The Use of CLT to Teach English Grammar within Chinese Rural Schools - Case Study Example

An investigation into the use of CLT to teach English grammar within Chinese rural schools Introduction The grammar of a language, together with its lexicon forms the base of any language but its knowledge is not sufficient to successfully communicate in that language; communication includes knowing how to use the grammar and vocabulary and in a culturally appropriate way. The reason for learning English as a foreign or second language is to be able to communicate in English and therefore grammar is a prerequisite for doing so. Communicative language teaching (CLT) has been exulted by western educationalists as the best means of learning English (Savignon 2002), and China following a history of more traditional teaching based on the grammar-translation method (GTM) started reforms within their middle and high schools and universities in the early 1990s by introducing CLT. The question is whether or not the introduction of CLT into the Chinese education system by the government has been successful in terms of teachers actually using such an approach for the teaching of grammar and whether they have the knowledge and ability to do so appropriately. Rationale and significance of the study Prior to the 1970s, the goals of teaching English was to impart correct, error free language; emphasis was placed more on form than on use, thus the Grammar Translation Method was very popular. As the name implies, focus was on the rules and structures of the language, used to translate from the mother tongue to the target language, and the oral/aural skills of listening and speaking were ignored in favour of reading and writing. Except for the period of the Cultural Revolution Chinese governments have been committed to the teaching of foreign languages and although Russian was popular for a while, English has been regarded by the new communist regime as significant to modernization (Ji Fengyuan 2004). The teaching of English has always been teacher, textbook and exam focused and so the GTM has been the ruling approach to the teaching of English, with students taking a passive role in the learning process. In traditional classrooms therefore, language learning is reduced to mastery of the grammar and lexicon, and students attain more knowledge of the language in terms of perfect grammatical structures reproduced in grammatical exercises and exams, than their ability to use it in real life. Led by British linguists such as Halliday and Firth and in reaction to GTM, CLT was advocated as the new method in language teaching, addressing the need to acquire communicative competence with natural exposure not teaching, to all four skill areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking, and implicitly incorporating grammar and vocabulary. In distinction to GTM then, CLT takes the end point as the use of language not “an examination of language structures and their practice” (Yalden 1987, p. 26). Advocates for CLT claim it makes learning more interesting with students actually using it in meaningful tasks with the teacher acting as facilitator rather than a higher authority. So CLT materialised in the West in the 1970s and began its infiltration into Eastern countries, including China in 1992, since when it has been the basis and principles upon which English curriculum has been developed in China (Jin et al 2005). In 1993, the State Education Development Commission (SEDC) launched a new national English syllabus for Middle school teaching, including a new series of textbooks (Xiao Qing Liao 2000); over the last seventeen years CLT has been proffered as the teaching method to be used in not only middle schools but all levels of schooling and universities in their provision of English language and focus on all four macro skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking, together with an implicit focus on grammar and vocabulary. Numerous studies however claim that although CLT has been edicted by government and textbooks distributed country wide, in reality CLT is not as evident as one would expect for a number of different reasons, including the focus on final exams, large class numbers (Hird 1995; Ng & Tang 1997), and the lack of explicit focus on grammar. Aims and objectives This study set within the context of teaching English as a foreign language within middle schools in rural China, sets out to determine whether state policies on the use of CLT textbooks, methods and approaches within middle schools in rural China has resulted in communicative classroom practices and activities in the teaching of grammar. The research will be directed by the following questions: 1. What are the teachers’ attitudes, thoughts and feelings towards CLT generally? 2. What are the teachers’ attitudes, thoughts and feeling towards CLT for teaching grammar? 3. To what extent do teachers use communicative methods and activities within the classroom? 4. To what extent do teachers use communicative methods and activities within the classroom to teach grammar? 5. What factors impede on CLT for the teaching of grammar? It is hoped that this study will shed light on the reality of CLT in rural China in terms of its applicability to the teaching of grammar. Rural schools rather than urban schools will be selected because they have less money, less teacher training and are therefore more likely to provide realistic insights and answers to the research questions posed. Methodology Subjects Subjects will be a number of teachers currently teaching English within three middle schools based in rural China; the actual schools and teachers are yet to be determined. Questionnaire A questionnaire, in English and Chinese, will be designed to firstly find out demographic information of the subjects, in terms of age, sex, length of time teaching and amount of teacher training undertaken, and secondly to gain their answers to a cohort of questions designed to extract answers to the five research questions posed. Observations Dependent on findings from the questionnaires, two teachers from each of the three schools, who claim to be using CLT within their classrooms will be observed over a period of three lessons each; teachers selected will need to have been teaching for a specific period of time and have undertaken a specific number of hours of teacher training, both to be determined following further research. The aim of such observations is to find out whether they are in fact using CLT and to what extent, i.e. are they using it to teach grammar or not; a secondary finding would disclose whether they are using a mix of teaching methods or are restricted to just one. Interviews Following observations, the same selected teachers will be interviewed in order to obtain information on any questions not answered or further questions raised from the observations. Teachers will also be given the opportunity to watch the videos of their classes in order to gain their feedback, analysis and reflection. The language of communication will be English, as teachers are expected to be able to communicate in English if they are teaching it. Brief literature review Hinkel & Fotos (2002), claim that ongoing challenges exist within the English language classroom, in relation to the teaching of grammar. They believe that there are fundamental differences between what teachers and students regard as grammar and that teachers cannot teach English without some reference to grammar. Zhang (2009) suggests that within the domain of language teaching, grammar is often misinterpreted in that it is considered a set of random rules based on stagnant structures and argues further that explicit focus on the teaching of grammar is essential in language teaching. Horwitz (1990) (cited in Yi, Jin, 2007) claims that the understanding of grammar is often different between teachers and students and set out to determine some of these differences so that teachers could take their students ideas into account when teaching. Kern (1995) (cited in Yi, Jin, 2007) too believes that understanding and awareness of this disparity by teachers may help to rid students of anxiety and increase their motivation. Xiao Qing Liao (2000) states that although the SEDC supported CLT in China there were two opposing viewpoints towards CLT when it was introduced; advocates believed it was appropriate to the needs of China and therefore was beneficial in resolving educational language teaching problems; those opposing it however regarded it as impracticable and not viable within the context of China. The same author (2004) in response to Bax (2003), a relativist arguing that any one method of teaching does not necessarily match all contexts in terms of teachers, students and environments, purports for “absolutism” (p.270) and that CLT and only CLT is best for China, and further claims that “relativism does not work in China” (p.272). Ye, Jin (2007) however believes that the situation in China is different than many other countries and that CLT, although beneficial would be better modified to the Chinese context. He further purports that it is in China’s best interest to modernise their approach to English teaching but not in favour of westernising it. Graney (2000) suggests that teachers acquire their knowledge and teaching methods based partly on the way they were taught and how they learnt; Bailey et al (2001) claim that the personal experiences of teachers are crucial in their attitudes towards teaching, and Lortie (1975) believes that how teachers teach reflects on how they were taught as students; in other words they take the same teaching methods into their classrooms that their teachers used with them. Furthermore, according to Borg (2004) the impact of teacher training has minimal affect on teachers’ attitudes and beliefs when compared with those instilled as a student themselves. A self-study undertaken by Sakui (2002), wherein she narrates her own experiences as a second language learner in an effort to determine how they influenced her own teaching, deduced that both her own learning and life encounters and experiences did indeed impact on her beliefs and teaching practices. The choices therefore, that teachers make are seemingly influenced by their beliefs about language learning and language and Brown (1994) believes that if teachers understand this connection they can be better equipped and more able to accept and adapt to new practices, materials and curriculum. Chung (2006) claims that because of China’s traditional past and its GTM approach to teaching, which remains embedded in Chinese schools it is therefore difficult to completely adapt to new approaches. Ethical considerations It is realized that such research needs to be undertaken with full consideration of all parties involved, particularly in the context of China. Schools will be ascertained by the local and relevant education departments prior to contact with individual schools, as when working in China it is better to work from the top down. All subjects will be on a volunteer basis and as such will only be involved with their consent, which will be written not verbal; all subjects will be well-informed of the study before commencement and consent forms will be kept. If, at any time subjects wish to leave the study they may do so without any compromise and all information pertaining to their person, including consent form will be given to them and not used in anyway thereafter. Proposed Plan of Thesis Chapter 1: Introduction – background, context, purpose and significance of study; thesis Chapter 2: Literature review Chapter 3: Methodology - questionnaire, observations, interviews. Chapter 4: Findings – questionnaire, observations, interviews Chapter 5: Discussion of findings and how they relate to other research provided in literature review – questionnaire, observations, interviews Chapter 6: Conclusion – summary of findings, recommendations. 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Yi, Jin 2007, ‘Adapting communicative language teaching approach to China’s context’, Sino-US English Teaching, vol.4, no.10, Seriel 46, October, viewed 28 April, 2010 http://www.melta.org.my/ET/2005/A%20COMMUNICATIVE%20APPROACH%20TO%20TEACHING%20GRAMMAR.pdf Zhang, Jianyun 2009, ‘Necessity of grammar teaching, International Education Studies’ Teaching International Education Studies, vol.2, no.2, May, viewed 29 April, 2010 http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ies/article/view/1725/1659 Read More