Changing pedagogy : analysing ELT teachers in China / Xin-min Zheng and Christine Davison.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zheng, Xin-min.

Contributor:

Davison, Christine.

Series:

Continuum studies in education

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Study and teaching--Chinese speakers.

English language.

English language--Study and teaching--China.

English language--Study and teaching.

Second language acquisition.

China.

Second language acquisition--China.

English language--Globalization.

Physical Description:

xi, 220 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, [2008]

Summary:

China's growing economic, military and political stability have, for the first time, started to gain international recognition. As China increasingly opens up to the world, its unique role in the context of economic globalization is becoming more pronounced, which is exemplified by its recent membership of the WTO and Beijing's successful bid to host the Olympic Games. Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in an explosion in the popularity of English language learning in China, which has, in turn, led to radical reform of the curricula, teaching methods, teacher education and assessment systems in China in order to improve standards.

This fascinating monograph explores the nature of the implemented English language curriculum in China, focusing, in particular, on the pedagogy of secondary school teachers. There follows an insightful analysis into how such teachers, in different situations and with different backgrounds and motivations, make decisions about what and how they teach, and the extent to which they adapt the promoted methods in their individual teaching environments. The authors use their findings to propose an innovative and coherent framework, which has far-reaching consequences for pedagogy in China and across the world.

Contents:

1.2 China and English language teaching (ELT) today 3

1.3 The historical context 5

1.4 Methodology vs. pedagogy 9

2 ELT as methodology 13

2.2 The definition of methodology 13

2.3 Brief history of ELT methods 16

2.4 Critique of methods as universal and context-free 29

2.5 The transformation of ELT methods in the PRC 36

3 Pedagogy in ELT 46

3.2 Pedagogy: an alternative to methodology 46

3.3 Pedagogy and change 55

3.4 Influences on ELT pedagogy in China 69

4 Mr Yang's pedagogy 74

4.2 Mr Yang's biographical profile 74

4.3 Mr Yang's practice 77

4.4 Relationship between Mr Yang's beliefs and practices 92

5 Miss Wu's pedagogy 103

5.2 Miss Wu's biographical profile 103

5.3 Miss Wu's practice 105

5.4 Relationship between Miss Wu's beliefs and practices 119

5.5 Discussion and summary 124

6 Ms Ma's pedagogy 127

6.2 Ms Ma's biographical profile 127

6.3 Ms Ma's practice 128

6.4 Relationship between Ms Ma's beliefs and practices 140

7 The interplay of complex forces 150

7.2 General impressions 150

7.3 External forces 155

7.4 Internal forces 159

7.5 Situated forces 167

7.6 A model of pedagogical innovation and change in the PRC 172

8 Conclusions and implications 175

8.2 The teachers' beliefs 175

8.3 The teachers' designs 177

8.4 The teachers' practices 178

8.5 The influences on teachers' beliefs, designs and practices 180

8.6 Implications for practice 181

8.7 Implications for future research 183.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [184]-204) and index.

ISBN:

0826488765

9780826488763

OCLC:

156830900