The evolution of teacher education in China: a perspective of intercultural pragmatics

Linguistic symbols serve as crucial markers in historical transitions. In examining the development of teacher education in China, intercultural pragmatics offers an interdisciplinary lens that deepens our understanding of the system’s evolving characteristics across various stages. While most previous studies have taken a vertical approach, dividing the history of teacher education into distinct periods, this paper adopts the theoretical framework of intercultural pragmatics and utilises instances of everyday communication with misunderstandings as research material to demonstrate the following: (1) shifan, the foundation of teacher education in China, is a product co-constructed through intercultural communication among different linguistic and cultural groups; (2) the shift from shifan to teacher education reflects China’s efforts to align with international trends; and (3) the provincialism of shifan as a culturally resilient term within domestic Chinese contexts. These linguistic shifts illustrate both the intersection and integration of China’s teacher education system with global influences and highlight the evolving needs and cultural characteristics of China’s teacher education across different historical periods.