Digital technologies and English instruction in China’s higher education system

Abstract

The introduction of a new mandatory policy for the teaching of English at the higher education level in China, College English Curriculum Requirements (CECR, published in 2004), had the intention of modernising and improving the quality of English teaching at the tertiary level in China. The policy had a focus on student-centred approaches to learning and the use of a new computer-based multimedia teaching model to support this process. This paper reports on a study that investigated the views of teachers, administrators and policy makers about the intended use of educational technology embedded in the policy and the success of the policy in achieving this goal. The paper attempts to clarify how lecturers in higher education in China have been oriented by the CECR towards pedagogical change. This paper reports on the responses of teachers towards the specific requirements of CECR 2004 by reviewing their present understanding of information and communications technology (ICT), the requirements of CECR 2004 regarding ICT, the present consensus on ICT in pedagogy and the views of policy makers and administrators about these issues. This paper argues that there is a gap between the policy and the reality in terms of ICT pedagogy in tertiary English teaching in the context of China.