Language Choice and the Dilemma of Identity: Chinese First Language Academics in a TNE Environment

The 2000s have seen the rapid growth of Transnational Education (TNE). TNE is usually associated with the exporting of English speaking education and educational models. China has been at the forefront of this growth. This has resulted in many Chinese first language speaking academics being attracted to work in ‘international’ university settings. Such academic staff have typically been educated in and worked within an English speaking country. TNE has provided them with an opportunity to return and work in their home country but in an educational environment that is more familiar to them. English is usually the academic lingua franca in TNE environments, meaning that Chinese first language speakers often have to communicate with each other in a language that is not their own. This has created a language dilemma as well as an identity dilemma as Chinese first language speakers grapple with who they are. Language can be the catalyst for this dilemma. Whilst English may be the requirement for the workplace, there are growing instances of Chinese first language speakers continuing to use English with other similar Chinese first language speakers outside of the university. English has a unique role in China, playing an important role in negotiating identities, investment, and access to ‘imagined communities’. Drawing on a sociocultural concept of identity this chapter, which is part of a wider study, discusses how identity is fluid, multifaceted and complex, and the role that language plays in its construction. It hypothesizes how identities are constructed and how this influences language choice in the workplace and outside of the university environment. We conclude by suggesting that investing time in learning (that) language is an investment in their own identity as people and academics.