A Brief History of English Language Teaching in China

《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。

ABriefHistoryofEnglishLanguageTeachinginChinaJosephBoyleAmongthemanydifferentaspectsofChinawhichhavefascinatedtheWestarethesheersizeofitspopulation,itsremoteandmysteriousculture,andtheintricatedifficultyofitslanguage.Equally,theWesthasalwaysintriguedChina,withitstechnologicaladvancementdespiteits"barbarity",itsculturaldiversitywithinasmallspace,andthewayinwhichoneofitslanguages-English-hasmanagedtobecomethelinguafrancaoftheworld.ChinaoriginallyfeltnoneedoftheWest,infactdeliberatelyavoidedallcontact,forfearofculturalcontamination.ThebombingoftheChineseembassyduringtheKosovowarwasaterriblesetbackinrelationswhichhadbeensteadilyimproving.However,despitethis,partlybecauseofitsdesiretojointheWorldTradeOrganisation(WTO),ChinahaswelcomedandlistenedpolitelytoleadersofWesterncountriesastheygavetheirviewsondemocracyandhumanrights.ThelanguageinwhichPresidentClintonspoke,duringhisvisittoChina,wasofcourseEnglish.PresidentJiangZeminmadehisrepliesinChinese.Buteachwasbackedupbyateamoffirst-classinterpreters,whomadesmoothcommunicationpossible.FormaltrainingininterpretationiscomparativelyrecentinChina.Itwasonlyin1978thatthefirstprogrammeforTranslatorsandInterpretersstartedattheBeijingForeignLanguageInstitute.TheprogrammesubsequentlydevelopedintotheprestigiousschooloftranslationintheBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity.ThelearningofEnglishinChina,however,hasalongerhistoryandnowoccupiestheattentionofmillionsofitspeople.Howmanymillionishardtosay,sincemuchdependsonthelevelofproficiencyonetakesasthenorm(Crystal,1985).ButthereareprobablyintheregionofthreehundredmillionactivelyengagedinthejoboflearningEnglish.China'sreasonsforlearningEnglishwerewellsummeduptwentyyearsagobyateamfromtheU.S.InternationalCommunicationAgencyaftervisitingfivecitiesandmanyeducationalinstitutionsinChina:"TheChineseviewEnglishprimarilyasanecessarytoolwhichcanfacilitateaccesstomodemscientificandtechnologicaladvances,andsecondarilyasavehicletopromotecommerceandunderstandingbetweenthePeople'sRepublicofChinaandcountrieswhereEnglishisamajorlanguage"(Cowanetal.,1979).Thisbasicmotivationhasnotchanged,ascanbeseenfromtheReportoftheEnglish2000ConferenceinBeijing,sponsoredjointlybytheBritishCouncilandtheStateEducationCommissionofthePeople'sRepublicofChina,inwhichreasonsforthelearningofEnglishbyChineseweresummarised:"TheylearnEnglishbecauseitisthelanguageofscience,specificallyperhapsofthemajorityofresearchjournals.Theylearnitbecauseitistheneutrallanguageofcommerce,thestandardcurrencyofinternationaltravelandcommunication.TheylearnitbecauseyoufindmoresoftwareinEnglishthaninallotherlanguagesputtogether"(Bowers,1996:3).ThestoryofEnglishlanguagelearningisnotuniformthroughoutChina.Maley(1995:7)warnsanyoneembarkingona studyofcontemporaryChinaaboutthedifficultyof"makingsensiblegeneralisationsaboutit,sinceChinaisnotoneplacegeographically,butmany".ThelearningofEnglishinthemountainousprovincesnearTibetisverydifferentfromthewayitisstudiedinthecitiesofNanjing,ShanghaiorBeijing.Nevertheless,therearesufficientgeneralcharacteristicsaboutthehistoryofthelearningofEnglishindifferentpartsofChinatojustifyabriefreview,ifonlytoremindusofthependulumswingsofChina'shistorythiscentury.ThosewhowishtofindthestorymorefullytoldmayconsultDzau(1990)andCortazziandJin(1996).AlthoughthereismentionofEnglishlanguageteaching(ELT)inChinainthemidnineteenthcenturyduringtheChingDynasty,itfirstfiguredinthesyllabusofschoolsin1902in"HisMajesty'sTeachingStandardsforPrimaryandSecondaryInstitutions".InthoseearlydaysthemodelforeducationinChinawasthatofJapan.ThemethodofELTwastraditional,withemphasisonreadingandtranslation.Therewasmuchgrammarandvocabularylearning,withpronunciationlearnedbyimitationandrepetition.Thiswasthenormforaboutthefirsttwentyyearsofthecentury.In1922therewasachangeofdirection,withaswingawayfromtheJapanesesystemofeducation,andtowardsmoreWesternmodels.Schoolswereobligedtofollowthe"OutlinesforSchoolSyllabusesoftheNewTeachingSystem".Theseputmoreemphasisonlisteningandspeakingskills.Therewasmoreuseofthetargetlanguageandofthenewteachingresourcesofferedbythemassmedia.ThebestschoolstendedtobeChristianmissionaryschools,whichgavemoreclass-hourstoEnglishthanotherschools.1949wasacrucialdateinthehistoryofChina-thefoundingofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.Educationhadnowtoservetheproletarianpurpose.Alltextbooksbecamevehiclesforgovernmentpropaganda,loadedwithmessagesofservicetothepeopleandthemotherland.TheMinistryofEducationissuedanew"SchemeforEnglishInstructioninSecondarySchools"inwhichthegoalofEnglishlanguagelearningwasclearlystatedasbeingtoservetheNewRepublic.Allcapitalistthinking,especiallyeducationalideasfromtheUnitedStatesandBritain,werecondemnedasunpatriotic.TheplaceofEnglishwastakeninschoolsyllabusesbyRussianandby1954RussianhadbecometheonlyforeignlanguagetaughtinChineseschools.Thisphasedidnotlastlong,however,sinceChinawasalreadytryingtoextendhermarketsthroughouttheworldandimmediatelyfeltitslackofEnglish.Accordingly,in1955theMinistryofEducationannouncedthat-Englishteachingshouldberestartedinsecondaryschools.Inbigcities,likeShanghai,itwasalsoreintroducedatprimarylevel.InitiallythetextbookswerebasedontheformerRussianmodels,which,liketheirJapanesepredecessors,wereverytraditional.Methodologytoowasbackward:theteacherwasseenastheproviderofknowledgeandthestudentsdutifullyassimilatedtheteacher'swordsofwisdom,workingtheirwayploddinglythroughthetextbook.However,inthelate1950sandearly1960s,aminorrevolutionineducationtookplaceinChina,astheneedtoopenuptotheinternationalscenebecamemoreurgent.TheimportanceofEnglishwasacceptedandasignificantstepwastakenin1962whenEnglishbecamepartoftheentranceexaminationforcollegesanduniversities.Newteachingmaterialsappeared,withlisteningand speakingagaingivenprominence.TheMinistryofEducationissuedguidelinesfortextbookwriters,recommendingthatEnglishtextbooksshouldincludematerialonthecultureoftheEnglishspeakingcountries.ItbegantolookasthoughbetterdayshadcomeforELTinChina(Price,1971).Butitwasnottobe.Withdistressinginevitability.TheChinesependulumswung,andtheprogressmadeintheearly1960swassweptasidebytheCulturalRevolution,whichbeganin1966andlastedfortendreadfulyears.Englishwas.againbannedfromschools.Foreignlanguageteacherswerebrandedasspies.Someuniversitieswereclosed,othersweresubjectedtore-educationvisits.Dow(1975:254)describesthesituationthus:"DuringtheCulturalRevolution,whenworkers'propagandateamsforthespreadingofMaoTse-Tung'sthoughtscametoChina'scolleges,classeswerestoppedaltogether,andthestudentstravelledinsteadalloverthecountryinordertotakepartincriticismanddebateandtoexchangerevolutionaryexperiences".By1977theCulturalRevolutionhadexhausteditselfandthecountrywithit.ThereisanoldYorkshiresaying:"There'snowtlikereligionwhenit'sbent".ThosewholivedthroughtheCulturalRevolutioninChinawouldchallengethatsaying,maintainingthatdistortedpoliticalideologycanbemuchworsethanbentreligion.However,happiertimeswereaheadforChinaandforELTinChina.In1978theMinistryofEducationheldanimportantconferenceonforeignlanguageteaching.Englishwasgivenprominenceagaininschools,onaparwithChineseandMaths.Bytheearly1980sithadbeenrestoredasacompulsorysubjectinthecollegeentranceexam.Ithasnotlookedbacksincethen(Kang,1999)andthefervourforlearningEnglishhasbeenfannedbyTeachYourselfEnglishprogrammesontelevision,watchedbyhundredsofmillionsofpeople.AsChinaopenedupmoreandChinesescholarswereallowedabroad,theneedforbothsocialandacademicEnglishbecameapparent.Asmarketsalsoopenedupandmoreforeignerswereallowedintothecountrytodobusiness,theappetiteforBusinessEnglishamongalllevelsofChinesepeoplehasbecomeinsatiable.TheChineseareadiligentandintelligentraceandaresurelydestinedtomakeasignificantmarkonthehistoryofthetwenty-firstcentury.Onapersonalnote,oneofmyfirstELTjobs,in1979,wasteachingasmallgroupofexcellentChinesestudentsonanintensivesummercourseinEngland.TheywerethepickoftheChinesecrop-scholarswhohadsufferedundertheCulturalRevolution,butwhowerenowbeinggiventhechanceofgraduatestudiesinBritishuniversities.Ihaveneverhadkeener,morehard-workingstudents,andteachingthemwasoneofthemostmemorableexperiencesofmylife(Boyle,1980).Wehaveseen,then,inthisbriefreviewhowEnglishhastwicecomeandgoneinChinainthecourseofthetwentiethcentury.TousnowitseemsunlikelythatsuchswingswillhappenagainandonpresentevidencethecontinuedpopularityofEnglishseemsassured.However,historyisfullofexamplesoftheunpredictable.Foronething,China'sownlanguageisliabletobecomeofmoreglobalimportanceinthefuture.AsGraddol(1997:3)advises: "WemayfindthehegemonyofEnglishreplacedbyanoligarchyoflanguages,includingSpanishandChinese".MachinetranslationwillalsoundoubtedlyincreaseinsophisticationandperhapsmakethelearningofEnglish'lessessential.Englishmaynotbeasinevitablythelinguafrancaoftheworldassomemayliketothink.Nevertheless,atthisstageinthelastfewyearsofthemillennium,itdoeslooksasifChinawillcontinuetowantEnglish,andwantitbadly.AsMaley(1995:47)says:"Chinaisinaphaseofindustrial,scientificandcommercialexpansionwhichwillmakeittheworld'slargesteconomybytheearlyyearsofthenextcentury.Inordertofunctionefficientlyinthisrole,itneedstobringlargenumbersofitspeopletohighlevelsofproficiencyintheuseofEnglishforawidevarietyoffunctions".EnglishlookssettoflourishinChina-atleastforthenexttenortwentyyears.ButanyonewhoknowsanythingaboutthehistoryofChinawouldbeslowtopredictmuchbeyondthat.ReferencesBowers,R.1996.Englishintheworld.In,EnglishinChina.TheBritishCouncil.Boyle,J.1980.TeachingEnglishascommunicationtoMainlandChinese.EnglishLanguageTeachingJournal24,4,298-301.Cortazzi,M.andJin,L.1996.EnglishteachingandlearninginChina.LanguageTeaching29,61-80.Cowan,J.,Light,R.,Mathews,B.andTucker,G.1979.EnglishteachinginChina:arecentsurvey.TESOLQuarterly12,4,465-482.Crystal,D.1985.Howmanymillions?ThestatisticsofEnglishtoday.EnglishToday1,7-9.Dow,M.1975.TheinfluenceoftheculturalrevolutionontheteachingofEnglishinthePeople'sRepublicofChina.EnglishLanguageTeachingJournal29,3,253-263.Dzau,Y.1990.EnglishinChina.HongKong:APIPress.Graddol,D.1997.TheFutureofEnglish.TheBritishCouncil.Kang,Jianxiu.1999.EnglisheverywhereinChina.EnglishToday58,2,46-48.Maley,A.1995.LandmarkReviewofEnglishinChina.TheBritishCouncil.Price,R.1971.EnglishteachinginChina:changesinteachingmethodsfrom1960-66.EnglishLanguageTeachingJournal26,1,71-83.JoeBoyleteachesattheChineseUniversityofHongKong.Hecanbereachedatjpboyle@cuhk.edu.hkIATEFLIssues155,June-July2000