Section 2 ELT Methods and Approaches in China

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Brainstorming

Can you list some of popular English teaching methods which affect English teaching at home greatly?

I.Introduction of Teaching Methods and Approaches from Abroad

The Grammar-Translation Method came to China first. Other language teaching methods and approaches followed this. These included the Direct Method (before 1949), the Conscious-comparative Method (1950s), the Audiolingual Method (1960s), and the Communicative Approach (1980s).

As in many other areas, the 20th century witnessed English language education in China becoming more closely connected with the outside world. The Chinese government started a new round of curriculum reform as it entered the 21st century. The National Curriculum Standards have therefore become the representative documents for English language education in China.

1.The Grammar-Translation Method

The application of the Grammar-Translation Method in foreign language classrooms in China started at the beginning of the 20th century when the high school curriculum first included foreign languages. The classroom teaching of English in China dates back to as early as in 1862 when the Capital Foreign Language School was set up. As some scholars recalled, translation was a very common method in English language classrooms at the end of the Qing Empire. In other words, the Grammar-Translation Method was then employed by most foreign language teachers.

The Grammar-Translation Method still dominated the English language classrooms in the Republic of China in the period from 1911 to 1949, though some scholars had tried practising and promoting the Direct Method.

After 1949, the dominance of the Grammar-Translation Method continued despite the widely used Conscious-Comparative Method, a teaching method originating in the Soviet Union in line with the Grammar-Translation Method. It was not until the 1980s that changes occurred.

2.The Direct Method

After 1911, many scholars began to promote the Direct Method in China. One of the most prominent figures was Zhang Shiyi. In 1922 he published The Direct Method of Teaching English by Zhonghua Book Company, and he was one of the writers of The Direct Method English Coursebook for Junior middle Schools(1930) , published by Commercial Press. Additionally, he also experimented with the Direct Method in his own teaching, and trained teachers to use the Direct Method. In 1923, China began a new school system, for which the education authority issued curriculum guidelines for each subject in both the elementary and middle schools. The efforts by Zhang Shiyi and other proponents of the Direct Method were rewarded in the curriculum guidelines for foreign language courses.

The guidelines for junior middle schools formulated by Hu Xiansheng, for example, gave clear teaching suggestions with features of the Direct Method(CTMRI, 1999：11) ：

(1) Emphasise repetition so as to achieve perfection.

(2) Avoid translation but use the spoken target language directly.

(3) Encourage students to freely use what they have learned.

(4) Listening and speaking should both be emphasised.

(5) Remind students of grammar at all times so that they can truly learn how to apply it.

(6) Provide guidance on learning strategies at all times.

The curriculum guidelines for senior middle schools drawn up by Zhu Fu also included similar teaching suggestions.

3.Conscious-Comparative Method

The Conscious-Comparative Method was developed in the Soviet Union and most widely used in China in the 1950s, though a reaction against it had already started in the Soviet Union(Kreusler, 1959：163-166).

The following are some of the key features of a Conscious-Comparative class：

●The study of grammar is the main approach in foreign language teaching. Most class hours are therefore spent on explaining, analysing and asking questions about grammatical rules.

●Contrastive Analysis between the native and target language is a vital part of classroom teaching. Translation practice, therefore, is regarded as an important means of strengthening and mastering the language knowledge students have learned.

●The teaching should be designed around reading. Reading is the basis of listening, speaking, and writing practice.

●The order of teaching should progress from the simple to the complicated so as to help students fully understand what they learn. Therefore, the teaching usually starts with words, and then phrases, and at the end the practice of making sentences for repetitive or free use of what has just been learned.

The Conscious-Comparative Method was thus introduced, promoted and implemented widely. As noted above, this method originated in the Grammar-Translation Method and therefore continued the grammar-translation application and influence in the English language classroom in China.

4.The Audiolingual Method

In the 1960s, the Audiolingual Method was practised in some Chinese colleges and middle schools. The main focus when the method was introduced into China in 1964, as Xu notes, was on teaching methodology. People paid little attention to other issues such as learning content or student-centred learning strategies.

Audiolingual influences can also be found in the trial version of the 1978 English teaching guidelines for elementary and middle schools (CTMRI, 1999：120-135) .

5.The Communicative Approach

The Communicative Approach was introduced to China after the country started its reform and opening up to the outside world in 1978.The first teaching guidelines reflecting the assumptions of the approach were those for middle schools and colleges issued in 1986. In the middle school guidelines, the Teaching Principle section clearly noted an emphasis on developing students' ability to use the target language to communicate (ibid, 120-135) .

The Communicative Approach was also evident in the Teaching Guidelines for Junior Middle School in the Nine-Year Compulsory Educational System(1st reviewed version, 1988) . The general goal was defined in it as helping students gain basic knowledge of English language and ability to use the language for communication through listening, speaking, reading and writing practice(ibid, 203). The document was most conspicuous for the inclusion of a list of functional and notional items. In 1992, the authority officially issued the guidelines for trial after years of experiments. The use of these materials gradually helped popularise the ideas of the Communicative Approach among school teachers.

I.Introduction of Teaching Methods and Approaches from Abroad

With the start of the 21st Century, China began to implement a new curriculum system for basic education in order to address the challenges of the new century. The National Curriculum Standards represent current theories of English language education in China. It is therefore worth noting the underlying theories of the National Curriculum Standards： the theories of education, language, and language learning.

1.Theory of education

(1) Holistic education

A holistic view of education underlies the National Curriculum Standards in China in that the National Curriculum Standards emphasise such principles as “considering all students, focusing on quality education”；“emphasising the active nature of students, respecting individual differences”；“providing choices for individual needs”；and “optimizing learning strategies, developing learner autonomy”.

The goals of an English language course are therefore not only to develop the students' comprehensive ability to use the target language, but also to facilitate the students' developments in cognition, affect, attitude, humanity and value. In other words, the National Curriculum Standards emphasise that the development of the students' comprehensive ability to use the language is based on the holistic development of language skills, language knowledge, affect, attitude, learning strategies and cultural awareness.

(2) Lifelong learning

Lifelong learning represents the educational philosophy that learning should take place throughout life.

This is explicitly expressed in the National Curriculum Standards. In the National Curriculum Standards for English in Schools in China(MOE, 2001) , one of the curricular goals is to help students build a good foundation for lifelong learning and development. The essential philosophies listed in National Curriculum Standards for English in Senior Middle Schools (MOE, 2003) include helping students optimize their learning strategies and develop skills in autonomous learning. Also relevant are the curricular goals, which include specific goals concerning learning strategies for different developmental levels. Learning strategies, as is pointed out in the document, are the guarantee of the promotion of learning efficiency and the development of autonomous learning ability.

2.Theory of language

It is evident that the National Curriculum Standards adopt a communicative theory of language. Most noticeably, the general goal of an English language course for basic education is defined as developing the students' comprehensive ability to use language. The National Curriculum Standards particularly note and encourage the application of task-based language teaching, a recent development of Communicative Language Teaching. In addition to a list of functional and notional items, the National Curriculum Standards also include a list of topic items. All these explicitly state the communicative view of language adopted by the National Curriculum Standards.

Below are some of the underlying assumptions about a theory of language in the National Curriculum Standards.

●Language is a system for the expression of meaning.

●The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication.

●The goal of language teaching is to develop the learners' comprehensive ability to use language.

●The ability to use language refers to the ability to do things with language.

●Comprehensive language use involves knowledge of language, language skills, learning strategies, communicative strategies, affect and attitude, and cultural awareness.

●The primary units of language are not only the grammatical and structural features, but also categories of functional and communicative meaning in discourse.

3.Theory of language learning

(1) Principles of language use

The national curriculum sets its general curricular goal as developing the students' comprehensive ability to use the target language.

Task-based language teaching is a development of Communicative Language Teaching with a focus on the process of learning. It therefore has more to say than other forms of CLT about how to achieve the goals of communicative language teaching(Richards & Rodgers, 2001：228-229) ：

●Tasks provide both the input and output processing necessary for language acquisition.

●Task activity and achievement are motivational.

●Learning difficulty can be negotiated and fine-tuned for particular pedagogical purposes.

(2) Principle of inquiry

Besides Communicative Language Teaching, and in particular task-based instruction, the National Curriculum Standards are also informed by other learning theories. Among them is the principle that language discovery and inquiry activities promote language learning. Though not as prominent as the task principle, the principle of inquiry is given some weight in the National Curriculum Standards.

(3) Principle of learner autonomy

The national curriculum standards consider developing the students' skills in autonomous learning as one of its goals in basic education. Learning strategies are therefore emphasised.

Learner autonomy is the learner's taking charge of his/her own learning out of conscious awareness. When the learner applies learning strategies purposefully, he/she is taking up the responsibility to learn. Learning strategies are therefore considered to be related to learner autonomy. The interest in learner autonomy and learning strategies originated in the study of individual learners' differences, especially those displayed by successful learners. It is believed that a learner's skills in autonomous learning and effective use of learning strategies contribute to the overall success of language learning. The National Curriculum Standards therefore emphasises that “learning strategies are the guarantee of the promotion of learning efficiency and the development of autonomous learning ability”.

【Practical Analysis】

Discuss how the following activity in a senior middle school course book applies the theories of education, of language, and of language learning that underlie the National Curriculum Standards.

Practicing

【Questions】

Please answer the following questions, give reasons for your opinions, and compare your answers with your opinions before reading this section.

1.What is the problem with Mr N's complaints that the course book does not explain much about grammar, does not have enough grammar exercises, and has too many activities?

2.Consider the style of a teacher you know. Do you think his/her teaching is in line with the National Curriculum Standards? Please give reasons and examples.

III. Chapter Summary

The Grammar-Translation Method was brought into China when the country began foreign language teaching in schools in the early 20th century. It remained dominant in the classroom in the Republic of China period(1911-1949) , though the Direct Method was introduced and promoted by the education authority. In the 1950s, China brought in and widely applied the Conscious-Comparative Method from the Soviet Union. The Conscious-Comparative Method continued a grammar-translation influence as it was a Soviet development of the Grammar-Translation Method. In the 1960s and 1980s respectively, the Audiolingual Method and the Communicative Approach were introduced into the country. However, it was not until the introduction of communicative course books in the early 1990s that the Communicative Approach was widely implemented in the English language classrooms in elementary and middle schools in China.

Assumptions about English language education in China underlie the teaching guidelines and curriculum standards of different periods of time. At the start of the 21st century, the authorities issued the National Curriculum Standards, representing current understandings of English language education in China. Their underlying theories of holistic education, lifelong learning, and communicative views of language and language learning are thus popularised with the implementation of the new curriculum.