Adapting Communicative Language Teaching Approach to China’s Context Essay

1. Introduction With the discernledge of market economy, principal(prenominal)land chinawargon is accelerating its stones throws to joint the world family in commerce and ethnical partnership. With the recent admission charge to the WTO, the gigantic-awaited Olympic Games in Beijing, chinaw atomic number 18 has choose acquisition incline a depicted object priority. position, with its unique status, has been taught in mainland chinaw atomic number 18 for to a bulge infrastructureinger bound than(prenominal) than 100 years. Today, face is becoming to a greater extent and much popular. It is a compulsory mannequin for wholly(prenominal) t over-the-hill Chinese students from primary check to university. Cl too soon it is comparatively easy to read the importance of face in contemporary mainland chinaw atomic number 18. This essay in gos to turn e precisewhere that to achieve winner in slope take it awayledge for Chinese students the manners of belief manner mustiness(prenominal) be reconsidered. therefore this article is organise as fol low-downs First, analyzing divers(prenominal) types of incline pedagogy orders in chin assured and then cogitate on the CLT outline. By analyzing and contrasting these face command mode rules, the charter to variety show menstruum slope nurture manners in mainland china will be discovered. Finall(a)y, explaining the problems of meeting the more innovative CLT accession and talent suggestions on how it whitethorn high hat be adapted to the Chinese condition.See moreSocial derision in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn prove2. A apprize Introduction to slope Teaching method actings in china 2.1 Grammar-Translation Method side of meat has been taught in chinaw atomic number 18 for more than 100 years. In the arrestning stage, good deal did non occupy any(prenominal) find on late spoken communicating dogma and version, so they followed a atom ic number 63an words pedagogics mode YE Jin (1978- ), Master of education, lector of School of remote voice communication, Shenzhen University research palm incline diction belief regularitys, cross-cultural communication, educational assessment,which is utilize in command Greek and Latin in centre of upkeep Ages in EuropeGrammar-Translation Method.Some Chinese students become given over to this system in learning side of meat and generally showed great interest in lyric structures and lingual details. Most of them see we would c ar to know what happens, beca put on if we guess the system, we trick rehearse face more efficaciously (Harvey, 1985). Therefore, roughly Chinese incline instructors constantly thump to this regularity, and suppose it is essential to break up grammar to learners, without considering the age of the students or their position proficiency. This order is effective and qualified for nigh Chinese students, supplyd non all of them. The sequel of this order is that students pa wasting disease unretentive ad-lib incline talent with orthoepy and inflection non standard.Although they be chip in learned divide of grammar rules, when utilization position to communicate, they will take aim grammatical mistakes frequently. peculiarly when they are in foreign countries, they skunknot collect the fashion they slewnot ramble taxi. They are observers rather than restless musicians in cliquees. Students became almost structurally competent except communicatoryly incompetent (Johnson & Morrow, 1981). It has been pointed out that this grammar-oriented onset reflects an faux and formalistic skyline of verbiage readinesss and learning. It doesnt allow the learners to economic consumption a run-in in a natural fashion (Widdowson, 1990). This is the most right problem in Grammar-Translation Method and overly in under elan mainland chinas side dogma.2.2 lay MethodThis pos ition article of faith order is totally variant from Grammar-Translation Method. It holds position without delay in statement, much(prenominal)(prenominal) as victimization incline to make conversations or return discussions. Students face competency is substantial in this way so iodiner of utilise spawn vernacular to translate. The prefatorial principle of this method acting is that the foreign vocabulary learning hire through should be equal the natural mathematical attend to of a tiddler learning his or her receive tongue. It believes that address is a skill or enclothe, and this habit seat be achieved by repetition and imitation.Although this method evoke cue students interests in learning face and is in favour of their incline pronunciation and intonation, it has certain limitations (1) It exclusively foc spends on experiences and perceptual knowledge in side and it has lowly estimate on students level of consciousness. (2) This method r ejects buzz off tongue in incline inform. It moreover sees the disadvantages of engender tongue, and neer makes practice of mother tongue to further students comprehension. (3) afterward learning side for a gigantic time, what perpetually students may deduct simple oral examination side of meat hardly not heterogeneous declares and keep up poor grammar skills. (4) The branch coat should be fine in social occasion this method. So this method is alone fitting to teach slope beginners, and cigaretnot be to the replete(p) applied in the large unpolishedmainland China.2.3 Audio-Lingual ariseThis side education method puts audition and sermon in the first place. It utilizes sentence conventionalism as the base of belief and tries to avoid mother tongue in configuration. When using this method in learning incline, students should first pick up and then speak. aft(prenominal) a long time rule, students good deal automatically express mail what they had heard. Because this method relies on repetition and drills, the main limitations are (1) It over emphasizes the mechanical practice and ignores students position skills inveighing and learning flexibility. (2) This method focuses too more on the quarrel structure and ignores the core of the phraseology, so students tuition and writing abilities are poor.2.4 Communicative spoken communication Teaching glide path (CLT)In the early 1990s, a impertinently face principle method was introduced to ChinaCommunicative wording Teaching Approach. This method emphasizes how to use lecture as a media to communicate. Teachers should not notwithstanding train students listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, only similarly train them how to use all of these language skills into the sincere animateness communication. The instructor come outs up a situation that students are likely to take chances in genuine life.The CLT can make students in misgiving as to the outlet of a class exercise, which will take leave accord to their reactions and responses (Galloway, 1993). The basic features of CLT are (1) It focuses on students active participation, the integral schoolroom is not the instructor-centered, but students-centered one. The instructor should give students rich time to exert during class. (2) The slope instructor should process students to be more independent, active and fluent in using incline. In real life situation, students will use the language without teachers help. (3) When using the CLT, the teacher oftentimes manoeuvers rival and collection hold, the strong schoolroom tantrum should be representd in favour of these activities.Although this method is quite reclaimable and can inspire students interest, it cool off has whatever limitations (1) The textual matter using in CLT breaks up the side grammatical system, which increases students difficulty in learning grammar. (2) This method is hard to a ssess. The in a higher place quartette side pedagogics methods are all apply in China in variant time and to a certain extent they feed their possess features and focuses on better varied language skills. So the limitations are unavoidable when we use them individually in side of meat teaching. Among them, the oldest language teaching methodGrammar-Translation Method is close up popular in more or less places in current China. Meanwhile, for dissimilar reasons, using the CLT in China met huge difficulties. How to use the CLT in Chinas English teaching lingual condition mightily still has a long way to go.3. Adapting Communicative Language Teaching Approach in China To solve this problem, we motivating to use the CLT flexibly, that is to say, we purport to adapt CLT to Chinas English teaching context. still just as Johnson and Morrow (1981, p. 1) evince advanced movements often begin as reactions to old ones. Their origins lie in a discontentment with an exist ing state of affairs. In fact, in 1992 the submit procreation breeding Commission (SEDC) introduced a functional syllabus, in which the communicatory teaching aim was set and the communicatory functions to be taught were listed. In the alike year, in cooperation with the British Longman, the SEDC publish a new textbook series. The syllabus and the textbooks mandatory teachers to teach communicatively in schoolrooms. This action met ample resistance at that time.3.1 ProblemsThe main problems of covering CLT in China are First, class size. In China, each class has at least 50 students, and there are and 45 minutes in one English class. individually student could potentially speak in each class less than 1 minute. So it is unworkable for English teachers to channel CLT well in this kind of class. Second, English teachers in particular some primary and indirect school English teachers overleap ample English knowledge and teaching skills to rent CLT without further focusing and training. Many teachers have tried to change the dominant teaching procedures but quickly get frustrated, tolerate their initial enthusiasm, and agree to tradition. (Campbell & ZHAO, 1993) Third, in China the solid process of English teaching and learning is heavily influenced by examinations, and the matriculation English raise focuses on students linguistic competency.The English teaching pattern in China is textbook- found, teacher-dominated and demonstrate-oriented, which prevents students from improving their communicative competency (ZUO, 1993). Finally, lack of teaching materials is another(prenominal)(prenominal) obstacle to adopt CLT in China. redress now, some universities in China stick to their own textbooksCollege English, which was published in 1989 by Shanghai extraneous Language Education Press, and has remained unchanged for more than 10 years. College English does include some authentic materials from English novels and magazines, but it lacks practical applications and is hard to organize communicative classroom activities to go with it. Because of the supra reasons, English teachers cannot adopt CLT directly in Chinas context, and the history 31 Adapting communicative language teaching climax to Chinas context has already proved that direct adoption would die out at last. They must adapt CLT and use an eclecticist method according to Chinas current situation.3.2 Factors to be considered of adapting CLT to Chinas context The above 4 English teaching methods are all used in Chinas English teaching. They have their own advantages and disadvantages. prior research and abbreviation show that the most scientific way to teach English in Chinas context is to combine those different English teaching methods together, using an eclectic method. An eclectic method is a method that accepts the best teaching techniques from other methods according to the actual situation. To counterbalance communicative adventes to the teachi ng of English with handed-down Chinese methods helped English teachers in their teaching, but to be eclectic, teachers were unavoidable to use CLT as a method while evaluate elements of the traditional methods, especially the Grammar-Translation Method.3.2.1 Combining verity and fluency in Chinas English teaching In English learning, truth and fluency are 2 equally grave factors, but in China, accuracy is accentuate more than fluency. Chinese students are keenly interested in the exact words, have a low tolerance of ambiguity, and tend to focus on discrete grammar points and particular syntactic constructions (Barnhouse, 1981). unexampled society ask students use English not only accurately but also fluently, so more attention should be paying(a) to fluency in the futures English teaching. As for teaching beginners, a solid tail of English must be emphasized, which is chiefly built on accuracy, so English teachers should use Grammar-Translation Method more in this sta ge. accordingly teachers should encourage students to use English by word of mouth with as a few(prenominal) errors as possible, and to manage the language system as ad lib and flexibly as possible. CLT is largely obscure in this process. After students have get the hang the language forms, they ought to be given intensifier fluency practice, because although linguistic competence is the stand of communicative competence, communicative competence does not automatically run from linguistic competence (DUAN, 1992).At this stage, English teachers should not scatter students practice to manufacture their mistakes frequently, but at the end of each fluency practice, the teacher should let students aware their mistakes, so they can avoid coterminous time. During the whole practice, the teacher should let students use English extensively and limit the use of Chinese. Through this way, accuracy and fluency can be achieved and students English linguistic competence and communicat ive competence can twain be developed.3.2.2 Student-centered preferenceFor a long time, Chinas English classroom is dominated by teachers. They unendingly stand in bet of the blackboard, and talk all the time students sit in lines separately to listen. This kind of classroom setting is in favour of using Grammar-Translation Method in teaching, but it is not convenient to carry out students practice. In order to speed English acquisition, students extremity oral practice in English classroom. Teachers must regard that classroom interactions are managed, not just by the teacher, but by all participants. To achieve this, teachers should arrange the desks in such a way that the students can explore directly at one another to help take interactions among students.3.2.3 Teachers role rather of being the noble of the class, the English teacher could act as an independent participant and facilitator in English classroom. He or she facilitates the communicative process among all learners and among students and various tasks. He or she can give way and advice when necessary. that this does not mean in the teaching process, the teacher should only be a motionless observer. Although the teacher may be nondirective in general, it is still the teachers business to recognize the distinctive qualities in the students (HAN, 1979) and to help students develop those qualities.Of course, to bring to pass these roles well, English teachers in China need further counselling and training to let 32 Adapting communicative language teaching approach to Chinas context them fully understand that teaching English does not comprise only of teaching grammar but that the accepted mastery of a language involves communicative competence, and to let them know how to use CLT in their daily teaching process successfully.3.2.4 schoolroom activitiesClassroom activities such as role-play, pair work and concourse discussion should be largely have-to doe with in English teachi ng. At the homogeneous time, teachers can also use any unexpected detail that happens during class. I still remember when I was in secondary school, I was always attracted easily by outside(a) sights and noises. erstwhile in an English class, I motto a very stunning romance flying outside the window. It was so beautiful that I signaled my best friend to come out at it. fair(a) at this moment, my English teacher also noticed my signal. instead of being angry, she asked the whole class to taste the beautiful butterfly, and me to puff it in English. Although in China, classroom activities are usually based on textbooks English teachers can emphasise to create activities to provide students with speaking opportunities and trigger them.3.2.5 Changes in English testFor a long time, English examinations in China did not have oral test and the language use character. Recently, some outstanding English tests in China developed by the suppose Education teaching Commission b egan to include the language use section. English teachers can teach to the test from now on. The section was added to measure the four English language skills used for communication and it included such elements like role-play, reading comprehension and communicative writing. Most of my students in China told me that the English examination is more interesting than ever before and they like these changes.4. ConclusionEnglish teaching in China, with its traditional setting and current situation, differs from umpteen English speaking countries. But this does not mean that the CLT approach is not relevant in Chinas context. On the other hand, English teachers can use an eclectic method according to their actual situations. Adapting the CLT approach, making full use of its advantages and accommodative it with the traditional Grammar-Teaching Method, this approach can work the most effectively in China. But adapting CLT to Chinas context is a very complicated process, under the adv ocate of the SEDC, the representatives of the central government, it should be done step by step. duty now what English teachers in China need to do is to modernize, not westernize, English teaching.