while it is impossible to reform the educational system in China immediately, it is still possible for teachers to enhance their impact on students’ learning and teaching. 1.1.4 research In July 2009, I travelled back to China to do data collection for my second masters (TESOL with translation studies, ‘TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages’) dissertation research work that focused on communicative language teaching (CLT) approaches in Chinese secondary schools’ English classes. I visited two different classrooms and interviewed three teachers. From my research, I found that these teachers held a very positive attitude towards the CLT approach and expressed their willingness and desire to change the traditional approach to teaching in their own language classrooms. Although it is difficult to implement the CLT approach in secondary schools, the teachers interviewed did not reject this approach entirely and they often tried to apply it in their teaching. Amongst the responses from some of the teachers, they felt that any communicative activity design should be fresh and creative and be based on students’ interests (Kong, 2009). The outcome of my dissertation suggested that, although some teachers would like to implement CLT practises, they still face many systemic constraints, the examination system, the traditional role of teachers and students, the negative motivation to learning and the existence of many schools in underdeveloped rural areas (Kong, 2009). 1.1.5 Teacher education in China Teacher education constitutes an important part of the education system in China. The country has in place a teacher education system that is designed to meets the needs of basic education education of different types and at different levels. Basically, teacher education consists of two pathways namely preservice and in-service teacher education. There are different educational institutions that provide teacher education in China. These include universities and colleges. However, it must be observed that in China majoring in teacher education is not a necessary condition for becoming a teacher. In normal universitiesteacher education programmes are provided. However, students who study in other multi-disciplinary universities and who do not major in education may also become school teachers (Yu, 2013). So if students have a degree they can become teachers and access in-service teacher training while on the job. In the case of English teachers, graduates of English language can do a
Reflective practice Building good relationships with students 5. What opportunities exist for teachers to develop professionally in schools? CPD in schools In-service training opportunities Use of competitions for teachers Organised visits to English speaking countries 6. From the teachers’ perspective, what role does self-directed professional development play in the teaching of the English language? Self-directed professional development Teacher engagement with inservice-training Setting of own professional development Teachers’ willingness to manage constraints Teachers taking responsibility. 5.8 A summary of data about the three schools The three schools in my study presented some similarities as well as differences in the way they organized and implemented the teaching and learning of English language. The table 5 below summary the main features of each participating school. Table 5: Information about the schools School A B C Type of school Private school; established in 1995; Comprehensive school Public school; established in 1954; Comprehensive school Public school; established in 2000; Comprehensive school Average class size 40-50 students/class 40-50 students/class 40-50 students/class Teacher experience All three teachers had more than 10 years teaching experience ranging between 12 and 22 years Teacher experience ranged between 15 to 20 years Work experience for the three teachers ranged between less than 1 to 5 years Teaching methods Communicative Language Teaching; Traditional Grammatical approach Task Learning Guidance Case Study Preparing and design of lessons Standard lesson structure used. Planning done collaboratively. Standard lesson structure. Collaborative Standard lesson structure. Collaborative
understand and help them to develop relevant language skills. All teachers in my research indicated that the new course book helped them to teach their course effectively and agreed that students’ learning skills had improved after using the course book. Negative views about the current course book focused on the following issues: Complicated vocabulary used in the books; The complexity of the listening activities does not always match the students’ level of study; The organisation of the contents is not in a logical sequence. Most of the teachers, eight out of nine, complained that the current course book contains many difficult words for the students. While it can be appreciated that students have an opportunity to expand their vocabulary, on the one hand, teachers felt that it was too much hard work for the students to learn all the complex words over a short period of time. In some cases, teachers indicated that they also found that some of the words used in the book were not familiar to the teachers themselves. The other problem cited by teachers was the mismatch between the complexity of the learning activities with students’ level of study. For example, it was observed that in some cases the listening activities for level 2 students were easier than those of level 1 students. Teachers indicated that the speed of listening activities was faster for level 1 students compared to level 2 students which defied the logical sequence of progression in students’ learning. There was also a feeling that the way the activities were organised could be improved. Significant for me also was the meaning of the ELT curriculum content to the teachers in my study. Although in some cases teachers made use of their own created resources, when asked to comment on the ELT curriculum content, all the teachers thought about the content of the ELT curriculum in terms of the course book only. I felt that this was rather limited way of thinking about the ELT curriculum, however, in practice, they actually make use of other sources to supplement the content from the textbook. 6.3 The design and implementation of the lesson plan My study found that the way teachers design and deliver the lesson plan is very important in the learning and teaching of English language. In general, teachers plan their lessons both collaboratively and individually. Each school identified a convenient time for the teachers to come together to plan the lessons and after that, individual teachers then selected relevant
This research makes explicit that China is a country in the process of development when it comes to the teaching and learning of English language. Before I started my research, I thought that English teachers in China still focused on grammar and examinations. However, after the interviews and lesson observations, I found that the situation had undergone some significant changes. Most of the teachers expressed the desire to help students improve their communication skills. They realized that language learning is for communication and not only for passing examinations. For these teachers, all of the language tests and training should be undertaken with the goal of helping students to develop communication skills. Therefore, they try to apply more appropriate materials and think carefully about their lesson plans, trying to adopt new teaching approaches. This is done with a view to creating more opportunities for students to speak and encourage them to speak. I was pleased to see this change and hope to disseminate beyond China the current situation of teaching and learning of English in China. Furthermore, the schools are clearly providing opportunities for teachers to further develop their professional skills through various initiatives such as going to English speaking countries to study, having open classes, organising the teachers’ discussion groups and teaching competitions. Most of the teachers are very willing to attend all of these different kinds of activities, so it is important to create more opportunities for change to help them to improve themselves. I believe that, if more teachers have this ideology and pursue the improvement of English language speaking ability, in the longer term English language learning will experience a massive change in China. In addition, as argued in chapter 2, although considerable research has been conducted in the field of ELT in China, most of the studies sought to identify the existing problems rather than describe and explore the situation through accessing the voices of teachers in their working contexts. My study engages teachers in sharing their experiences regarding different aspects of English language learning. In addition, the study findings are contextually rooted. This is a valuable addition to literature on the teaching and learning of English language in Chinese secondary schools. It was difficult to find literature that discusses about the perspectives of Chinese teachers on various aspects of English language teaching and learning; hence, this study makes a significant contribution. The concept of teacher autonomy which has been addressed in this research is also a relatively new concept and so researchers in this field might find it an interesting and useful addition to the field. There exist conflicting views on the role of teacher autonomy in language learning, but this study helps to confirm the case for
Examination is the main motivation. I would like to say 80% of the students are motivated to learn because they want to pass examinations and access a place at a good high school. Do you think that motivation has the positive or negative influence on the learning English? Examination has both a negative and a positive impact on the learning and teaching of English language. On the one hand, for students who are willing to study, the examination is good for them, it helps them to be guided in their study and to aim to achieve high marks, which enables them to learn the language very well. Are there any opportunities for professional development in your school? As an English teacher, are many opportunities to develop professionally, for example: further studies, theory learning, and practical training. The main way for us is to attend seminars, public classes and specific training programs. How do you engage in these training of professional development? Since I started teaching, I gradually realized that I lacked experience and was limited in my English speaking capacity. Therefore, I decided to continue to improve my English speaking skills. Now I am learning from my colleagues and from books. Do you think that responsibility is important for a teacher? Responsibility is an important factor in our teaching life. A responsible teacher pays attention to students' lifelong development. Why do I set so many conversations in pair work and group work? This is because if I focus on examinations only I will not help students to develop fully in their learning of the English language. Teachers are like farmers and students