Rise of Chinese as a Global Language

Jeffrey Gil is a Senior Lecturer in ESOL/TESOL at Flinders University, Australia. He has also taught at universities in China. Jeffrey has published widely on applied linguistics topics and is the author of Soft Power and the Worldwide Promotion of Chinese Language Learning: The Confucius Institute Project (2017).

“This book will be valuable for learners … of Chinese. Its logical and readable introduction to the language and its historical development provides a solid foundation for understanding macroacquisition, and for comparing Chinese and English language trajectories. For readers already familiar with Chinese, Gil’s book presents a relatively objective sociopolitical discussion of Chinese on the international stage. Overall, then, the author illuminates macroacquisition, offers practical insights into Chinese-language education, and inspires readers to question current strategies and their possible implications.” (Yin Shihui, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, June 11, 2023)

• Chapter 1 – Introduction: English and Chinese in Today’s Multilingual World.- Chapter 2 – Language Comprehensive Competitiveness: A Conceptual Framework for Investigating the Macroacquisition of Chinese.- Chapter 3 – The Language Comprehensive Competitiveness of Chinese: The Objective Perspective.- Chapter 4 – The Language Comprehensive Competitiveness of Chinese: The Subjective Perspective.- Chapter 5 – A Language Comprehensive Competitiveness Profile of Chinese.- Chapter 6: The Character-Based Writing System: An Obstacle to Becoming a Global Language or Not?.- Chapter 7 – English and Chinese in Tomorrow’s Multilingual World: Continuation, Co-existence or Replacement?.- Chapter 8 – Conclusion.