Variations in beliefs and practices: teaching English in cross-cultural contexts

Abstract

This article examines variations in beliefs and practices between British English language teaching (ELT) specialists and their Chinese colleagues in a cross-cultural educational development project which used interviews and a questionnaire survey to gather the perceptions and retrospective experiences of Chinese tertiary teachers and expatriate British teacher educators. The particular case studied is that of the Department for International Development's 20-year language teacher education programme in China (1979–2001). By comparing Chinese tertiary ELT teachers' and British teacher educators' views on the practices of English language teaching and learning in the Chinese context, the article discusses the extent to which Chinese teachers' and British teacher educators' knowledge and beliefs about ELT may vary depending upon their background and the differing cultural contexts and traditions in which they find themselves. Evidence is provided of significant perception gaps between the views of expatriate British ELT specialists and local Chinese teachers, and between the British ELT specialists themselves. The article concludes by discussing the ways in which the research findings may contribute to efforts to improve the effectiveness of teaching English as an international language in the contemporary times of change.