English Teaching In China Research Articles

An Error Analysis of Coordinating Conjunction Misuse in Chinese ESL Learners’ Writings: A Corpus-based Approach

Coordinating conjunctions, which are more recurrently used words than the other words in English, are not as easily well-acquired by Chinese students as they are intuitively used by native speakers. Yet, insufficient attention has been drawn to the study of coordinating conjunctions, which often leads to great difficulties in the acquisition of coordinating conjunctions for Chinese English as a second language learners. The present thesis has selected the three coordinating conjunctions of higher frequency, and, but and or as the target words in the research to analyze the misuse of these words in Chinese ESL learners’ writings of English under the theory of Error Analysis.The thesis established two corpora: Learner Corpus with 21 theses of Chinese graduate students of English major, downloaded from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI); Control Corpus with 22 theses from Proquest-PQDT. All the dissertations were essay writings about linguistics and were randomly selected. It was shown that there existed a minor gap in the frequency usage of coordinating conjunctions and, but and or between Chinese students of English major and native English speakers. However, the usages of SIA (Sentence-initial And) and SIB (Sentence-initial But) were strongly different between Chinese ESL learners and native English speakers. The conclusions above could serve as pedagogical references for English teachers in China so that Chinese ESL learners could come close to native speakers in terms of the usages of the three coordinating conjunctions and, but and or.

Nativeness versus intelligibility as goal of English pronunciation teaching in China: Changing attitudes in national syllabi and curriculum standards

Since the 1990s, the emphasis on intelligibility as a goal in pronunciation teaching rather than near-native or nativelike competence has been reinforced by the increasing use of English as a lingua franca. The insight of the intelligibility principle has greatly impressed researchers in China’s English education, but has “very limited and weak” impacts on English pronunciation teaching and learning in China. English education in China has been systematically conducted from schools to universities under the direction of national syllabi and curriculum standards issued by the Ministry of Education. Using the documentary research method, this paper, the first try of its kind, takes a historical look at China’s national syllabi and curriculum standards for schools issued after 1949, focusing on the conception of the nature and the role of pronunciation and pronunciation teaching, pronunciation goals, teacher’s role, as well as requirements or suggestions about what to teach and how to teach. By tracing the process of developments in pronunciation teaching notions and principles that were and/or are officially advocated in China, the paper reveals two important facts. First, the English national syllabi and curriculum standards have encompassed both the nativeness principle and the intelligibility principle, though implicitly giving dominance to the former one, which in part accounts for the favor for the nativeness principle in formal English education, especially in schools, in China. Second, with the notion of English as a lingua franca adopted in the syllabi and curriculum standards, the intelligibility principle has been gaining more and more weight. Consequently, by elaborating that the two principles are by nature not incompatible, it is proposed that the current curriculum standards go further to take balanced attitudes towards the two principles so as to lead Chinese English teachers and students to set more realistic and instrumental-pragmatic pronunciation goals in line with varying English learning purposes. The findings and the proposal could be adopted by teachers and learners so as to change the school reality and may shed light on future relevant revisions of the current national English curriculum standards, teaching material development, teacher training, and pronunciation teaching methodology research.

Exploring Effective English Teaching Method: Comparing the Different Learning Styles between Chinese & Americans

By comparing the main methods of English teaching in China, the guidance and assessment models of English teaching in the two countries, and the enlightenment and improvement strategies brought by the American English classroom education model, this study analyzes the shortcomings of Chinese English teaching and the American English classroom education model. The inspiration and improvement strategies from the past, explored the practical significance of using English in the pragmatic environment. Through the academic and cultural systems and differences between the two countries, the theoretical framework provides information for research design and the interpretation of results. This review results show that China's exam-oriented education system affects students' learning achievements and the results of the high subjective value obtained by students to a certain extent. In addition, the practical meaning of English in the post-college entrance examination language environment has also brought different roles. This paper discusses the specific content of American English classrooms proposing strategies that need to be improved and referenced in Chinese English teaching.

English teachers' perceptions of emergency remote teaching: Emotional attitudes, professional identity, and coping strategies.

While the technology integration has been widely acknowledged, insufficient effort has been made to understand English teachers' perceptions of emergency remote teaching (ERT). Given English is the primary foreign language in China and English teachers' perceptions and adoptions of ERT impact the attainment of teaching and learning goals, this study inquired into experienced university English teachers' emotional attitudes, perceptions of the reconstructed professional identity, and their strategies to cope with difficulties when conducting ERT in the Chinese English teaching context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted both online and face-to-face with five experienced universities English teachers in China. The findings indicated a trajectory of teachers' attitudes toward ERT, namely, their attitudes were switched from doubt and rejection to fondness and attachment. Experienced English teachers adopted various strategies to cope with the difficulties and challenges they have encountered, including seeking support from their peers, students, and family, as well as self-regulated learning to sustain continuing professional development. During ERT, they have reconstructed their teacher identities. The study enriched peoples' understandings of English teachers' perceptions of the ERT by contextualizing the study in the Chinese educational context. Results can provide empirical evidence for policymakers and teacher trainers to make informed decisions regarding technical support and teachers' continuing professional development.

Analysis of Research Papers on the Use of English Movies in Chinese Senior High School English Teaching in the Past Three Years

Much attention has been paid to using English movies in senior high school English teaching in China since the release of 2017 edition of Senior High School English Curriculum Standards that lists English Movie Appreciation as an optional compulsory course. Senior high school teachers have conducted substantial research over the past three years regarding the practical application of English movies in their teaching, yet there has been a lack of thorough and systematic of analysis of the large number of relevant papers published, which, more or less, limits the understanding and further advancements of this study area. This paper attempts, in light of the emerging systematic review methodology, to present an overview of the research papers spanning the period 2019 to 2022 on the use of English movies in Chinese senior high school from the four perspectives: language ability, cultural awareness, thinking quality, and learning ability based on the concept of core literacy of English as an academic discipline in the new curriculum standard. With focus on the discussion of the common problems and corresponding countermeasures that have been sorted out from the works of front-line teachers, the paper also puts forward suggestions and prospects for further studies.

从关键期假说角度谈中国大学英语教育“高投入低产出”现象——以大学四六级考试为例

从关键期假说角度谈中国大学英语教育“高投入低产出”现象——以大学四六级考试为例

A Review of Multiple Evaluation of English Teaching in China—Based on the Visualization Analysis of CNKI (2001~2021)

A Review of Multiple Evaluation of English Teaching in China—Based on the Visualization Analysis of CNKI (2001~2021)

A Case Study on the Multimode Teaching Design of College English Listening and Speaking Course Combined with Chinese Culture under the Guidance of the Production-Oriented Approach

With the rapid development of China’s economy and the rise of China’s international status, the exchange activities between China and other countries are more frequent than before, which results in the fact that English speaking and listening skills have become more and more important for college students. However, the reality is that Chinese college students’ English speaking and listening skills are relatively weak compared to their reading and writing skills. Production-Oriented Approach, proposed by professor Wen Qiufang, is a new theoretical system for college English teaching in China, which aims to solve the problem of the “separation of learning and application”, so as to improve the efficiency of English classroom teaching and to enhance students’ ability to use English in the real environment. What’s more, In the past, English teaching focused too much on the importance of the Western culture and ignored a deep understanding of Chinese traditional culture, which contributed not only to Chinese college students’ weak awareness of spreading Chinese traditional culture but also to their low cross-cultural communication ability. Therefore, to realize the integration of language teaching and Chinese culture is one of the important goals of College English teaching. The case study aims to do a multimode teaching design of integrating Chinese culture with classroom teaching of College English Speaking and Listening course under the guidance of POA, which proved to be not only an effective approach to enhance the learners’ listening and speaking ability, but also a new method to improve the teaching efficiency of ideological and political education in college English teaching.

Information Technology Enabling College English Teaching: Bottleneck and Breakthrough

The deep integration of information technology and college English teaching is a new way to realize the informatization and intelligence of college English education. The author proposes that in order to deeply integrate information technology and enable college English teaching, immersion teaching mode can be adopted to establish a framework for cultivating diversified students' autonomous learning ability, and an information-based teaching mode of college English can be built based on the intelligent cloud platform, so as to realize the information and intelligence of foreign language education and promote the further development of college English teaching in China in the new era.

Study on the Application of Task-Based Language Teaching in Middle School Oral English Teaching in China

Speaking is an essential aspect of English learning. It reflects the student’s ability to express and comprehensively use the language. In the 21st century, international exchanges have become increasingly frequent. Therefore, English is more important as a tool of international communication. Despite this, under the long-term pressure of examinations, English teaching in our country only focuses on reading, writing, and other content closely related to testing scores, while oral English teaching is easily neglected. Even in the classrooms where oral English teaching is implemented, the teaching activities and methods are relatively monotonous and out of touch with the actual situation, resulting in students’ low enthusiasm for oral English and unwillingness to speak English. In order to solve this problem, this paper studies an effective oral English teaching method --- Task-Based Language Learning (TBLT). This teaching method abandons the disadvantages of the traditional oral English teaching method and better improves students’ oral English ability. TBLT is a teaching method that gradually emerged and developed in the 1980s. In language teaching, TBLT requires language teaching based on tasks, and students should learn the language while completing the tasks. TBLT allows students to use English to complete various actual tasks related to life, study, and work, making classroom teaching real and task-oriented and cultivating students’ ability to use English in practice.

A Quasi-Experimental Study of English Vocabulary Teaching Based on Incidental Acquisition

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenon that major English teachers in China have adopted the traditional teaching pattern, mechanically linking English pronunciations directly with the meaning of Chinese, which gradually dampens learners’ enthusiasm. The chief purpose of this paper was to design one English vocabulary teaching lesson based on incidental acquisition. More specifically, the questions raised are, on the one hand, whether incidental vocabulary teaching imprints differences on the learning outcomes for middle school students, and, on the other hand, whether incidental acquisition results in positive feedback between teachers and students. The technique we applied was referred to as questionnaires and interviews addressed to a sample of 68 students. Focusing on the effect of incidental vocabulary acquisition, the analysis demonstrated that it could enhance students’ vocabulary capacity. In addition, it was interesting to note that excellent students and average students tended to embrace the new teaching style while underachievers were on the opposite side. On this basis, it is recommended for English teachers to design English vocabulary lessons, adopting visual, auditory, oral, reading or writing training. More precisely, they should use phonics rules and patterns, holistic learning, classified vocabulary teaching, visual illustration or multimedia teaching to give lessons effectively and expand learners’ vocabulary.

Sources and Countermeasures of Students’ Anxiety in Oral Examination – Take the IELTS speaking test for example

As English teaching in China has always been "cramming method", students’ shortcomings with oral English make them become anxious. Based on the three sources of anxiety —— the familiarity of the text content, the language proficiency level and feedback from others, this study has conducted semistructured interviews on six IELTS candidates and tried to summarize the countermeasures to overcome anxiety proposed by the interviewees, aiming at helping IELTS candidates reduce their anxiety about the oral test and providing certain reference value for future research on traditional oral English teaching.

Utilization, Effectiveness and Challenges of EFL Online Teaching in China during Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a global shift to online education, including English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses in Chinese higher education. However, strategies to improve EFL online teaching in China are unexplored. This dissertation investigates the use, effectiveness, and challenges of EFL online courses in China during the pandemic. A descriptive correlational method was used to study the relationship among three variables, with data collected from 383 college English teachers in China. The results showed that EFL teachers are generally skilled at using online courses and find online EFL teaching effective. The main challenges identified were technological issues and reduced interaction. Age and teaching experience significantly impact online teaching utilization, effectiveness, and the ability to overcome these challenges. The study found a positive correlation between the extent of online teaching use and its effectiveness, and a negative correlation between use and challenges faced. As online teaching is used more and its effectiveness is increased, fewer challenges are faced. The dissertation suggests an interactive EFL online teaching model to optimize effectiveness and minimize challenges, offering a guide for delivering highly interactive and effective EFL online courses.

A Teacher Training Platform of Content and Language Integrated Learning for Elementary English Education in China

A Teacher Training Platform of Content and Language Integrated Learning for Elementary English Education in China

Reflections on Online EFL Teaching during COVID-19: A Case Study of Yunnan University in China

The paper is a case study on a whole-term online English teaching practice of non-English major postgraduates from March to July 2020 at Yunnan University in China. By attempting to probe into the strategies employed in the three phases of pre-teaching, while-teaching, and post-teaching respectively, reflections upon the mega-scale online English teaching for 30 classes of approximately 1200 students are analyzed by qualitative research in the forms of online interviews and class video observation. The research aims to summarize useful strategies and key factors teachers need to attach importance to in technology-assisted English language teaching with mixed applications and approaches to meet an urgent need in practical situations. Th e practice can be an example of the effective “localization” of college English teaching in China. It also shows that effectiveness-oriented online teaching can be feasible and useful in shaping and enriching the new normal of foreign language teaching in post COVID-19 era.

Merits and Issues of Communicative Language Teaching in the Post-method Era

Post-method theory is not a specific teaching method but an approach of foreign language teaching. The Post-method is beyond the level of specific methods and there is no fixed set of teaching methods. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) plays an important role in cultivating students' communicative competence. With the advent of Post-method era, English teaching in China is gradually breaking the situation of single method and exploring English classroom teaching from multiple perspectives. This study explores the merits and issues of Communicative Language Teaching in China’s English teaching pedagogy from the perspective of Post-method era, and reflects on the application of Communicative Language Teaching from the perspective of Post-method era. So that Communicative Language Teaching can play a better role in English teaching pedagogy in China.

On Application of Blended Teaching of College English

This article examines the nature and definitions of the term blended teaching, which embodies numerous connotations, including its concept as a strategy, teaching mode, or pedagogical approach. As a new teaching form, blended teaching can integrate the advantages of in-class teaching and online teaching on the premise of changing the orientation of teachers and students, and improve the overall quality and effect of English teaching. In order to give full play to the role of blended teaching in college English education in China, based on the current practices, the article clarifies its limitations and problems in application and put forward corresponding practical strategies and ideas.

Discussion on English Cultural Communication and English Teaching in the New Media Environment

As a global language, English has become the main foreign language teaching choice in all countries. After decades, great progress has been made in English teaching in China. English has not only been popularized, but also a large number of English professionals from various industries have been trained. In the new media environment, in order to better improve the quality of English teaching, teachers should pay attention to the integration of English culture and teaching content when teaching English. By analyzing the characteristics of English teaching in the new media environment, this paper puts forward the relationship between English cultural exchange and English teaching, and puts forward strategies.

Research on English Literacy Among Chinese College Students

English is learned as a foreign language among Chinese college students. Traditionally, tests and examinations are two major approaches used to assess the achievements of English learning among students in China. Despite that the assessment based on these two approaches is effective on screening and selection, its role in monitoring education process and improving education quality is disregarded. The overall development of students’ English literacy, which includes their awareness to the differences between English and Chinese languages, their attitudes to English learning, their knowledge on English language and their competence to utilize English in authentic contexts, cannot be assessed via these two approaches. Therefore, it is of great necessity to construct a new framework of assessment covering these aspects. In this research, on the basis of the theory of educational assessment (the fourth generation) and the concept of teachers’ assessment literacy, such a framework is proposed and used to assess the level of English literacy among Chinese college students. This research intends to explore the level of English literacy among Chinese college students and the influential factors to their English literacy. This research will provide a theoretical significance as well as the practical significance to the development of assessment on English education in China.

On the Teaching of Translating Chinese Culture in University English Education

In view of the key role of translation talents in economic and social development, cultural translation teaching in the process of university English education occupies a very important position in foreign language courses. To further innovate the cultural translation teaching in the process of university English education is not only a realistic orientation to meet the needs of national talents, but also an inherent requirement to improve the school’s reputation in the social field and the world, and an inevitable way to conform to the trend of the times. However, reviewing the current situation of cultural translation teaching in the process of university English education in China will find that the current university English translation teaching concept is relatively vague and the teaching method is relatively simple, which is a major difficulty that hinders Chinese cultural translation teaching. In response to this, four practical paths are proposed, including introducing translation theories, constructing new teaching models, innovating and expanding teaching methods, and improving teachers’ translation ability, in order to provide a theoretical reference for the continuous optimization of Chinese cultural translation teaching in university English education.