Interactional straining and the neoliberal self: Learning English in the biggest English corner in China


Gao, S ORCID: 0000-0003-3968-3075 (2016) Interactional straining and the neoliberal self: Learning English in the biggest English corner in China. Language in Society, 45 (03). pp. 397-421.

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Abstract

This article proposes the term interactional straining for the strategic manipulation of interaction as grounded in neoliberal governmentality. The interactional practice was observed among adult English learners in Yangshuo, which, through mobilizing English-speaking foreigners and commodifying English, has been attracting Chinese nationals seeking to improve their English, the gate-keeping language in global workplaces in China. Based on ethnographic observations and interviews, it is shown that what appears to be naturally occurring interactions with foreigners actually involves reflexive thinking at the backstage (Goffman 1959), which is aimed at the strategic manipulation of interactional contents and/or structure so as to establish oneself as (pass for) a legitimate interlocutor. This study shows that interaction constitutes a key site where the contradictions and tensions of neoliberalism are lived out. It also argues that as reflexivity becomes a key morality under neoliberal globalization, metadiscourses provide important insights for our critique of neoliberalism. (English, language ideology, interaction, neoliberalism, work, globalization, China)*

Item Type: Article
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 09 Oct 2020 15:19
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 00:06
DOI: 10.1017/S0047404516000075
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404516000075
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3072458

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