1 Introduction

Foreign language disciplines play a significant role in the socialist construction of New China, with knowledge innovation and production rooted in practice. The 2024 "Basic Requirements" lists "Foreign Language Education" as a secondary discipline under "Foreign Language and Literature," reflecting historical development and contemporary needs. Scholars like Wang Wenbin and Li Min have proposed frameworks for this discipline and organized academic activities. As a newly established discipline faces numerous tasks, this paper explores the issue of the mother tongue in foreign language education to promote disciplinary development.

2 Philosophical Interpretation of the Mother Tongue as the Foundation of Foreign Language Education

This section discusses the importance of the mother tongue in foreign language education, emphasizing that language is not only the linguistic foundation but also involves philosophical issues. Philosophers such as Chomsky, Halliday, Lakoff, and Johnson have explored language at a philosophical level. As a medium for perceiving and understanding the world, language influences our thinking patterns and cognitive frameworks, touching on fundamental philosophical questions about the relationship between language, the world, and thought. Wittgenstein, Marx, Engels, and Heidegger, among others, have highlighted how language constrains worldviews and cognitive boundaries, as well as the inseparability of language and thought. Heidegger even regarded language as a mode of human existence. Confucius' discussions on "name-reality" and "speech-meaning" relationships also involve the connection between language, the world, and thought. The mother tongue helps us abstract concrete objects into concepts and construct knowledge systems. National consciousness and ethnic identity are fundamentally rooted in mother tongue culture, though language also includes foreign languages. Foreign language education exposes us to different ways of thinking, values, and cultural traditions, exploring the cultural diversity of the world. The starting point of foreign language education is language education rather than general pedagogy. The mother tongue and its culture are essential foundations and integral components of the knowledge system in foreign language education.

3 The Specificity of Foreign Language Education in China

This section examines the specificity of foreign language education in China, emphasizing that foreign language education must consider China's unique political, historical, and cultural context. Foreign language education is deeply intertwined with the Chinese context, aiming to address current and future challenges in China, reflecting the reality and future of "China-oriented" foreign language education. It integrates overarching disciplinary directions and the educational consciousness of secondary disciplines, serving as a guiding thread within the foreign language and literature discipline system. Mother tongue literacy plays a crucial role in foreign language education, as mother tongue culture forms the cultural and ideological foundation for telling China's stories well. Foreign language education should take the mother tongue and its culture as foundational references to explore theoretical, methodological, and practical innovations in teaching. Mother tongue literacy is a profound competency in foreign language education, and language proficiency should be a key driver in developing students' foreign language abilities, educational capabilities, and research skills.

4 The Absence of Mother Tongue Language and Culture in the Foundational Logic of Foreign Language Education

This section addresses the issue of the absence of mother tongue language and culture in China's foreign language education. It points out that foreign language education has long suffered from directional problems, neglecting the cultivation of students' Chinese language and cultural abilities, leading to misunderstandings about English majors. Historically, English major education focused on training basic-skills-oriented foreign language professionals, a trend that persisted for nearly half a century. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, two documents issued by the Ministry of Education began addressing the issue of single-language-skill training for foreign language professionals, advocating for a shift toward broad-based, applied, and interdisciplinary talent development while emphasizing the importance of mother tongue proficiency. However, in practice, most foreign language programs in universities still exhibit a lack of mother tongue culture in their curricula. This phenomenon has led to criticism from both academia and society, with few outstanding talents emerging from foreign language programs. In the era of rapid advancements in intelligent technology, foreign language education remains confined to teaching languages as communication tools, failing to recognize the unity of language's humanistic and scientific dimensions, as well as its instrumental and value-laden aspects. There is a need to cultivate foreign language professionals in the new era by positioning language as a carrier of knowledge, data, and values.

5 Mother Tongue Literacy and Literary-Cultural Cultivation in Foreign Language Education Goals and Competency Elements

This section discusses the importance of mother tongue literacy and literary-cultural cultivation in the goals and competency elements of foreign language education. With the evolution of the times, the objectives of foreign language education have shifted from a focus on language skills and knowledge to competency-based and value-based approaches, emphasizing the cultivation of high-level abilities such as bilingual proficiency, cross-cultural communication, international dissemination, and digital language skills. Although the foundational role of mother tongue literacy and competency in foreign language education remains marginalized, mother tongue language and cultural literacy are crucial for fostering these abilities. The mother tongue acts as a catalyst for foreign language development, with mother tongue proficiency significantly influencing the entire foreign language education process. The construction of the knowledge system in foreign language education should prioritize mother tongue literacy, cultural refinement, and literary cultivation, which stem from experience and thought and are related to the developmental experiences and patterns of foreign language abilities. The goal systems and competency structures in foreign language education paradigms should explicitly include mother tongue proficiency and literacy as fundamental requirements. Mother tongue cultivation encompasses both basic and advanced competencies, involving comprehensive mastery of the mother tongue, deep understanding and respect for cultural traditions, and the integrated expression of cross-cultural communication abilities. Mother tongue literary cultivation is transferable to foreign language education, contributing to the promotion of national cultural traditions and values while enhancing ethnic identity and cultural confidence. Mother tongue cultivation is a key pathway for transforming foreign language teaching into foreign language education.

6 Conclusion

This section underscores the close connection between mother tongue proficiency and foreign language learning ability, highlighting the importance of mother tongue cultural cultivation and application skills in foreign language learning. It explores how foreign language education can achieve theoretical and practical innovation within the Chinese context and how the mother tongue can play a foundational role in foreign language education. The paper proposes viewing the foreign language education process as one that uses the mother tongue as a reference system, with mother tongue reading and writing skills as prerequisites for developing students' foreign language abilities, educational competencies, and cross-cultural communication skills. It emphasizes the need for foreign language education to address the absence of mother tongue education and to elevate the status of the mother tongue in the goal systems and competency structures of foreign language education. The paper notes that foreign language education has become a primary training direction and research field for master's and doctoral students in foreign language and literature. It also discusses how China's foreign language education must distinguish itself from Western theories, drawing on advanced methods while integrating national conditions to construct an autonomous knowledge system.