‘Crazy English’ and individual English learners : an integrationist critique of English education as a business in China

As the country with the largest population learning English as a second language, China undoubtedly holds much interest for researchers in the fi eld of English education and other related areas. Historically, discussions of English in China were intimately related to pivotal refl ections concerning political and cultural policies, especially in the early twentieth century, which have shaped the development of China in the past century. What characterises these policies is the tension between appropriating English and guarding against its capacity to bring about social and cultural transformation. In consequence, as many researchers have noted, the roles and status of the English language represent a barometer of the nation’s modernization (Pye 1985, Ross 1992, Feng 2011).