The Scholarship Interview: Code-Switching Under Pressure
Lin Wei is a Year 12 background-speaker student applying for a university scholarship. The interview panel includes one native Putonghua speaker from Beijing and one non-native speaker who learned Chinese in Australia. Lin Wei grew up speaking Mandarin at home but has always used English for academic discussions. In the interview, Lin Wei must answer: 'How would you promote intercultural understanding at our university?' Lin Wei begins in English, then switches to Mandarin when discussing family expectations, but uses English terms like 'critical thinking' and 'extracurricular'. The panel asks a follow-up: 'Can you explain your idea about peer mentoring in Mandarin, without using English words?' Lin Wei hesitates, then says: '我觉得可以安排一个buddy system，让本地学生和国际学生互相帮助。' The panel exchanges glances.
1. Analyse why Lin Wei's response to the follow-up may be judged as less effective for this specific interview context. Refer to at least two features of spoken Putonghua and one intercultural consideration.
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Lin Wei's response is less effective for three reasons. First, the panel explicitly requested no English words, but Lin Wei uses 'buddy system'-a direct borrowing. In spoken Putonghua, using an English compound noun mid-sentence disrupts the phonological flow and signals a lexical gap, especially when a standard Putonghua equivalent exists (e.g., 互助小组 or 伙伴制度). Second, the hesitation and code-switch may be perceived as a lack of register control: the interview requires formal, planned spoken language, but Lin Wei's response is conversational and informal. Features such as sentence-final particles (e.g., 吧, 呢) and informal fillers are absent, but the borrowing itself is a marker of informal spoken style. Third, intercultural consideration: the panel includes a non-native speaker who may not understand 'buddy system' in context, and a native speaker who may view the borrowing as a sign that Lin Wei cannot fully express academic concepts in Putonghua. In a scholarship interview that values intercultural mediation, the candidate should demonstrate the ability to explain concepts in both languages without relying on English. Thus, the response fails to meet the explicit task demand and undermines the candidate's claimed intercultural competence.
2. Suggest a revised Mandarin response that avoids English words and better fits the formal interview register. Explain your choices.
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A revised response could be: '我认为可以设立一个互助小组，让本地学生和国际学生定期交流，互相学习对方的文化和语言。这样既能帮助国际学生适应校园生活，也能让本地学生了解不同文化。' This avoids English borrowings by using 互助小组 for 'buddy system'. It uses formal lexical items (设立, 定期, 适应) and complete sentences without fillers, matching the interview register. The structure is explicit: a proposal, a mechanism, and a benefit. Interculturally, it frames the idea as mutual learning rather than one-way help, which aligns with the university's goal of intercultural understanding. The response also avoids the informal 'buddy' metaphor, which may be unclear to the Beijing panel member in a formal context. By providing a concrete mechanism (定期交流) and a dual benefit, the candidate demonstrates the ability to articulate a concept in Putonghua without code-switching, which is exactly what the panel asked for.