资源描述:
《A Brief History of English Language Teaching in China》由会员上传分享,免费在线阅读,更多相关内容在教育资源-天天文库。
1、ABriefHistoryofEnglishLanguageTeachinginChinaJosephBoyleAmongthemanydifferentaspectsofChinawhichhavefascinatedtheWestarethesheersizeofitspopulation,itsremoteandmysteriousculture,andtheintricatedifficultyofitslanguage.Equally,theWesthasalwaysintriguedChina,withitstech
2、nologicaladvancementdespiteits"barbarity",itsculturaldiversitywithinasmallspace,andthewayinwhichoneofitslanguages-English-hasmanagedtobecomethelinguafrancaoftheworld.ChinaoriginallyfeltnoneedoftheWest,infactdeliberatelyavoidedallcontact,forfearofculturalcontamination.
3、ThebombingoftheChineseembassyduringtheKosovowarwasaterriblesetbackinrelationswhichhadbeensteadilyimproving.However,despitethis,partlybecauseofitsdesiretojointheWorldTradeOrganisation(WTO),ChinahaswelcomedandlistenedpolitelytoleadersofWesterncountriesastheygavetheirv
4、iewsondemocracyandhumanrights.ThelanguageinwhichPresidentClintonspoke,duringhisvisittoChina,wasofcourseEnglish.PresidentJiangZeminmadehisrepliesinChinese.Buteachwasbackedupbyateamoffirst-classinterpreters,whomadesmoothcommunicationpossible.Formaltrainingininterpretatio
5、niscomparativelyrecentinChina.Itwasonlyin1978thatthefirstprogrammeforTranslatorsandInterpretersstartedattheBeijingForeignLanguageInstitute.TheprogrammesubsequentlydevelopedintotheprestigiousschooloftranslationintheBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity.ThelearningofEnglish
6、inChina,however,hasalongerhistoryandnowoccupiestheattentionofmillionsofitspeople.Howmanymillionishardtosay,sincemuchdependsonthelevelofproficiencyonetakesasthenorm(Crystal,1985).ButthereareprobablyintheregionofthreehundredmillionactivelyengagedinthejoboflearningEnglish
7、.China'sreasonsforlearningEnglishwerewellsummeduptwentyyearsagobyateamfromtheU.S.InternationalCommunicationAgencyaftervisitingfivecitiesandmanyeducationalinstitutionsinChina:"TheChineseviewEnglishprimarilyasanecessarytoolwhichcanfacilitateaccesstomodemscientificandtec
8、hnologicaladvances,andsecondarilyasavehicletopromotecommerceandunderstandingbetweenthePeople'sRepublicofChinaandcou