Abstract

In light of the increasing prominence of China’s Belt and Road (B&R) Initiatives and China’s soft power projection to its neighboring countries, China's relations with Southeast Asian countries are getting closer. In recent years, a large number of Cambodian students have come to China for higher education. Informed by the theories of linguistic capital and language ideology, the present study aims to study the the macro-social factors mediated in the Cambodian students’ Chinese language learning experiences. For current study, the data was collected from Guizhou Minzu University and Qiannan Normal University for Nationalities through semi-structured interview, questionnaire, online interactions, and the collection of linguistic autobiographies as well as other relevant documents and materials. The findings of the study show that there are four main factors influencing Cambodian students’ higher education in China: (i) political factors: national and governmental policies; (ii) cultural factors: historical influences; (iii) educational factors: influences of schools and communities, parental strategies; (iv) economic factors: employment prospects and tourism. Based on the findings mentioned above, the study suggests that given the rapid increasing number of Cambodian international students in China, it is imperative for Chinese government and universities to consider how to better meet Cambodian international students’ study needs and employment prospects.

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