Chapter 19. Learning Careers and Enculturation: Production of Scientific Papers by PhD Students in a Mexican Physiology Laboratory: An Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

English is taught in every school throughout the People's Republic of China (PRC).It is estimated that there are more teachers of English in China than in the United States, and that by year 2016, China will have the largest English speaking population in the world.While English learning is widespread in China, indigenous English language teacher's perceptions regarding the teaching of English writing have led us to believe that English, although popular, may be seen as a tool meant for limited functional mimetic use rather than as a vehicle for enabling full fledged empowered bilingual communicative competence in a globalized world.We found a heavy focus on linguistically controlled language instruction rather than literacy instruction embedded in the humanities complemented by socially complex pragmatics.That focus, plus a lack of teacher preparation and a test-driven orientation may contribute to English writing instruction that pales in comparison to Chinese writing instruction.It is possible that the two forms of instruction differ to the point that Chinese students fail to transfer strategies from one to another and that the difference contributes to poor national scores on tests of writing in English and positions them as mere linguistic manipulators rather than as biliterate bilinguals.

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