Examining Burmese students’ multilingual practices and identity positionings at a border high school in China

Li, Jia; Ai, Bin; Xu, Cora Lingling

Abstract

This study explores a cohort of Burmese students’ lived experiences at a border high school in China and demonstrates that their multilingual practices and identity positionings constitute exclusionary effects that limit their interactions with their local Chinese teachers and peers. The paper argues that these Burmese students’ in-group interactions reproduce the process of exclusion, further complicating their identity positionings. This paper confirms the established fact that transnational students are marginalized in a variety of national contexts in complex ways, and draws attention to in-group differences among transnational students with diverse backgrounds. These findings have implications for multilingual practices and education policy makers, and for a more inclusive pedagogical approach to reducing marginalization and educating students of diverse linguistic, cultural, and racial backgrounds for global citizenship.

Citation

Li, J., Ai, B., & Xu, C. L. (2022). Examining Burmese students’ multilingual practices and identity positionings at a border high school in China. Ethnicities, 22(2), 233-252. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968211018881

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 31, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 3, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 4, 2021
• Journal: Ethnicities
• Print ISSN: 1468-7968
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-2706
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 233-252
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968211018881
• Keywords: Burmese students, border high school, in-group interactions, multilingual practices, identity positionings
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1248970