Tens of thousands of Western ‘teachers’, many of whom would not be considered teachers elsewhere, are employed to teach English in public and private education in China. Little has previously been known, except anecdotally, about their experiences, about the effect they have on education in the context, or on students’ perceptions of ‘the West’ that result from this contact. This book is an ethnographic study of Westerners’ lived experiences teaching English in Shanghai, China. It is based on three years of groundbreaking research into the pre-service training, classroom practices, personal identities and motives, and local socially constructed roles of a group of ‘backpacker teachers’ from the UK, the USA and Canada. It is a study that goes beyond the classroom, addressing broader questions about the sociology, and politics, of transnational education and China’s evolving relationship with the outside world.

Western 'teachers', many of whom would not be considered teachers elsewhere, teach English in public and private education in China. This book sheds light on their experiences, the effect they have on education and on students' perceptions of 'the West'.

This book explores the responses of Chinese English teachers (CETs) and learners to the Native English-Speaking Teacher/Non-Native English-Speaking Teacher (NEST/NNEST) issue by examining the self-perceptions of Chinese English teachers, the perceptions of Chinese learners, and the real practices of the two groups of teachers in the classroom. It reveals how Chinese students’ and teachers’ perceptions are influenced by the combined forces of Chinese traditional culture and globalization, how Chinese English teachers’ classroom practices reflect their perceptions, and how Chinese English teachers struggle to (re)construct their professional identity as English teachers in the dominant ideology and disempowering discourse of native-speakerism. The findings also shed light on the impacts of globalization on Chinese English teachers’ professional identity and provide ways to empower them as English language teaching professionals. This book will appeal to a broad readership, including foreign-language teachers – especially NNESTs – around the world, graduate students majoring in sociolinguistics, and scholars of globalization.

This book draws on a range of sources, including tales of castaways, fictional narratives, and interviews with teachers in conversation schools and universities in Japan, to explore many current concerns around teacher identity, gender, and intercultural sexuality in global English language teaching.

Economic globalization and advanced communication and transportation technologies have greatly increased interconnectivity and integration of China with the rest of the world. This book explores the impact of globalization on China and the interactions of Chinese education with the globalized world. It consists of twenty chapters which collectively examine how globalization unfolds on the ground in Chinese education through global flows of talents, information, and knowledge. The authors, established and emerging scholars from China and internationally, analyze patterns and trends of China’s engagement with the globalized world as well as tensions between the global and local concerning national education sovereignty and the widening gap between brain gain and brain drain. The book covers a wide range of topics, including: Internationalization of Chinese educationStudent mobility and intercultural adaptationCross-cultural teaching and learningTransnational talent mobility The diverse concepts and perspectives represented in this volume provide rich accounts of the effects of globalization on Chinese education and how globalization has transformed Chinese education and society. China’s successes and challenges will inform international researchers and educators about globalization and education in their own contexts with possible implications for change. “This timely volume opens up fascinating insights into the extensive and growing interconnections between Chinese education and the global community. Concepts such as identity, interculturality, transnationalism and double diaspora are given vivid expression in the experience of Chinese students and scholars in diverse global settings as well as that of international students and teachers in Chinese higher institutions. While there are candid critiques of barriers and prejudices that need to be overcome, there is also a sense of hope and dynamism in the rich outflowing of educational ideas rooted in China’s unique civilization. Editors Shibao Guo and Yan Guo are to be congratulated for bringing together such a remarkable collection of essays dealing with internationalization, student mobility, cross-cultural teaching and learning and transnational talent mobility.” – Ruth Hayhoe, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto