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Chinese Teachers' Views of Western Language Teaching: Context Informs Paradigms
Author(s) -
BURNABY BARBARA,
SUN YILIN
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
tesol quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.737
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1545-7249
pISSN - 0039-8322
DOI - 10.2307/3587334
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , pedagogy , language education , linguistics , sociology , psychology , communicative language teaching , mathematics education , history , philosophy , archaeology
This article reports the views of 24 Chinese (People's Republic of China) teachers of English on the appropriateness and effectiveness of “Western” language‐teaching methods (here defined according to Canale & Swain, 1980) for use in Chinese situations. The Chinese teachers believed that the communicative approach was mainly applicable in China only for those students who planned to go to an English‐speaking country, and, as nonnative speakers, they noted their limitations with respect to the sociolinguistic and strategic competence in English that is required for using this approach effectively. The teachers also cited various constraints on implementing Western language‐teaching methods, including the context of the wider curriculum, traditional teaching methods, class sizes and schedules, resources and equipment, and the low status of teachers who teach communicative rather than analytic skills. An examination of these views in light of the context and theory of Western language teaching demonstrates that the Chinese teachers' concerns have considerable justification. Various suggestions are made as possible means of adapting Western language‐teaching methods to the situation in China.