Language learners as invisible planners: a case study of an Arabic language program in a Chinese university

Despite the predominant position of global English, teaching and learning of languages other than English (LOTEs) are gaining increasing attention in foreign language planning in China. This study aims to showcase the development of an elective Arabic language program in a Chinese university through the lens of agency as a spatial, temporal, and dialogical construct. We investigated how 24 participants representing three groups of actors—people with power, people with expertise, and people with interest—exercised their agency during the five stages of language planning stipulated by the process model of Language Management Theory (i.e. noting, evaluation, adjustment design, implementation, feedback). Drawing on narrative accounts and semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed constant interactions between different actors distributed through the five stages. In particular, we found that the five stages did not proceed in a linear way, and the findings demonstrated the presence of an internal cycle in addition to the external cycle in the micro language planning process. Language learners are invisible planners in the LOTE program. The study concludes that different actors in the local context need to make coordinated efforts to negotiate spaces to sustain the teaching and learning of less commonly taught languages, despite various structural constraints.