Managing internet buzzwords in Chinese basic education: teachers’ practices and the negotiation of norm visibility

This study adopts Language Management Theory to examine how students’ Internet buzzword practices are noted and managed in basic education settings in mainland China. Drawing on interview data from 26 teachers, it analyses how such practices are noted, evaluated, and responded to within institutional contexts through the coding and interpretation of teachers’ accounts. The analysis identifies increasing diversification in students’ buzzword practices across educational stages, particularly in multilingual and multicultural resources. This diversification is associated with differences in students’ digital literacy, foreign language exposure, and cultural engagement. Teachers’ ability to recognize and interpret these practices varies according to their linguistic repertoires, digital literacy, and personal interests, shaping what is perceived as a notable deviation. Teachers employ various management strategies, including immediate classroom interventions, collegial consultation, and referral to headteachers, illustrating how language management operates across multiple institutional levels. However, such interventions rarely produce sustained change, as similar practices tend to re-emerge. The findings further highlight processes of recontextualization through decontextualized linguistic forms, embodied performances, and multilingual resources. Overall, the study shows that language management in digitally mediated educational contexts involves not only regulating deviation, but also negotiating norm visibility, contributing to language planning research in education.