Showing papers in "Language Culture and Curriculum in 2006"

Changing Practices in Chinese Cultures of Learning.

Abstract: This paper analyses of some changing aspects of learning and ‘cultures of learning’ in China: these are related to meeting the needs of Chinese learners studying in higher education in the UK. We use the term ‘cultures of learning’ to draw attention to the socio-cultural aspects of key practices, expectations and interpretations of learning and the term is understood to include diversity of practices both at individual and group levels. We use the notion of changing practices in a double sense: firstly, practices in learning at school and university levels are changing in China and hence the cultures of learning that are likely to influence students' pre-departure experiences include an aspect of dynamic change. Secondly, Chinese students in the UK change their practices in many respects as they learn in, and from, British academic cultures. The paper also delineates some long-standing features of learning in the Confucian heritage and summarises recent developments in the Chinese national curriculum for ...

On the Discursive Construction of ‘The Chinese Learner’

Abstract: Characterisations of ‘the Chinese learner’ in education and applied linguistics have frequently taken a ‘large culture’ approach, which involves describing the values, attitudes and learning practices of individuals in terms of fixed, homogeneous, reified national cultures. A shared Confucian cultural heritage is offered by way of explanation for supposedly consistent Chinese behaviours in Western classrooms. This paper examines some features of the deficit model of Chinese learner discourse attributed to Confucian cultural heritage (passive, lacking critical thinking, reliant on simplistic rote memorisation strategies resulting in surface learning, unwilling to participate in classroom talk), and refers to research findings which propose alternative characterisations and alternative explanations rooted in social and contextual factors. An alternative approach based on post-structuralist, critical pedagogy and cultural studies perspectives is considered which focuses on ‘small culture’ explanations for th...

Chinese Students' Psychological and Sociocultural Adjustments to Britain: An Empirical Study

Abstract: This paper reports an empirical study of the psychological and sociocultural adjustments of two cohorts of Chinese students taking a foundation course in English language at a British university. Using Zung's (1965) Self-Rating Depression Scale and a modification of Ward and Kennedy's (1999) Sociocultural Adaptation Scale, quantitative data were obtained on the students' adjustment experiences, and these were correlated with other variables such as grade point average, age and length of stay in Britain. Interview data provided a richer picture of their experiences. The study found that the majority of students had few psychological or sociocultural adjustment difficulties. Nevertheless, social interaction with non-Chinese was consistently identified as problematic and this, as well as difficulties in adjusting to daily life, were very highly correlated with psychological stress. End-of-course grade point average was found to be negatively correlated with the psychological stress experienced near the begin...

The Successors to Confucianism or a New Generation? A Questionnaire Study on Chinese Students' Culture of Learning English

Abstract: With an increasing number of Chinese learners pursuing higher education in Western universities, the characteristics of Chinese students have raised many discussions and debates (e.g. Carson, 1992; Watkins & Biggs, 2001). Two contradictory views are commonly reflected in the existing literature: being passive, quiet, submissive, or disciplined vs. valuing active thinking, open-mindedness and a spirit of inquiry. Unlike much available discussion on Chinese learners based on literature review or personal experience, this paper examines the topic from an empirical perspective. From an analysis of questionnaire data collected from 400 Chinese middle-school students in 2003 about learning English, this paper argues that contemporary Chinese students demonstrate different characteristics from those described in many previous studies. Overall, they show little difference from their Western counterparts by being active learners and preferring a more interactive relationship with their teachers. However, some trad...

Who Adapts? Beyond Cultural Models of ‘the’ Chinese Learner

Abstract: From a comparative perspective, this paper analyses Chinese learners' intercultural experiences in Chinese and British educational contexts. In the Chinese context, interview and questionnaire research was carried out in 24 universities that hosted the British Council's English teaching development programmes. The research uncovered perspectives on change in the Chinese teachers, who were the learners in this teacher training programme. In the UK, a current study is probing into the challenges Chinese learners face in adapting to the British higher education teaching and learning culture. Early results reveal a change process in the learners, affected by a range of inter-related personal, cultural, social, psychological and contextual factors. Research literature on the links between the Chinese cultural context and Chinese learning styles has provided an important basis for understanding the interface between Chinese learners and Western modes of education. However, in comparing the perspectives of Chine...

Going Global: Rethinking Culture Teaching in ELT Contexts

Abstract: This paper argues that the manner in which culture is taught to English learners needs to be rethought in light of the globalisation of the English language. It is maintained that change is needed in at least three areas. First, English teaching professionals should discard the notion that the US and Great Britain represent the sole ‘target cultures’ of the English language. Second, they should rethink the goals of culture and language education to better meet their students' diverse needs. And third, ELT professionals should do more to design and/or select teaching materials that are international and inclusive in scope. The paper concludes that EFL/ESL instructors should better educate themselves and their students on world cultures to promote genuine linguistic/cultural awareness and international understanding.

The English Proficiency of College and University Students in China: As Reflected in the CET

Abstract: The College English Test (CET), designed in accordance with the requirements of the National College English Teaching Syllabus and as a result of the need for China's reform and its open-door policy in the 1980s, is the world's largest language test administered nationwide. Owing to its scientific approach, consistent marking, rigorous administration and comparable scores, the CET, now well-established as a large-scale standardised EFL test, is held in high esteem by language testers and teachers inside and outside China and well received by the public. This paper begins with a review of the CET from the perspective of its development, score interpretation and test validation. The paper moves on to an in-depth analysis of the test content, test format, and candidates' performances on each component with a view to presenting readers with an overview of the proficiency of the CET test-takers. The paper then discusses the issue of reform of the CET as a response to the pressing social need for college and un...

What's in a Name? Chinese Learners and the Practice of Adopting ‘English’ Names

Abstract: This paper examines the widespread practice of Chinese learners choosing (and sometimes refusing) to adopt English and Anglicised names. Data collected from questionnaires and interviews with both students and teachers are analysed in order to arrive at an understanding of why such a practice has arisen and continues to be perpetuated throughout institutions of higher education. Evidence will suggest that this practice cannot be divorced from Chinese learners' perceptions of themselves, their own culture, and their experience of learning English. It will highlight strategies of both compliance and resistance employed by students when they adopt and exchange names: strategies which say much about their attitudes to British culture and learning English in particular. At the same time, teachers' attitudes to students' names will be seen to highlight, at a basic level, some of the difficulties encountered when East meets West in the classroom. The paper concludes by suggesting that China's unique relationship...

Expanding the Socio-Cultural Knowledge Base of TESOL Teacher Education

Abstract: This paper argues for the expansion of the knowledge base of TESOL teacher education to integrate greater awareness of the sociocultural and political context of teaching English to speakers of other languages. It is argued that the changing roles of teachers, insights gained from classroom research and recent developments in critical applied linguistics, coupled with the inherent complexity of language teaching, necessitate this curricular modification. The paper outlines three areas of inquiry to be integrated into existing TESOL teacher education curricula: (1) discussion of crosscultural variation in language teaching and learning and tools for investigating this variation; (2) overview of management of pedagogical innovation; and (3) examination of the sociopolitical factors surrounding the teaching of English as an international language. Appropriate junctions in current TESOL teacher education curricula that will allow for the integration of these three areas are suggested throughout the paper, alo...

Teaching and Learning Chinese: Heritage Language Classroom Discourse in Montreal

Abstract: This paper explores issues of teaching and learning Chinese as a heritage language in a Chinese heritage language school, the Zhonguo Saturday School, in Montreal, Quebec. With a student population of more than 1000, this school is the largest of the eight Chinese Heritage Language schools in Montreal. Students participating in this study were from seven different classes (grade K, two, three, four, five, six, and special class), their ages ranging from 4 to 13 years. The study took place over a period of two years between 2000 and 2002. Focusing on primary level classroom discourse and drawing on the works of Vygotsky and Bakhtin, I examine how teachers and students use language to communicate, and how their communication mediates teaching, learning and heritage language acquisition. Data sources include classroom observations, interviews with students and their teachers, students' writings, and video and audio taping of classroom activities. Implications for heritage language development and maintenance...

Introduction: The Chinese Learner in Higher Education – Transition and Quality Issues

Abstract: The University of Portsmouth hosted an international conference on the Needs of Chinese Learners in Higher Education on 16th and 17th July 2004. The conference was attended by 139 participants from all over the world. The conference focused on quality and transition issues. Twenty five papers were presented with introductory and concluding presentations and a final panel discussion. The papers in this volume are based on major contributions to the conference. The first three papers (Jin and Cortazzi, Yan and Yang, and Spencer-Oatey and Xiong) are versions of plenary talks focusing on major themes at the conference (cultures of learning, English language proficiency, and the students’ adaptation to western institutions, respectively). The next three papers look at questions of culture and learning (Clark and Gieve, Gu and Schweisfurth, and Edwards) and they are followed by two papers focusing on language learning issues (Mayor, Shi). Tricia Coverdale-Jones provides a summary of the main points of the conference papers at the end of this volume. The organisers of the conference are grateful to the editor for the opportunity to publish the papers together in Language, Culture and Curriculum. In common with other UK universities, the University of Portsmouth has seen a very large increase in the numbers of mainland Chinese students registering for undergraduate and postgraduate awards. That is a direct result of the opening of China to the West, British Government policy, and University recruitment strategy, as well as the demand from Chinese students for access to higher education in the West (and Australia and New Zealand), and in Anglophone countries in particular. There is a good deal of enthusiasm for British higher education in China, and the UK has benefited from more restrictive policies elsewhere. As is noted below by Jin and Cortazzi, the demand is increasingly from privately, rather than publicly, funded students. Those privately funded students clearly constitute a different segment of the market with its own demands and concerns. The financial rewards for universities entering the Chinese market are, of course, considerable, as is the investment made by students and their parents. Part of the interest in Chinese students arises, of course, from the dramatic rise in the number of students from mainland China, noted by all the writers in this volume. As an example, The School of Languages and Area Studies at Portsmouth University has recruited around 30–40 students per annum from

Cantonese ESL Learners' Pronunciation of English Final Consonants

Abstract: This paper discusses Cantonese ESL learners' pronunciation of English final singleton consonants. Twelve learners at the intermediate and advanced levels participated in a recent research study, which included four different tasks: the reading of a word list of about 150 words, the description of about 100 pictures, the reading of three passages of about 250–350 words each, and a conversational interview. Words consisting of all the English permissible final singleton consonants in different preceding vowel environments were used for probing into the learners' interphonology. The participants' performance in each task was recorded and transcribed independently by two raters. The results of the study showed that the participants had most problems with the voicing contrasts of final obstruents. Other problems included the non-release of final plosives and the inaccurate articulation of certain fricatives and sonorant consonants, especially the lateral /l/. The preceding vowel environments of nasals and late...

Dialogic and Hortatory Features in the Writing of Chinese Candidates for the IELTS Test

Abstract: Research conducted in the context of the IELTS Research Program indicates that there are recurrent features in the writing under test conditions of candidates from Chinese language backgrounds, particularly in terms of interpersonal tenor. These include a high level of interpersonal reference, combined with a heavily dialogic and hortatory style. Chinese candidates in the study used significantly more interrogatives and imperatives than a similar sample of Greek candidates, along with a range of other grammatical devices which perform a hortatory function, calling for a mental or physical response on the part of the individual reader or collective. Together, these features lend a polemical tone to the English-medium writing of the Chinese candidates. It seems reasonable that Chinese students who wish to succeed in English-medium higher education should aim ultimately towards models of writing commonly expected of students in that context. However, in order to fairly assess the potential of Chinese candida...

Community-Based Chinese Schools in Southern California: A Survey of Teachers.

Abstract: In this study, the author examines the results of questionnaire given to 92 teachers in community-based Chinese schools (CCSs) in Southern California. Information was sought from the teachers on their academic background and aspirations, the reasons for them to choose to teach in the CCSs, and their views on the quality of the education provided by CCSs. The teachers were also asked how they saw the CCSs developing in the future. The paper discusses the findings in detail and their implications for the future of CCSs.

The teaching of spanish as a second language in an indigenous bilingual intercultural curriculum

Abstract: This paper reports on the implementation of an ambitious bilingual instructional programme in the P'urhepecha-speaking region of Michoacans tate in Mexico, the Meseta Tarasca. A curriculum of indigenous language preservation and cultural affirmation, overturning the previous Spanish-only programme, has been developed by a group of indigenous teachers in two P'urhepecha elementary schools, 'Miguel Hidalgo' of San Isidro and 'Benito Juarez' in the neighbouring village of Uringuitiro. Today, the P'urhepecha language is the nucleus of the curriculum. With the previous curriculum largely discredited, the bilingual teachers embarked on a project that would both provide instruction to children in a language they understand, and contrib- ute to the preservation of their indigenous language, which in these communities, in all cases, is children's first language (L1). Being cognizant of the importance of learning Spanish as a second language, a major current planning and curriculum design priority is to find a way to integrate Spanish language instruction into the academic subject areas in accordance with current models of content-based second language teaching. doi: 10.2167/lcc313.0

Effectively Teaching Discourse to Sign Language Interpreting Students.

Abstract: This paper explores discourse features of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and the need for sign language interpreting students to acquire an understanding of, and skills in, a range of discourse genres in Auslan in order to effectively carry out the work required in their profession. Discourse features of spoken English are outlined and compared with those of signed languages, and an overview of the curriculum and effective teaching approaches used for exploring discourse with sign language interpreting students at Macquarie University is given. The pedagogical process will be detailed in order to convey how Auslan interpreting students analyse, discuss and experience different discourse genres and relate them to their work as interpreters. By engaging in this process, Auslan interpreters are able to develop the necessary skills to effectively negotiate their way in the Deaf community and better understand its language and culture, and provide deaf people using a minority language with access to the maj...

Afterword: The Chinese Learner in Perspective

Abstract: This afterword considers the context of internationalization in the UK and in China. In this we will consider the aspect of students numbers and types in the UK and of some responses to the changing situation in China. This author also presents and comments on a small-scale survey and research project which looks at one way of helping the international student to adapt, through the teaching of intercultural communication. The conclusion is that this and the other means of responding to the needs of the Chinese learner proposed by our authors in this book can contribute to a positive outcome for the students in our care.

Scots in Contemporary Social and Educational Context

Abstract: Although Scots is listed by the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages as one of the UK's minority languages, its historical development and its contemporary standing have been significantly affected by a perception that it is a non-standard dialect of English, to which it is closely related, rather than a language in its own right. By considering the historical context of Scots and drawing together evidence concerning its contemporary situation, this paper reflects on the linguistic vitality of Scots at the start of the 21st century. Making educational provision for minority languages is now recognised as a crucial factor in their survival. A critical analysis of current educational policy affecting Scots is therefore presented, in order to assess the role which educational provision might play in the future in strengthening the language. Finally outlined is the scope of research needed to evaluate the success of current and future classroom initiatives and to determine more effective educational policy and practice for the support of Scots and its speakers.

Grassroots Suggestions for Linking Native-Language Learning, Native American Studies, and Mainstream Education in Reservation Schools with Mixed Indian and White Student Populations

Abstract: Indigenous-language education is critical in the rural and small-town communities with mixed native/non-native populations that constitute the headwaters of many dying tongues. Emerging from interviews conducted in 2002 and 2003 on the Flathead Indian Reservation with 89 study participants holding diverse perspectives is the need for a unifying reservation-wide preK-16 language curriculum that will bring about continuous and meaningful connections (1) across Indian-language-education programmes, (2) between Indian-language classrooms and mainstream classrooms, and (3) between native language education and Native American Studies. This paper considers the grassroots suggestions for building such a curriculum encountered among cultural and community leaders, educators and parents, historians and politicians, Indians and non-Indians, and advocates and sceptics of indigenous-language education. The study findings indicate that framing indigenous-language learning as part of place-based multicultural education...

Codeswitching in EFL Group Work in China

Abstract: Communicative techniques in English Language Teaching (ELT) have their origins in Western English-speaking contexts and have been transplanted into EFL environments. This has occurred without a great deal of research about how they work in these new situations. Group work is one well known technique of communicative language teaching now commonly used in many EFL settings. This paper reports on what actually happened when Chinese students worked in groups as part of their normal English classes. It found that one feature of the students' behaviour included codeswitching between English and Chinese during discussions. Evidence from an examination of group discussion transcripts and student interview data showed that codeswitching can fulfil a variety of functions in group discussions. It is possible that some of these functions may limit the range of communicative English outcomes originally intended for group work.

Parental Influences on Language Learning in Hebrew Sunday School Classes

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of attitudes held by parents of Jewish Hebrew students at a Boston area Sunday school. Five parents of diverse backgrounds were interviewed in-depth to discuss the nature of their attitudes. Three common themes emerged related to the reasons for their high levels of involvement with the Sunday school: (1) the importance of interpersonal relationships within the Jewish community, (2) support in discovering elements of Jewish identity, and (3) the responsibility for constructing necessary social and educational structures or frameworks in order for the learning to be possible. Implications of the study for the development of Sunday school Hebrew classes in North America are discussed.