Dynamic Perceptions in Learning Vietnamese: A Case Study of Vietnamese Majors at a Chinese University

As a key educational hub linking China to Southeast Asia, Yunnan constitutes an important strategic space for cultivating foreign language talents of Southeast Asian languages. Following Duff’s multiscalar approach of theorizing language socialization (2019), this study examines the Vietnamese language learning experiences of Chinese students in Yunnan. By selecting nine participants majoring in Vietnamese for different length of periods, this study reveals a series of challenges confronting Vietnamese majors at micro-, meso- and macro-levels. The study also shows that Chinese students mobilize their linguistic, social and cultural resources to overcome their learning challenges and shape their perceptions towards learning Vietnamese. The findings of the study can contribute to a better understanding of how language learning is mediated in the broader process of the socioeconomic transformations between China and Vietnam.