday priorities of study and living in the UK incentivise Chinese students' use of English, and it is widely discussed that increasing exposure to L2 correlates positively with the promotion of L2 learning (Rubenfeld et al, 2006). However, research has also evidenced that some students resort to using more L1 in the study abroad context than they anticipate (Badstübner & Ecke, 2009) and that international students' use of L1 or L2 changes over time during their study abroad period, as a consequence of speakers' changing language proficiency, adaptation to the new environment, cultural differences, familiarity and contextual needs, etc (e.g. McManus, 2019; García-Amaya, 2017).
While facing the complexities of intercultural communication with people from different language backgrounds, Chinese students also need to deal with issues of interaction with their national fellows since China is a huge country with many different sub-cultures and most individuals also carry specific regional cultures and dialects. The analysis of the data from my project shows that the connection to their home culture and L1 or the regional language serves as an emotional link to other Chinese or 'home' students who are from the same areas; while using English (L2) firstly serves for academic or professional purposes, and secondly, the use of L2 also suggests speakers' English proficiency and intercultural competence which, in turn, promotes students' further adaptation and integration to the local community. The data also suggests that, rather than sticking to one language in one context, students use translanguaging to expand their linguistic repertoire and for smooth and effective communication.
References
Badstübner, T. and Ecke, P., 2009. Student expectations, motivations, target language use, and perceived learning progress in a summer study abroad program in Germany. Die Unterrichtspraxis/Teaching German, 42(1), pp.41-49.
García-Amaya, L., 2017. Detailing L1 and L2 use in study-abroad research: Data from the daily linguistic questionnaire. System, 71, pp.60-72.
Gu, M., 2011. Language choice and identity construction in peer interactions: Insights from a multilingual university in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural development, 32(1), pp.17-31.
McManus, K., 2019. Relationships between social networks and language development during study abroad. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 32(3), pp.270-284.
Rubenfeld, S., Clément, R., Lussier, D., Lebrun, M. and Auger, R., 2006. Second language learning and cultural representations: Beyond competence and identity. Language Learning, 56(4), pp.609-631.
