CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform [1 ed.] 9781617281846, 9781607410249

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Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

CHINA EFL CURRICULUM REFORM

No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

CHINA EFL CURRICULUM REFORM

MARTIN WOLFF

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EDITOR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material.

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Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

ISBN: 978-1-61728-184-6 (E-Book)

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.  New York

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

CONTENTS Preface

vii

In Memorium

ix

Foreword

xi

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Volume I: Section I – Language Policy in China Chapter 1

Linguistic Failures Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

Chapter 2

China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish? Have Recent Developments in Language Policy Begun to Endanger the Autonomy of China? Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

1

5

Chapter 3

English or Chinglish? Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

Chapter 4

China’s EFL/ESL Goals and Objectives: Are They Being Met? Teng Hai, Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

21

Chapter 5

China EFL: Questions – Questions – Questions Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

33

Chapter 6

English as a Foreign Language: The Modern Day Trojan Horse? Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

9

57

Section II – China EFL Curriculum Reform Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved? Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

69

Can You Get a First-Class Education at a Third-Tier College in China? Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff, Teng Hai and Anne-Marie Gregory

95

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vi

Contents

Chapter 9

Use and Abuse of Teaching with Movies Niu Qiang, Teng Hai and Martin Wolff

117

Chapter 10

China EFL: Programming Human Robots Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

127

Chapter 11

China EFL: What Is Holistic English? Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

135

Chapter 12

China EFL: A New Paradigm Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

143

Chapter 13

China EFL: Holistic English: The Revolution Has Begun, but the Long March Lies Ahead Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

153

Chapter 14

Incompatibility of Corporate Training and Holistic English 255 Martin Wolff

Chapter 15

Grade Inflation in Higher Education Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

259

Chapter 16

English Corner Martin Wolff

263

Chapter 17

Why Chinese Universities Do Not Provide an English-Speaking Environment Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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Index

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271 277

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PREFACE This book is a compilation of articles arising from the authors’ seven years of personal experiences, study, research and analysis of EFL teaching in China between 2002 and 2008. It is an attempt to document deficiencies and suggest improvements for EFL teaching in China. The authors began with the assumption that identifying the existing problems, analysing them and suggesting corrective action would be beneficial to bringing about much needed curriculum reform. At the end of WWII, the leadership of China’s Communism perceived that Russia’s socialism would be the most significant economic superpower of the world and China’s most important trading partner. To prepare China’s economic infrastructure for this trade alliance, Russian language was taught in every major university throughout China. With the dismantling of the Russian Federation, the Chinese leadership now gazes into the 21st century with increasing globalization, having a new perception that major economic powers from predominately English-speaking nations like the United States of America and the European Block will evolve to become China’s most important trading partners. In the past 20 years, English language has reached fever pitch in some economic free zones of China and has spread across the vast continent of China, impacting primary schools, middle schools, universities and colleges of higher education. Everyone in China is being exposed to the English language in one form or another. At any given moment, at least 600 million Chinese citizens are studying English, which is more than twice the number of people living in the United States of America. Since 1980, pre-adult Chinese students learned English by rote memorization of rules and vocabulary. As a result, after 12 to 15 years of education, a preponderance of the students still claim that they experience great difficulty in formulating a coherent written English sentence that is acceptable by business English requirements and international standards. China produces college graduates who have studied English for 16 years and are able to pass the national English knowledge examinations, but are unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English. They have memorized thousands of English words and set phrases. But when it comes to speaking or writing comprehensible English, they are like the parrot who can “talk” by saying “Polly want a cracker.” China has invested heavily in its English language teaching programs, which feature English learning to the exclusion of English acquisition. Famous Chinese professors write textbooks in conjunction with recognized foreign scholars. The state-owned publishing houses, which have an exclusive monopoly on publishing in China, invest heavily in

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viii

Preface

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publishing these English learning texts to the exclusion of English acquisition texts. Chinese schools are not allowed to purchase texts on line or from Western sources. There has been a quantum of second language acquisition knowledge discovered over the past 20 years by researchers in Europe and America. However, the resulting new teaching methodology and pedagogy currently dominating Western countries is facing resistance from the mainstream Chinese educational system. Whether this resistance is a forerunner to a ‘clash of cultures’ is yet to be realized. It may be as simple as a case of economic protectionism by those with vested interests in the current EFL teaching methodology. This book includes a description of an English acquisition program (Holistic English) which the authors developed, tested and proved successful at various levels within the Chinese higher education system. The Holistic English Program produces a higher pass rate on the national English knowledge exams and it produces speakers and writers of comprehensible English. Yet, this language acquisition program is met with apathy, indifference, incompetence, opposition and outright hostility. The authors realize that some readers will nod their head in agreement, while others will receive this book with hostility and will adeptly challenge the authors’ findings through debating the numerous issues raised and conclusions reached. The controversies generated and the debates that will ensue will give rise to a more open and intellectually honest discourse. Scientific freedom and methods will have gained a greater foothold and maybe, just maybe, EFL teaching in China will experience the major methodology and pedagogy overhaul that is long overdue. The result: China will be that much closer to achieving its stated goal of a better-off society through modernization. This compilation of articles makes a compelling case for the need for EFL curriculum reform.

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IN MEMORIUM

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DENG XIAOPING 1904 – 1997 The completion of this book on August 22, 2008 coincides with the celebration of the 104th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping, the architect of the reform and opening up of China to take its rightful place in the new world order. It is with deep admiration and respect for Deng Xiaoping that we attempt to build upon his philosophy and vision for modernization of China’s educational system. We are mindful of the wisdom of Deng Xiaoping when he said: “It’s not that we have too many debates and discussions among persons of different opinions, but too few. Erroneous views may crop up during discussions, but that is nothing to be afraid of. We must adhere to the policy of ‘letting a hundred schools of thought contend’, and promote debate. Different schools of thought should respect and complement each other. Academic exchanges should be promoted. No success in research can be the result of the efforts of a single individual: it always rests on the achievements of past generations as well as our own. Any new scientific theory is a summation of practical experience. How can a new theory be evolved if it is not based on a summation of the practical experience of both past and present generations of scientists, both Chinese and foreign?” —Some comments on work in science and education, August 8, 1977 (speech at a forum on work in science and education)

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FOREWORD The profound insights of this book should be required reading for all educational policy makers, educational institution administrators, Chinese and foreign English teachers, English students and their parents, throughout China.

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—Michael Denson, PhD (USA)

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VOLUME I: SECTION I – LANGUAGE POLICY IN CHINA

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Chapter 1

LINGUISTIC FAILURES∗

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff It is undeniable that England has given the modern global community English as the international language of commerce1, British common law2, contract law3 and maritime (Admiralty) law4. Whether by accident or design, the effect of these contributions on the world is a fundamental destruction of individual ethnic customs, social structure and culture. There appears little or no dissent among linguists for the proposition that language and culture are inseparable. Language functions as a symbolic marker of a nation due to the inseparable relationship between language and culture, which is sociolinguistic in nature; while the inseparable relationship between language and culture is to be traced further to the interdependent relationship between language and thought, which is psycholinguistic in origin. And yet, armed with this knowledge, linguists worldwide sit idly by and watch as their local culture is stealthily supplanted by English culture riding piggyback on the English language, embraced officially or unofficially as the second language. Occasionally, a scholar like Prof. Kanavillil Rajagopalan writes a controversial piece such as “National languages as flags of allegiance; or the linguistics that failed us: A close look at emergent linguistic chauvinism in Brazil,” which reminds us that not only is the English language the greatest all-time export of Great Britain, but this gift is like a Trojan horse that brings with it a potentially destructive force. The situation in Brazil, as described by Prof. Kanavillil Rajagopalan, is not so dissimilar to that in China. The teaching of English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in China has become a nationwide endeavor pursued at all academic levels, from kindergarten to the University. In the past 10 years there has been an explosion in the development of public school English ∗

English Today, Volume 23, Issue 01 (2007) The English language is the UK's biggest export success story. British Council, The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. www.britishcouncil.org/ belgium/english/ 2 http://www.hildesheim.co.uk/quickreference/politics/britlaw.html 3 http://www.duhaime.org/contract/ca-con1.htm 4 Maritime Law as a Mixed Legal System (1999) 23 Tul. Mar. L.J. 317. 1

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2

Linguistic Failures

programs and private English language schools throughout China. EFL/ESL has become very big business in China (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02). Reports show that ESL has become a 10-billion-yuan business in China. Of the 37-billion-yuan annual book sales, ESL takes up as much as 25% of the market share. And a few ESL teachers in Shanghai command an hourly rate of 1,000 yuan (US$120). Even on average, a student pays 10–20 yuan (US$1.2–2.4) for one hour of ESL training. In 1862, under the Great Qing Dynasty, the first English language school was officially opened by the Chinese Government to train 10 men for the newly-created diplomatic corps (Deyi, 1992 Panda Books). In the past 10 years, there has been an alarming increase in emphasis on English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL) in China. Now, China annually recruits 100,000 Foreign Experts (FE) to teach English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL) (www.Chinatefl.com) with an accompanying 10 billion yuan price tag (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02). According to one Internet recruiting Web site, there are 150,000 foreign ESL teachers working in China (www.AbroadChina.org). The People’s Daily reports that in 2001 the industry made a 700 million yuan (US$8,700,000) profit in Beijing alone (People’s Daily, 1/23/02). Public middle schools, high schools and universities throughout China have developed and implemented English language programs. Private EFL/ESL schools (kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges) have proliferated to such an extent that, according to statistics from the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the NPC, about 54,000 private schools had been set up in China by the end of 2000, with 6.93 million registered students (People’s Daily, 5/23/01). At first blush, it may appear admirable that China has so wholeheartedly made such a concerted effort to adopt English, the international language of commerce, as its second language. On October 24, 2002, Zang Xinsheng, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Education, reportedly said: “With China’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the approaching Olympics in 2008 more than ever is it a priority for young Chinese to learn and improve their language skills?” (China Daily, 10/25/02). The same article states that Beijing is striving to reach its goal of teaching citizens to speak English to improve its image as an international metropolis. Beijing wants its 13 million residents to speak English to enhance its image as a cosmopolitan city (China Daily, 10/25/02). China’s Ministry of Education wants all young people of China to learn English due to China’s WTO membership and China’s hosting the 2008 Olympics, and certain municipal governments in China require all of their civil servants to learn some English (China Daily, 10/5/02). These goals or objectives beg the question, “Why?” Market studies, market analysis and affirmative recommendations from experts in the fields of business, math and linguistics should support each of the foregoing propositions, but these do not appear to have been conducted. What is the mathematical probability that each of Beijing’s 13 million or so residents will need to be able to speak English for an intended or even accidental encounter with a single English speaking foreigner during the 2008 Olympics? Probably not very high. Does a market study support the proposition that Beijing’s image will be enhanced in the eyes of foreigners if all the residents of Beijing can speak English? Further, would such image enhancement translate into increased economic benefit for Beijing? If so, how much economic benefit will accrue to Beijing and does it offset the social, cultural and political

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

3

costs that must be paid along the way by the people of Beijing? These questions do not appear to have been addressed by any formal study. How many bilingual (Chinese-English) jobs will actually be created in China due to China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and hosting the 2008 Olympics? Does the number of new jobs requiring English support the need for all of China’s young people to learn English? Answers to these questions are not readily available. And about the bilingual jobs created by the 2008 Olympics: How long will they last? A few months? Why should someone spend three or four years studying English in college for a job in 2008 that will only last a few months? Post-Olympics, what becomes of these Chinese English speakers? What is the mathematical probability that all municipal government civil servants, in any particular Chinese municipality, will need to use English in their daily work? Very slim. Is there any empirical study or evidence to support the current EFL/ESL revolution in China, which may in fact have significant adverse social, cultural and political effects? (Qiang/Wolff, April 2003). It does not appear that the Chinese Central Government has issued any formal resolution or position paper authorizing, condoning or supporting the current ESL revolution in China. Rather, it has been allowed and even been encouraged to just evolve. Other than standardized testing for college entrance, the Central Government seems to have no set educational policy or curriculum for EFL/ESL. There is no single Ministry of Education document stating the government’s policy on EFL/ESL in China (He Qixin, 8/01). This rush to educate has spawned an industry run amok, without appreciable government control or regulation (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03). Why the concerted effort to require 1.3 billion Mandarin speakers, 25% of the world’s population, to learn English as a foreign/second language? Since Mandarin is one of the six working languages of the United Nations, does the world at large have a greater appreciation for the importance of Mandarin than China itself? Is the current EFL/ESL revolution in China a misguided, self-inflicted English colonialization, brought about tacitly, if not officially, by adopting EFL/ESL teaching as a national program? Will the West conquer China from within, without a single shot ever being fired? Will English enculturation supplant traditional Chinese culture and values? Will Beijing duck and dim sum be replaced with McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken? Why has China apparently forsaken Mandarin for English when 25% of the world’s population already speaks Mandarin, and Mandarin is one of the six working languages of the United Nations? Why does China so meekly submit to the English-based new world order emanating out of Washington, D.C. when 25% of the world’s population looks to Beijing for its leadership? Does China not yet realize the reality that the emerging China has the immediate clout to demand that those desiring to do business in China or with China should learn Mandarin, rather than expect 1.3 billion Chinese to learn English? Why should 1.3 billion Chinese learn English when five percent of Chinese college graduates will not use oral English in their whole lifetime nor will they read any English materials (China Daily, 11/3/03)? Could or should China learn something from the EU’s prioritizing the preservation and continued use of native languages (Qiang/Wolff 4/03)? Is the risk posed by EFL/ESL to China’s social, cultural and even political structures and systems outweighed by the potential economic benefits such that China’s Chineseness is for sale? EFL/ESL at any cost? Should

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4

Linguistic Failures

the love of money replace traditional Chinese wisdom as the most valuable asset of the new Chingland? Should economic gain be at the expense of what makes China different from all other nations? National identity is tied directly to the preservation of the native language. It is safe to say that the language issue should not be treated merely as purely linguistic, but rather as a potential dynamic force that may operate on various social and political factors and thus lead to drastic social transformations. Language planning has to be taken into serious consideration by policy makers where independence is newly declared, or where sovereign cohesiveness is challenged, so that national unity and harmony can be maintained. A national language is more than just the language of government or of education; it is the symbol of a people’s identity as citizens of that nation. This language issue should not be treated as merely linguistic, but rather it is a sociopsychological issue in nature and is of political significance due to the intrinsic relationship among language, thought and culture. A national language shared by all in-group members is the potential unifying force that brings people closer in time of social change, but it can also be a divisive power that may break a nation into parts or groups. Yes, Prof. Kanavillil Rajagopalan, linguists must engage the issue on all fronts, including active public discussion of political and ethical issues. If not linguists, then who?

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REFERENCES China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (10/9/02), “English Patients”. China Daily (10/5/02), “Government Encourages Public to Learn English”. China Daily (11/3/03), “Is English Invading Chinese Culture?” Deyi, 1992 Panda Books. He Qixin (8/01), Foreign Language and Teaching Research, English Language Education in China. “Maritime Law as a Mixed Legal System” (1999), 23 Tul. Mar. L.J. 317. People’s Daily (11/23/02), “English Language Training Profitable Industry in China?” People’s Daily (5/23/01), “China to Draft Law on Private Schools?” Qiang/Wolff (4/03), “China and Chinese or Chingland and Chinglish?” English Today. Qiang/Wolff (9/03), “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok?” Progress in Education. www.AbroadChina.org. www.britishcouncil.org/belgium/english www.Chinatefl.com. www.duhaime.org. www.hildesheim.co.uk/.

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Chapter 2

CHINA AND CHINESE, OR CHINGLAND AND CHINGLISH? HAVE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN LANGUAGE POLICY BEGUN TO ENDANGER THE AUTONOMY OF CHINA?∗ Niu Chiang and Martin Wolff

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ABSTRACT This chapter does not pretend to provide a solution to any pressing social, economic or political issue, nor does it rely upon any prior academic research for its suppositions. Instead, it is an attempt to spark public interest, analysis and debate on what may be the defining moment in the shaping and development of the new China as “Chingland,” with “Chinglish” as its national language. “Modernization” was one of the buzzwords of the recent 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. However, use of this term appeared to consistently imply “Westernization”; there appeared to be a lack of clear differentiation (and appreciation of the difference) between the two terms. It is the perception of this lack that sparked the authors’ interest in the subject matter of this chapter.

IS ‘MODERNIZATION’ SIMPLY ‘WESTERNIZATION’? In the West, business leaders calculate the cost/benefit of every decision. This includes consideration of hard, soft and psychic costs and benefits (both tangible and intangible): that is, hard (currency, raw materials, labor, logistics, etc.); soft (loans, grants, charitable contributions, sponsorships, good will, etc.); and psychic (reputation, brand identification, celebrity association or endorsement, etc.). On the other hand, Western political leaders tend to calculate public opinion (as measured or determined by surveys conducted by professional ∗

Published: English Today (4/03) Vol. 19 No.2 Cambridge University Press (Variation); Speaking English (9/03) (Original)

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

pollsters) and make popular decisions that are more likely to translate into extended political life. Western business leaders keep their attention focused on business longevity and profit, while Western political leaders keep their attention focused on political longevity. As a result, both groups of leaders, more often than not, develop “tunnel vision”, which can—and often does—produce unexpected, unanticipated and unwanted results, which could have been avoided through a more expansive or comprehensive world view. Sometimes, very good people with good intentions make very bad decisions that unintentionally produce bad consequences and worse ramifications. For example, to what extent, if any, has China adopted or embraced Western tunnel vision in its decision to embrace the wholesale teaching of English as a Second Language throughout China—purely for anticipated future economic gain? Have all of the probable or foreseeable consequences and ramifications been carefully studied, examined and debated? China has made a deliberate and calculated decision to open its door to the world, to join the “new world order” (in effect, an English-based world government emanating out of Washington and London), and reap the economic benefits of participation in the new global economy through WTO (World Trade Organization) membership, hosting the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and hosting the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai. A great deal has been written about China’s preparation to take its rightful place as a major participant in the new world order, and a great deal has also been written about the basic changes that must take place within China in order to comply with the requirements of that membership. However, have all of the consequences and ramifications been adequately contemplated, or has the tunnel vision of Western influence already crept stealthily into the highest level of decision making in China? Has the promise of economic prosperity and parity blinded China to certain inescapable realities? In the past 10 years, there has been an alarming increase in the emphasis on English as a Second Language (ESL) in China. Public middle schools, high schools and universities throughout China have developed and implemented English-language programs. Private ESL schools (kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges) have proliferated to such an extent that there are now an estimated 3,000 private ESL schools in the city of Shanghai alone (Shanghai Star, 10/17/02). At first blush, it may appear admirable that China has so wholeheartedly made such a concerted effort to adopt English, the international language of commerce, as its second language. On October 24, 2002, Zang Xinsheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, reportedly said: “With China’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the approaching Olympics in 2008 more than ever is it a priority for young Chinese to learn and improve their language skills?” (“Government encourages public to learn English,” China Daily, 10/25/02). The same article states that “Beijing is striving to reach its goal of teaching citizens to speak English to improve its image as an international metropolis.” Chinese students studying ESL believe that they will eventually reap increased economic benefits as a direct result of ESL study. An informal survey of approximately 1,000 Chinese ESL students, conducted by the authors in Shanghai, Wuhan and Xinyang, revealed that their motivation was predicated upon either their parents’ desire or their own desire for an improved economic future. If we apply Western cost/benefit analysis to ESL in China, it could hardly be disputed that this national educational and linguistic revolution will provide substantial economic

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China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish?

7

benefits to both China and the Chinese people. But an alarm bell has been sounded by such eminent scholars as Professor To Cho-yee of Hong Kong, who argues that the widespread study of English is a waste of valuable resources to the detriment of the study of Mandarin (cf. Shanghai Star, 10/24/02, “English Dominance”). Linguistic scholars apparently all agree that language and culture are inseparable. Therefore, as Chinese students learn English, they also learn Western culture. As Chinese students study Western business, they necessarily learn all about “democracy” (simple majority rule by means of voluntary elections), which is the foundation for Western corporate ownership and management control. It follows that the nationwide Chinese ESL campaign brings with it an immersion in Western concepts, including social, cultural, business and political thought. It is inevitable that a certain amount of traditional Chinese thought will give way to a certain amount of Western thought, which translates into a society developing with confusing input. The final result may be a country that is neither purely Chinese nor purely Western, but rather a Westernized China which might more aptly, if ruefully, be referred to as “Chingland.” The people, their culture, and their language will either be Mandarin sprinkled with English words (Shanghai Star, 10/24/02, “Guangzhou … public servants should possess an English vocabulary of at least 1,000 words.”), or a Westernized Chinese people who speak broken English, or “Chinglish,” comparable to the “Singlish” of Singapore, the “pidgin English” of Hawaii, or the Creole of Louisiana. Moreover, the current political structure of China will not be immune to the forces of change wrought by the intense study of democracy in Business English or MBA courses. Once the “simple majority rule by voluntary election” genie has been let out of the bottle and grasped by the simple majority, it cannot be forced back into the bottle. The infusion of foreign businesses into China with their Western model of “democratic” management will further indoctrinate Chinese business leaders in the Western principles of “democracy.” It will no longer be a question of “if” democracy will ever have a serious impact on China’s politics, but when. Is the “democracy” being taught through ESL compatible with the long-term goals and objectives of the Chinese Communist Party? Again, applying the idea of Western business cost/benefit analysis, we may ask: What is the real cost of China’s quest to garner its slice of the global economic pie? And is the price to be paid too high? China is recognized as a developing nation in economic terms. But has adequate consideration been given to the fact that it is also a developing nation in social and cultural terms and that its nationwide ESL program provides a defining moment in that development? Have the anticipated economic benefits unintentionally predestined such basic and fundamental changes in China’s social, cultural and political fabrics that a grassroots backlash may occur? Why has China apparently forsaken Mandarin for English when 25% of the world’s population already speaks Mandarin, and Mandarin is one of the six working languages of the United Nations? Why does China so meekly submit to the English-based new world order emanating out of Washington, D.C. when 25% of the world’s population looks to Beijing for its leadership? Does China not yet realize the reality that the emerging China has the immediate clout to demand that those desiring to do business in China or with China should learn Mandarin, rather than expect 1.3 billion Chinese to learn English? If China is to maintain its national sovereignty, must it not also maintain the use of Mandarin as its vehicle of international communication with the rest of the world? There are those who suggest that it is a matter of practical expediency for China to use English in the

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short term, and that when China reaches economic maturity it can always return to the use of Mandarin. The obvious danger with this argument is that the world is investing in a global business communication system based upon English and it will not willingly spend the time or resources necessary to later change to Mandarin just to accommodate China. It is also doubtful that China itself would ever attempt to press the subsequent international use of Mandarin once it has settled into the use of English and finds it suitable for its international business purposes. The European Union has a very firm understanding of the relationship between maintaining a national language and maintaining a national identity. Enko Landeburn, chief of the EU enlargement office, reportedly said, “It is the democratic right of every member state to use its own language. This rule must be kept” (China Daily, 11/5/02: “European Union Turning into Tower of Babel with Enlargement”). Following this EU model on a world scale, all WTO rules and regulations, proceedings and decisions, should be translated into Mandarin, as should all international business transactions involving China or its business entities. This, of course, gives credence to Professor To’s support (above) for ESL as a means of meeting the need of specific professionals only (Shanghai Star, 10/24/02, “English Dominance”). Translators would certainly fall within this category, as would lawyers, accountants, scientists and other professionals who have an identifiable need to learn proper or precise English. The capital cash outflow through the ESL program could be stemmed and redirected to the multitude of translators that would be required. This would provide an additional economic benefit to China created by the enhanced study of Mandarin rather than the current ESL emphasis. Capital flight through foreign expert ESL teachers would be restrained and the money redirected to pay local Chinese translation teachers. Could or should China learn something from the EU’s prioritizing the preservation and continued use of native languages? Is the risk posed by ESL to China’s social, cultural and even political structures and systems outweighed by the potential economic benefits such that China’s Chineseness is for sale? ESL at any cost? Should the love of money replace traditional Chinese wisdom as the most valuable asset of the new Chingland? Should economic gain be at the expense of what makes China different from all other nations? National identity is tied directly to the preservation of the native language.

CONCLUSION It would appear that linguistic and other scholars throughout China have a fundamental obligation to seek enlightened answers to the questions posed herein and to provide the appropriate guidance to China’s leadership so that the future course for China may be properly charted in the best interests of the people of China and thus avoid decisions resulting from tunnel vision. Is it incongruous that while China’s relics and antiques are not for sale, the underlying heart and culture of China is now apparently on the auction block?

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Chapter 3

ENGLISH OR CHINGLISH?∗ Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff ABSTRACT

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A great deal has been written and said about various approaches to the successful methodology for teaching English as a foreign/second language in China. Entire professional journals are devoted to the subject, such as Teaching English in China and the publications of Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. But no matter how much is written, and no matter what teaching method is employed, the bottom line is that the average Chinese student learns to communicate orally in Chinglish, i.e., Mandarin sprinkled with English or English with Mandarin-induced syntax. The teaching of English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in China has become a nationwide endeavor pursued at all academic levels, from kindergarten to the university. In the past 10 years, there has been an explosion in the development of public school English programs and private English language schools throughout China. EFL/ESL has become very big business in China (China Daily, HK Edition, 10/9/02) Reports show that EFL/ESL has become a 10-billion-yuan business in China. Of the 37billion-yuan annual book sales, EFL/ESL takes up as much as 25% of the market share. And a few EFL/ESL teachers in Shanghai command an hourly rate of 1,000 yuan (US$120). Even on average, a student pays 10–20 yuan (US$1.2–2.4) for one hour of EFL/ESL training. Many of the private ESL schools are in some type of partnership relationship with one or more public schools (Delter Wuhan International Business Institute is partnered with the Wuhan Railroad Vocational Technical College, Telfort Business Institute is partnered with the Shanghai Metallurgy College, the Sino-Canadian Joint Program is partnered with the Shanghai Television University, Delter Jinan is partnered with Jinan Railroad Polytechnic Institute, Delter Tianjin is partnered with the Xinhua shi gong da xue University, Jilin Telfort International Business Institute is partnered with the Jilin Railway School of Economics; Mount Royal Business Institute is partnered with the Chengdu Hydro Electric Power College, and Delter Beijing is partnered with the Beijing Electric Power College). There appear to be certain implied or tacit assumptions underlying the nationwide EFL/ESL program in China: a) Everyone in China needs to learn EFL/ESL; b) There is ∗

Published: English Today (9/04) Vol. 19 No. 4, Cambridge University Press (Variation “The Chinglish Syndrome: Do recent developments endanger the language policy of China”)

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff one EFL/ESL teaching method suitable on a nationwide basis; c) All native English speakers with a college degree are qualified to be EFL/ESL teachers; d) Chinese EFL/ESL teachers without Western cultural experience are capable of teaching EFL/ESL; e) Chinese should “master” English; f) Chinglish is unacceptable or bad language. These assumptions, when superimposed upon the EFL/ESL teaching curriculum, may themselves doom the EFL/ESL student to becoming a mere technician of grammatical rules without any appreciable ability to effectively communicate in any form of oral English other than “Chinglish.” Each underlying implied or tacit assumption may be seriously flawed and should be thoroughly scrutinized by linguistic and other scholars throughout China. The instant cursory examination of each of the underlying assumptions causes concern that the assumptions have dubious origins, are not supported by any empirical study or other evidence, and are inappropriate foundations for a national EFL/ESL program.

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ASSUMPTION A: EVERYONE IN CHINA NEEDS TO LEARN EFL/ESL Beijing wants its 13 million residents to speak English to enhance its image as a cosmopolitan metropolis (China Daily, 10/05/02). China’s Ministry of Education wants all young people of China to learn English due to China’s WTO membership and China’s hosting the 2008 Olympics, and certain municipal governments in China require all of their civil servants to learn some English (China Daily, 10/05/02). This goals or objectives beg the question, “Why?” Market studies, market analysis and affirmative recommendations from experts in the fields of business, math and linguistics should support each of the foregoing propositions, but these do not appear to have been conducted. What is the mathematical probability that each of Beijing’s residents will need to be able to speak English for an intended or even accidental encounter with a single English speaking foreigner during the 2008 Olympics? Not very high. Does a market study support the proposition that Beijing’s image will be enhanced in the eyes of foreigners if all of the residents of Beijing can speak English? Further, would such image enhancement translate into increased economic benefit for Beijing? If so, how much economic benefit will accrue to Beijing, and does it offset the social, cultural and political costs that must be paid along the way by the people of Beijing? These questions do not appear to have been addressed by any formal study. How many bilingual (Chinese-English) jobs will actually be created in China due to China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and hosting the 2008 Olympics? Does the number of new jobs requiring English support the need for all of China’s young people to learn English? Answers to these questions are not readily available. Why should anyone spend three or four years in a university EFL/ESL program for an Olympics job that will last only a matter of weeks? What happens after the Olympics? What is the mathematical probability that all municipal government civil servants, in any particular Chinese municipality, will need to use English in their daily work? Very slim. Is there any empirical study or evidence to support the current ESL revolution in China, which may in fact have significant adverse social, cultural and political effects (Qiang/Wolff, 4/03)? It does not appear that the Chinese Central Government has issued any formal

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resolution or position paper authorizing, condoning or supporting the current ESL revolution in China. Rather, it has been allowed and even encouraged to just evolve. Other than standardized testing for college entrance, the Central Government seems to have no set educational policy or curriculum for EFL/ESL. There is no single Ministry of Education document stating the government’s policy on EFL/ESL in China (He Qixin, 8/01). This rush to educate has spawned an industry run amok, without appreciable government control or regulation (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03). Why the concerted effort to require 1.3 billion Mandarin speakers, 25% of the world’s population, to learn English as a second language? Since Mandarin is one of the six working languages of the United Nations, does the world at large have a greater appreciation for the importance of Mandarin than China itself? Is the current EFL/ESL revolution in China a misguided, self-inflicted English colonialization, brought about tacitly, if not officially, by adopting EFL/ESL teaching as a national program? Will the West conquer China from within, without a single shot ever being fired?

ASSUMPTION B: THERE IS ONE ESL TEACHING METHOD SUITABLE ON A NATIONWIDE BASIS

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With 1.3 billion potential EFL/ESL students, it is sheer folly to strive to develop one universal methodology for EFL/ESL teaching throughout China. In English there is a popular saying: “Different strokes for different folks.” The concept of a single EFL/ESL teaching methodology has been floated as a serious ideology in a recent poll undertaken by TEFL, although implicitly rejected by a majority of the respondents. TEFL is found at www.tefl.com and it polled ESL teachers on the following question: Do you believe a ‘fit-all’ teaching method exists? Yes, I’ve found it (6.93%); Yes, but I haven’t found it (4.95%; No 88.12%).

There may be some methodologies that will have a higher success rate than others with any given group, but no methodology can be successful if the program itself is fatally flawed. In China, L2 acquisition is expected to occur within a two- to six-hours-per-week oral English class. For example, consider an ESL conversation class designed for three consecutive 45-minute periods, twice a week (Sino-Canadian Joint Program at Shanghai University of International Exchange). The actual class time is effectively 135 minutes each day, 270 minutes per week. Or, consider an ESL conversation class designed for two consecutive 45-minute periods, once a week (Xinyang Agricultural College, Henan Province), for a total of 90 minutes per week. Now, further consider that this is the class in which all of the learned grammatical rules, vocabulary and intensive reading are to be applied through oral practice, where correction may be applied to inappropriate pronunciation, phraseology, word choice or syntax.

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In the public universities, these conversation classes have an enrollment of up to 60 students. Now let us do the math. At Xinyang Agriculture College, assuming that each student needs absolutely no correction from the teacher, each student can pick up and continue the conversation from the prior student without any lapse of time in between; then each student has exactly 1.5 minutes during each class day to practice what he has learned and to become proficient in the oral use of English as a second language. Impossible! One and one half minutes per day is not enough time to practice anything to a point of accomplishment or proficiency. That is the totality of the acquisition effort throughout China’s public education system. “Immersion” is one foreign word not found in the Chinese teaching of English as a second language. EFL/ESL is generally taught in a hostile environment, with concentration on vocabulary and grammatical rule memorization in preparation for various national proficiency tests in reading, writing and listening. Although Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition is taught in the top-tier universities, it is not put into practice in China (Krashen, 1981). Even students who score very high on the national English proficiency tests are unable to orally communicate in little more than Chinglish. Or, they orally communicate in “DD” English (English taught from a dictionary, which may be technically correct, but is without any sensitivity to the cultural or environmental context of actual use by a native speaker), which cannot be as easily understood by native English speakers as can the use of Chinglish. The quest to find the one EFL/ESL teaching methodology universally suitable for all students is not a worthy expenditure of effort or resources, particularly when the English curriculum needs so much corrective attention and Chinglish will still be the inevitable result.

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ASSUMPTION C: ALL NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE ARE QUALIFIED TO TEACH EFL/ESL China recruits approximately 100,000 native English teachers each year (source: http://www.chinatefl.com, “According to a certain statistics about 100 thousand teachers will be needed every year in China”). English teachers from Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States of America are heavily recruited through the Internet (http://www.chinatefl. com; http://www.tefl.com; http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo). Generally speaking, in America, a university bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree in any discipline merely qualifies a native speaker to enroll in a teacher training program where they will then receive a teaching certificate or master’s degree, which amounts to a license to teach. Unfortunately, there is no universal recruitment standard for EFL/ESL teachers in China other than the requirement that they are native speakers and have a college degree in some recognized discipline. There is no teacher-training requirement or even any teaching experience requirement to become an English teacher in China. [email protected], Xin Pai Foreign Language School. Date: Monday, 20 January 2003, at 10:08 a.m. More Job Vacancies—Four more teaching positions are now available at Xin Pai

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Foreign Language School … but even those with no experience, who would like to try their hand at teaching, are welcome, as we can provide on-the-job training and assistance. http://www.chinatefl.com/abroad.html; Frequently Asked Questions: 1. What qualifications should one have in teaching in China? The basic qualifications are: being a native speaker of English, having a minimum BA degree and commitment to teaching, loving China and its people. Clear, well-spoken English and a good knowledge of the fundamentals of English grammar. Teaching experience/certificate is preferred but not a must.

Most ESL teachers are recruited to China with very attractive bait (travel/teach English): The Global TESOL Institute, http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?China; Looking for a well-paid job to explore China? Come to TDM! Posted By: TDM Language College [email protected]. Date: Thursday, 16 January 2003, at 10:04 a.m. But you are very well paid. Your salary will be more than enough for you to live comfortably, to explore the exciting China, its history, its nature, its people, its culture, its language and its food).

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The recruit is usually very young with no prior teaching experience, away from home for the first time, in their first cross-cultural experience, and under the belief that they are about to embark upon a China vacation which, of necessity, must be interrupted occasionally for a little work. There is little or no advance training, preparation or indoctrination for teaching ESL in China. Far too many recruits never finish their one-year contract, some leaving within the first week, month or first several months. The reasons for disillusionment are almost as many and varied as the number of disillusioned (www.eslcafe.com). In a two-year period, 113 FEs published more than 400 complaints, mostly about Chinese owned and operated primary schools (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03). Too many people with no real interest in the job come here (China) for a good time (very easy to do) and leave the real teachers trying to clean up the mess and repair their image. A white face and a degree, even a fake one, land a job (Tamblyn, Andrew, 1/15/03). “The tragedy is that some folks come here not to teach, but to travel, so they get all romantic and misty eyed. They can’t teach, don’t want to teach, and want to party like in the good old USA. This devil-may-care, happy camper attitude unfortunately leads them to make immature decisions and to be placed in schools that cannot wait to capitalize on these “Rage Against the Machine” look-a-likes. They also give serious teachers a bad reputation” (H. Jones, 2/25/01).

There is no evidence that the native English teacher produces students any better equipped to speak English than their Chinese English teacher counterparts. This is partly due to a poorly-designed curriculum and partly due to the fact that too many native Englishspeaking teachers are simply not trained to teach anything, let alone EFL/ESL (Qiang/Wolff, 2004, “Can You Get a First-Class Education in a Third-Tier College in China?” ) Middle school and high school students of Chinese English teachers are subject to objective evaluation through the college entrance examination process. University students of Chinese English teachers are subject to objective evaluation through the Band 4 and Band 6

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testing program. However, private college or business institute students taught by native English speakers are not subject to any objective evaluation testing process. The effectiveness of these private educational programs is an unknown factor and hence their contribution to the Chinese society is also an unknown factor. The only thing really known for certain about these private English schools is that they are draining an appreciable amount of yuan from the local economy (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02). This situation cries out for and demands an empirical study of the real benefit of private English colleges and business institutes in relation to their economic profiteering. The 16th Communist Party Congress discussed the advisability and merits of allowing private educational institutions to begin engaging in business for profit, as if it was not a current reality. Acknowledgement that private educational enterprises are making a financial killing in China already is a prerequisite to developing appropriate Governmental regulation and quality control standards for the private educational sector.

ASSUMPTION D:

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CHINESE EFL/ESL SPEAKERS WITHOUT WESTERN CULTURAL EXPERIENCE ARE CAPABLE OF TEACHING ESL Language and culture are inseparable; on this there is no apparent disagreement between linguists. How then can an L2 EFL/ESL speaker, without any actual immersion in, or exposure to, the L2 EFL/ESL culture, possibly expect to be an effective L2 EFL/ESL teacher? They are certainly capable of dissecting the grammatical rules, analyzing English writings, reading extensively, and memorizing vocabulary, but this will enable them to do nothing more than teach a “DD” form of English. Additionally, in far too many cases, (especially the primary school teachers) their own pronunciation is so atrocious that they cannot possibly correct a student’s improper pronunciation and they are so steeped in Chinglish that it is impossible for them to recognize it and correct it in their students (Yanping Dong, 2003). The L2 students of L2 teachers will not have any appreciation for the cultural or environmental context in which the native speaker actually uses the language. The student will speak, if at all, in a “DD” form of English that the native speaker will find very strange, bookish, stiff or formal, and unintelligible; or, the Chinese student will use a form of Chinglish which is universally understandable by other EFL/ESL speakers and L1 English speakers alike. Chinese English teachers at the middle school and high school levels are themselves so unaccomplished in proper English pronunciation that they discourage and even intimidate their students from attempting to speak in English (He Mei, 9/28/00) When these students reach the university level they have little or no practical speaking ability and have very poor pronunciation, making the university oral English teachers job almost an impossibility. This situation has also been fostered by an English curriculum that is test result driven rather than driven by practical conversational ability. Middle school and high school students focus on learning only that which is required to pass the college entrance examination, which does not include oral English. A flawed L2 curriculum, taught by L2 speakers who themselves are deficient in their L2 language understanding and production ability, constitutes an educational program doomed to

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less than stellar results. In fact, the results are so poor as to require a very lenient grading standard to avoid failing more than half of the Chinese English students in each class. The following are examples of a dictionary definition (DD) conversation and a culturally insensitive textbook:

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EXAMPLE #1: Dictionary definition, Chinese English teacher talking to Foreign Expert, Feb. 24, 2003 CET: Tomorrow you will ‘fetch’ your Temporary Residence Permit from the Public Security Bureau. FE: Why do you talk to me like that? I am not a dog! CET: What do you mean? FE: In America we command our dogs to ‘fetch’ when we want them to retrieve something for us. CET: But the dictionary says that ‘fetch’ is used to refer to going someplace and bringing something that is there back. FE: Yes, but in actual daily usage we only tell our dogs to ‘fetch’ when we throw something and have them chase it and bring it back or when we are using dogs while hunting for birds. It is an insult to tell a person to ‘fetch.’ You insinuate that they are a dog. EXAMPLE #2: Cultural Ignorance, excerpts of inappropriate conversational English randomly taken from an English textbook published in 2001 and written by a Chinese L2, “Interactive Speakers.” It’s time to say our farewells. (P55) Could they make me known the exact time the plane takes off? (P69) Have I got the go ahead to put out the fire? (P119) I wonder if you’d excuse me for a moment. (P152) I’m afraid. (P183) I’m afraid …. (PP 24, 167, 182) Will it be convenient if I call upon you at seven this evening? (P220) To be openhearted, your denial that you had witnessed the accident dumbfounded me. (P249) He chooses to look into the matter till the truth is out. (P264)

Foreign Experts should be pressed into the service of teaching primary and middle school teachers how and what to teach in their EFL/ESL classes.

ASSUMPTION E: CHINESE ENGLISH STUDENTS SHOULD “MASTER” ENGLISH The sixth edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary identifies no fewer than seven separately identifiable forms of English language in the world today (American, Australian, British, Irish, Northern, New Zealand, and Scottish). When Chinese ESL teacher or ESL students remark that their goal is to “master” English, the question should be: Which one? If anyone did ever “master” English, it is doubtful that anyone would understand him or her. Within the separately identifiable English languages there are numerous regional variations. In New York City there are at least four such variations of English. Further,

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language is a fluid entity that is always in a state of change. That is why most dictionaries are updated and reprinted annually. So, even if someone “mastered” all English forms at any given moment in time, his or her “mastery” would quickly become outdated. The emphasis should rather be on standardization of Chinglish or a regional English. Being worldly traveled and having communicated with people who speak Chinglish, Singlish, Pidgin, Creole and other English variations, it is clear to us that many English variation speakers are more understandable than many L1 English speakers from Australia, Scotland, Ireland or Wales. The pronunciation of many of these so-called native English speakers is so horrific that it is completely incomprehensible. In the summer of 2002, Chinese English students at a private business institute in Wuhan, China, regularly shunned a native English teacher from Wales, because his pronunciation was so incomprehensible. If one of our Chinese English students makes a classroom presentation using standard English, including correct word choice, sentence structure and syntax, but we are unable to understand their pronunciation, then their English can only be described as "perfectly incomprehensible" no matter how pedagogically correct. If a cow makes a clucking sound, would it be safe to conclude that it is a chicken, none-the-less? If a word is not pronounced correctly is it the same word conveying the correct meaning? Probably not, as is evidenced by the various tones in mandarin. We can teach a Standard English, but they will learn Chinglish due to cultural differences in thought patterns. This cultural difference in thought process stands as a permanent impediment to all second language acquisition, no matter what the L1 or L2 language may be. The quest for “mastery” of English seems a foolish waste of energy, time and resources, which could be better utilized on other, more meaningful pursuits.

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ASSUMPTION F: CHINGLISH IS UNACCEPTABLE OR BAD LANGUAGE The purpose of all language is effective communication. “Pidgin” English is understood amongst the native Hawaiian people and it also enables them to effectively communicate with the English-speaking foreigners who are occupying their homeland and annexed it by military might. “Singlish” is an effective form of English communication amongst the people of Singapore and their English speaking world trading partners, business associates and tourists. In fact, almost every nation that has adopted English as a second language has developed a form of English that can be readily used by the lowest common denominator within its own people’s abilities to communicate and to still have effective communications with the native English speaker. Regional Englishes abound worldwide. There may be some purists who look down upon “Chinglish” or anything less than “perfect English” but of course their definition of what perfect English is will also depend upon which of the seven standard English forms they consider to be their native form or “pure English” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Sixth Edition.) China is a developing Nation and is well within its rights to develop a form of English or regional English that best suits its general population’s need to communicate with each other

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as well as native English speakers, while insisting on a more refined English proper or standard English (Jiang Yajun, 1995) only for its official translators and some groups of professionals such as lawyers, accountants, scientists, medical doctors, etc. is only required by certain professional groups in China (Shanghai Star, 10/24/02). Chinglish is not a bad thing! In point of fact, it is inevitable (Jiang Yajun, 1995). Certain municipal governments require all of their civil servants to have a minimum of 1,000 English words in their vocabulary (China Daily, 10/05/02). This official policy forces Chinese speakers of Mandarin to sprinkle a few English words in to give a little English flavor to their Mandarin. This is nothing less than an officially-sanctioned and promulgated form of Chinglish.

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CONCLUSION The plethora of EFL/ESL programs throughout China may be producing a few English PhD scholars, but they are not producing graduates capable of communicating orally in everyday or Standard English (Deng Di, 6/9/00). However, Chinglish is developing as the second national language of China. As long as Chinglish serves as an effective means of internal and external communication with other L2 EFL/ESL people and L1 English speakers, why should anyone complain? 1) You are forced to trudge up three to five flights of cold concrete stairs to reach your assigned concrete cubicle where you are required to sit on a 17″ high backless wooden stool with an 8½″ x 11″ seat, in front of a 30″ high wooden bench. The cold concrete floor is swept daily by merely pushing the dirt into a corner where it stacks up. Water is splashed on the floor to keep the dust down. There is no heat to ward off the freezing cold of winter nor air conditioning to provide relief from the sweltering heat of summer. The walls are dingyyellowed with time, dirty and in disrepair. The lighting is bare fluorescent tubes just like a sweatshop. In the front of the room is a Chinese-language sign that roughly translated means “only speak mandarin in this room.” There is a second Chinese-language sign on a sidewall that roughly translated says “no talking in this room.” This cold, dank, concrete box is surrounded by construction noises on one side, and from another side the machine gun rapid-fire pops of hundreds of dribbled basketballs on the concrete exercise yard and the sound of popcorn popping as 50 ping pong balls are slapped with bare wooden paddles and bounced on concrete tables located under your windows; and from yet another side the sounds of people noisily clomping up and down the adjacent stairs or people in an adjacent concrete cubicle playing a Chinese movie on the television loud enough for the entire building to participate in the audio bombardment. Inside the concrete cubicle you sit theater-style facing the front of the room for nine hours each day. There are no English signs or notices posted on the walls, no decorations to instill any thoughts about the West, its culture, or its language. There are two Chinese signs on the front wall; one says, “No Talking in Class,” and the other says “When You Speak Use Mandarin Only.” There are no maps or globe of the outside world. You are deprived of any and all English newspapers, magazines and periodicals. There is no Western music or television. And worst of all, no one speaks to you in English, not even those sitting next to

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you, let alone any of the other 40-plus occupants of the cubicle. You are forced to watch Chinese movies or to be bored completely. Suddenly, but on cue, an authority figure enters your cubicle and announces that you will now learn English as a second language and you are snapped into the reality that you are now in an environment where you are required to not only learn but to “master” English as a second language. Your English teacher stands in front of the two Chinese signs that advise against talking in class, or when you must, only use Mandarin. No, this is not punishment, not a prison, not a concentration camp, not a re-education camp or some other type of detention facility. You are a free spirit! Free, that is, to “master” English and do it within the next three years. Outside your cubical you are constantly bombarded with Mandarin over the campus-wide loudspeaker system and in the written notices and bulletins posted on the public information boards around the campus, but nothing in English. Even the notice posted advising of an impending English Corner is written in Chinese characters. You note the absence of English reading materials in the college library, the absence of English DVD movies or television programs, the blaring Chinese movies in the cafeteria, the total absence of English signs or decoration anywhere on campus, and the lack of any inducement to speak English. When you go to the English department offices, all of the staff and students are communicating in Mandarin. No staff in the college library, cafeteria or store speak English. There is nothing special or attractive about being an English major and there is no inducement to acquire English as a foreign/second language, just learn it as it is taught to you by your Mandarin-speaking teachers who predominantly speak and teach in their L1 using a “chalk and talk” pedagogy. There is no English-speaking environment within the academic community or anywhere else in China. This hostile environment is found throughout China’s universities and colleges and it violates every principle of second-language acquisition through comprehensible input in a friendly environment (Krashen, 1997).

REFERENCES China Daily, 10-05-02, “Government Encourages Public to Learn English”. Deng Di, 6/9/00, “Language Education Should Be Reformed”, ChinaDaily. H. Jones, 2/25/01, www.ESLcafe.com. He Mei, 9/28/00, “English Teaching Method Faces Challenge”, China Daily. He Qixin, 8/01, Foreign Language and Teaching Research, “English Language Education in China” Jiang Yajun, 1995, “Chinglish”, English Today. Krashen, Stephen D., (1987), “Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition”, Prentice-Hall International; http://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html. Krashen, Stephen D., (1981), “Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning”; http://www.sdkrashen.com/ Krashen, Stephen D. (1998), “Foreign Language Education the Easy Way,” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Sixth Edition Qiang/Wolff, 4/03, “China and Chinese or Chingland and Chinglish?” English Today, http://www.esl-lounge.com/qiang-wolff-index.html

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Qiang/Wolff, 9/03), “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok?” Progress in Education Vol. 12 Ch. 4; http://www.esl-lounge.com/qiang-wolff-index.html Tamblyn, Andrew, 1/15/03, www.ESLcafe.com To Choy-ee, 10/24/02, Chinese University of Hong Kong, “English Dominance”, Shanghai Star. www.chinatefl.com/abroad.html; www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?China www.tefl.com Yanping Dong, 2003, “Are We Ready for ‘an Early Start in Foreign Language Learning? A Survey of Primary School English Education in Guangdong Province” in Modern Foreign Languages (1).

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Chapter 4

CHINA’S EFL/ESL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: ARE THEY BEING MET?∗ Teng Hai, Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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ABSTRACT/INTRODUCTION “The incompetence of many graduates from high schools or even colleges and universities to communicate effectively in spoken and written English is related to the teaching methods in China. Students are usually spoon-fed, listening and taking notes with teachers standing at the front and doing most of the talking” (He Mei, 9/28/00, “English Teaching Method Faces Challenge,” China Daily). “Most of us begin studying English at 12 or even younger. By the time we graduate from the university, we have studied English for over 10 years. However, the result is awful. Many students can say nothing but some simple phrases. Even for some English majors, writing an article in English also means nothing other than making countless mistakes” (Deng Di, 6/9/00). Were the above an isolated comment or two, they would not be worthy of our time to address. Unfortunately, it is all too often spoken by frustrated university graduates and repeatedly heard by us, in one form or another, during our travels throughout China. It is with the above quotes resonating in our minds that we have embarked upon writing this paper in an attempt to share an experiment aimed at remedying the situation about which the above authors are heard to complain.

GRADUATION GOALS FOR ENGLISH MAJORS The proficiency level required of English majors in Chinese universities and colleges is best summarized by Professor He Qixin (He Qixin, 7/00): Listening Comprehension: Students should be able to understand radio and television programs of English speaking countries (for instance, CNN) concerning political and

∗

Published: English Today, Vol. 20, No. 3, (7/04) Cambridge University Press

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Teng Hai, Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff economic, cultural, educational and scientific issues, special reports or lectures on similar subjects. Speaking Ability: Students are required to exchange ideas with people from Englishspeaking countries on major international or domestic issues, to be engaged in lengthy and indepth discussions on similar subjects, and to express themselves clearly, assertively and coherently. Reading Comprehension: Students must be able to read editorials and critical essays on political issues from British and American major newspapers and magazines (for instance, Time magazine, The New York Times), to understand literature published in English-speaking countries, and to be able to analyze the thesis, the structure, the language and the style of the above writings. Writing Ability: Students are required to write descriptive, narrative, expository and argumentative essays, expressing themselves effectively, smoothly and correctly. The required writing speed is 300 to 400 words within half an hour. A thesis is part of the requirement for a bachelor’s degree, 3,000 to 5,000 words in length (12–20 double-spaced pages).

If these goals are indeed being met, why the perception expressed by He Mei, Deng Di, and so many others?

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DOES THE RIGHT HAND KNOW ABOUT THE LEFT HAND? We agree with Professor He with respect to utilization of The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers for teaching English in China, particularly when it is remembered that the controversial but innovative Webster’s Third International Dictionary relied so heavily on The New York Times and The Washington Post as its primary source for common standardized English usage and form (Bergen Evans, 1971). We are also in agreement with Dr. He with respect to utilization of CNN TV or other major international news networks that may not have been in existence when Dr. He wrote his article, such as Fox News. Although Dr. He recommends utilization of certain western news media resources for teaching materials, at the time of writing this article CNN TV is not available in China due to transmission interference at the receiving end. Western newspapers are accessible through the Internet but at the present time The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC and Reuters are not available in China due to transmission interference at the receiving end. We mention this issue because there are unconfirmed reports that the Chinese government has 30,000 censors working 24/7 to block Web sites they feel are inappropriate for Chinese access (http://news.com.com/2100-1023-957237.html). We would note that many Web sites discussing this issue were blocked during our reasearch efforts. If this is true, then the Ministry of Education and the censors are at odds with each other, or one does not even know about the policy of the other. It should also be noted that most Chinese university students must rely upon the classroom for TV access as their dormitories are not so equipped. However, all too often the television signal is not available during class time so the CNN resource is not available to the

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teacher for instructional purposes. Could it be that university administrators are also unaware of the policy of the Ministry of Education?

AN EXPERIMENT AT XINYANG AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, HENAN PROVINCE Introduction

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Upon the advice and under the continuing review of Dr Niu Qiang, Associate Professor of English and psycholinguistics at Shanghai’s Tong ji University, on December 1, 2002, Xinyang Agricultural College, a rural school of approximately 5,000 students in the southern part of Henan Province, welcomed its first Foreign Expert (Dr. Martin Wolff) to assist the college with its newly-formed English Department (April 2002), with an enrollment of more than 400 students. The Foreign Expert was recruited through Mr. Teng Hai, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office. Together, in an unparalleled cooperative approach, the authors have forged a new strategy for teaching English conversation at Xinyang Agricultural College. While the jury is still out on the final results of this experiment, the interim results are striking and worthy of examination by others in this field. Caveat: The experiment is not without its detractors. Some of the tradition-oriented leadership and some English department staff are not enthralled with the new methodology, either fearing its failure or perceiving it as a threat to their established ways of doing things which have provided their personal comfort zone.

Change in Texts In December 2002, when Xinyang Agricultural College retained its first “Foreign Expert,” the 400 English majors at Xinyang Agricultural College were using textbooks for oral English including Challenge to Speak and Interactive Speaking. The foreign expert advised the college administration that the current texts were inadequate or inappropriate. 1. Challenge to Speak (1998, Wilson/Olson, Higher Education Publishers) This book is very juvenile and not any challenge to our students. At best, it would be used in the fourth primary grade in America. Our students are young adults, college students, with four to six years of training in English vocabulary, reading and listening. This text is way below their ability and does not stretch their vocabulary, reading or listening ability past their existing level. It is also not very interesting. Use of this text is actually demeaning to our students who are already producing more advanced speech. When I observed this text in use at Xinyang Agricultural College it reminded me of a PARENT TEACHING A BABY TO TALK. Use of this text in a College English major program also demeans the quality of our educational program. 2. Interactive Speaking (2001, Frank Tonge, Higher Education Publishers) This book is authored by a Chinese English speaker who apparently lacks any appreciable exposure to the cultural or environmental use of English. The text uses dictionary definition English that is not representative of the way native English speakers produce

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English today. Even assuming that native English speakers, at some previous time, spoke in the represented manner, the language is outdated at this time. It should also be noted that these two texts are completely devoid of materials concerning “political, economic, cultural, educational and scientific issues, special reports or lectures on similar subjects, major international or domestic issues editorials and critical essays on political issues”—in other words, “useless” in preparing the students to meet the proficiency of the graduation level goals and objectives. In point of fact, it is universal that texts normally utilized throughout China’s Universities are devoid of such materials due primarily to what we perceive to be a previous philosophy of education which was perhaps more restrictive than the current “open” philosophy. The Foreign Expert abandoned use of the texts for English conversation in favor of English language newspaper articles obtained from the on-line news services of Xinhua, China Daily, People’s Daily, Shanghai Star and 21st Century, all Chinese English newspapers. When access was available, articles were also utilized from the Associated Press, ABC News and The Washington Post. (See Appendix A for a sampling of the types of articles utilized.) The articles were selected weekly and were based upon their relevance and potential interest to college students 19 to 20 years of age. There was an attempt to follow the advice of Kirkpatrick that teaching materials should “reflect the lives, cultures and values of the learners (Kirpatrick, 11/23/00). The articles were generally well received by the students but there were some complaints about not using the texts the students had been required to purchase. The complaints appeared to be more of an economic issue than anything else.

Change in Classrooms Oral conversation classes were routinely held in the listening comprehension laboratory rooms with their individualized cubicles arranged in theater type seating rows that tended to isolate each student from the other and had students talking to the back of each other’s head. After much discussion and arduous schedule alteration, oral English classes were relocated to classrooms with movable desks. The new classrooms were then arranged in a “U” configuration so that all students were facing each other and the lectern was removed so that there was no further barrier between teacher and students. Students were no longer conversing with the back of each other’s head and the teacher could move freely within the “U” to reach every student individually. This eliminated the idea that any particular student could hide anonymously in the back of the class and just drift through until the final examination. Although class size (25 to 40 students per class) still posed serious problems (optimum class size would be no more than 15 students for oral English), the atmosphere was certainly more friendly and conducive to students producing and practicing their oral English with each other under the supervision of a native English speaker. The teacher’s role was also transformed from one of “lecturer” to one of “facilitator.” Change in Teaching Oral English Methodology The western lecture format was abandoned and the teacher became a facilitator, as implicity suggested by Ming-Sheng Li (Ming-Sheng Li, 1999). The students were provided copies of the newspaper articles to take to their dormitories and read, look up new vocabulary words with which they had no prior familiarity, and to prepare a classroom presentation. At

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the next class session the students were required to take over the historical teacher’s role of lecturer. Each student was required to explain the content of their article to the class, give their personal opinion as to the moral of the article, and then entertain questions from their classmates regarding the content of the presentation. If no questions were forthcoming, the presenter “teacher” was required to ask questions of the students. The object was to create student discussion of the article topic. It was quickly discovered that not a single student had ever previously been required to “stand and deliver” an oral expository during their primary, middle or high school education. Each student exhibited their personal degree of fear, nervousness, skepticism and some were petrified to the point of speechlessness. The first round of presentations could only be properly described as disastrous in terms of English speech production. However, as the cohesiveness and friendliness of the class burgeoned, each subsequent round of presentations produced more English speech production and less nervousness. Subsequent to the round of student presentations, a poll was taken requiring each student to voice their personal moral conviction regarding the point of the various articles. (See Appendix B.) As the students adjusted to their personal responsibility for speech production their presentations became longer, more detailed, and led to greater class participation in the ensuing discussions. During the first round of presentations one male student was unable to produce a single English word other than “sorry.” In the third round this same student transcended his personal fear to such a phenomenal extent that the entire class showed their approval with sustained applause at the end of his term as “teacher.” This student is now the “role model” for the others in his class. The major obstacle for the students to overcome was “loss of face.” They were afraid to make a mistake and to be laughed at by their peers. It was essential for the Foreign Expert to engage in self-deprecating antics, which brought forth laughter from the students, showing that laughing with and at was acceptable as an integral part of the learning process. It was also essential to remind the students that the reason they are students is that they are there to learn. If they were already perfect, they would not be students. The students were constantly reminded to leave their “face’ in their dormitory and then they had nothing to lose in class. It took a while for this concept to sink in but when it did—the personal growth exhibited by each student was heartwarming to the point of tears of joy for the Foreign Expert.

Change in Oral English Final Examination The final examination for oral English was reduced to a five minute personal interview where the Chinese English teachers asked all students the same two questions and graded the answers on a standardized evaluation form. Ten Chinese English teachers simultaneously, but separately, examined ten students at a time. The evaluation sheet was filled out by the teacher during and immediately subsequent to each individual examination so that no memory lapse occurred between the testing and the evaluation. The evaluations were then given to the Foreign Expert for interpretation and final grade assignment. The Foreign Expert also utilized the evaluations to subsequently refer needy students to the phonetics or listening comprehension teachers for specialized tutoring. The students were segregated prior to the examination and those students having completed the examination were not allowed further access to their classmates who had not yet taken the exam. This process assured that there was no contamination of the untested group with advance knowledge of the questions.

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This testing approach reduced bias emanating from the Foreign Expert who had such close classroom involvement with the students. It also provided an eye opening experience to the Chinese English teachers who rarely hear the English majors produce oral English since their classes are usually lecture format with little oral English production required by the students. The Foreign Expert also encouraged the Chinese English teachers to refrain from answering the mandarin questions of the English majors until they produced them in English and to only answer the questions in English and not mandarin.

Change in Comprehensive Reading Test The Spring 2003 reading comprehension test was modified to utilize a new format that required a higher degree of reading comprehension to understand the text itself and also required development of a personal moral application of the text.

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Normal English literature was replaced with three news articles obtained from English newspapers on the Internet. The normal essay questions were replaced with “Using no more than one sentence, state the moral of the article and how it may apply to you now or in the future.”

This approach tested not only reading comprehension but also required the students to organize their thoughts, make a simple and concise statement and engage in creative thinking while developing a personal moral philosophy. It should be noted that this approach was diametrically opposed to the normal requirement that students write a 500 or 1,000 word essay which, more often than not, produces rambling answers that miss the mark but tend to exhibit a students quantitative vocabulary, however limited that may be. It should come as no surprise that 45% of the students failed to comprehend the test instructions and wrote the standard rambling essay answers. Likewise, it should surprise no one that 20% of the students failed to identify the moral of the articles or to formulate their own personal moral philosophy. A significant number of students were afforded a reexamination opportunity where only the specific articles were changed. The test question format remained the same. On the second attempt, all of the students passed the examination, but of course the surprise element was by then gone.

Change in Discipline A more intellectually honest title to this section would be “Adoption of Disciplinary Standard.” As the alternative title suggests, there is a marked absence of disciplinary rules other than “no smoking on campus” or “no eating in classrooms.” At the commencement of teaching, the Foreign Expert provided each student with a copy of the rules for the oral English class and also posted a copy on the wall to avoid the well worn excuse that the original was lost. (See Appendix C for the rules.) Surprisingly the students did not find the rules onerous and there have been a scant eight major violations since their implementation.

The violators were excluded from further participation in the class ( as was stated in the rules) until they reported to the Foreign Affairs Office where they received a word of Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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encouragement. Each of the encouraged students has returned to the class and become an exemplary student. This method of enforcement removes the Foreign Expert from the disciplinary process after the referral. The matter is resolved between Chinese on their own cultural terms. This eliminates animosity between the student and the Foreign Expert. The rules are well defined in writing, provided to all students; violations are dealt with immediately and taken seriously, with discipline converted from punitive to encouragement, administered by a Chinese authority figure. It works!

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Classroom Television Access Each classroom at Xinyang Agricultural College is equipped with a television set and a cable connection that receives CTTV Channel 9, the English language channel. This is an acceptable alternative to CNN or any broadcast originating in the west. However, during instructional class time there is no signal transmitted to the classrooms for many administrative reasons. To fully implement the proficiency goals for English majors it will be necessary to modify the television access for oral English classes. This may require a separate cable transmission system for the English classrooms so that the other classrooms may remain dark. English Computer Lab There is presently no English computer lab at Xinyang Agricultural College. A plethora of the Chinese English teachers are English language computer illiterate as are 98% of the English students. Students who wish to access the Internet must go off campus and pay two rmb per hour. It should be remembered that these students are primarily from peasant and farm families and have a daily food budget of 3 rib. To spend two-thirds of their daily food budget on one hour of Internet access creates an unacceptable economic hardship on these students. We are indisputably in the Computer Age of Information Technology but the students of Xinyang Agricultural College are excluded from participating on an equal footing with the students in the richer coastal schools which have computer labs. By far, this is the single most area of disappointment for the current Foreign Experts at Xinyang Agricultural College. This is an unacceptable disparity which must be rectified. The Internet has numerous sites dedicated to augmenting ESL, providing free supplemental teaching materials for teachers and supplemental exercises for students. It is unfortunate that these free resources can not be accessed.

CONCLUSION While we are cognizant of the fact that there is no one teaching methodology that is best suited for all ESL students, we are confident that we have discovered a methodology that has produced improvement for our college students, and we consistently search for further improvement. We share our approach with others, through this article, in the hope that it will encourage further experimentation that will lead to even better improvements in the performance level of university English major graduates throughout China.

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APPENDIX A: A HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT ON CURRENT AFFAIRS AT XINYANG English conversation class: Dr. Martin Wolff Read the article through in one reading without stopping. Do not stop and look up any unfamiliar words on the first reading. Try to understand the unfamiliar words in their context. Read the article a second time, stopping to look up every word you do not know or understand. Write a paragraph, which explains your understanding of the meaning of the article. Write a paragraph explaining how the meaning of the article may affect your life, now or later. Bring the article and your written homework to the next class and be prepared to share it with everyone. In class you will be asked to come to the front of the room and tell us all about the article and answer our questions. You will hand your article to me and then make your presentation. You will not be allowed to read from the article or any notes. DO NOT MEMORIZE A SPEECH!

NOTE: These instructions will apply to all articles provided to you by your Professor from newspapers, magazines, or the Internet.

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APPENDIX B: A STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE AT XINYANG A survey of 211 freshman and sophomore business English major students at Xinyang Agricultural College in Henan Province was taken. The students were predominantly 19 to 20 years old, came from peasant or farm families and were the only hope for the family’s future economic prosperity. Each question was based upon a timely and relevant newspaper article used for oral English conversation class. The poll was taken after a student presented the issue from the article and conducted a class discussion about the article. (It should be noted that four students complained that they did not like the questionnaire because it forced them to think.) 1. Forty-five Japanese students used the instant messaging function on their mobile phones to cheat on a university final exam. They were expelled from the university. (Source: 21st Century Shanghai, ‘The email was right but the answers weren’t,’ 12 Dec 02). Question (and responses): Do you think this punishment was fair 71 (34%), harsh 87 (41%), completely unreasonable 52 (25%). 2. A 40-year-old man with the brain of a six-year-old child was sentenced to death for killing a 20-year-old man. (Source: Associated Press, ‘Lawyers Appeal Death

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4.

5.

6.

7.

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8.

9.

10.

11.

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Sentence,’ 1 Sep 03). Question (and responses): Do you think this punishment was fair 19 (9%), harsh 56 (27%), completely unreasonable 40 (19%), the man should be put in a mental hospital 94 (45%). A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his 79-year-old mother and then eating her heart and other internal organs. (Source: AP News Service, ‘Texas Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Killing and Cannibalizing His Mom,’ 1 Jan 03). Question (and responses): Do you think this punishment was fair 34 (16%), harsh 18 (8%), completely unreasonable 159 (75%). The students responded that he should be executed. An escaped murderer kidnapped a young boy and raised him as his own child for 20 years but was cruel to the boy every day. The man was recaptured and is now in jail. The boy is angry and bitter and wants his fake father to stay in jail. (Source: ABC News, ‘A Childhood of Lies’, 2 Feb 03). Question (and responses): Do you think the kidnapper should stay in jail 138 (65%) or should the boy forgive him 73 (35%)? (After the poll was taken the students who voted for forgiveness admitted that they would find it difficult to forgive if it were them.) Chinese students who entered Japan on a student visa have disappeared and are believed to be working illegally in Japan. (Source: 21st Century Shanghai, ‘Strange Case of Missing Students’, 26 Dec 02). Question (and responses): Do you think it is alright [sic] to enter Japan illegally as a student to obtain a job? Yes 47 (22%), No 164 (78%). A divorced man wanted to find a wife so he erected a large sign next to a busy highway saying ‘wife wanted’. (Source: ABC News, ‘Wife Wanted’, 1 Mar 03). Do you think this is an acceptable method for finding a spouse? Yes 89 (42%), No 122 (58%). After college graduation, which is more important (Source: 21st Century Shanghai, ‘Oh! Pity the Poor Young Rich Things’, 1 Jan 03) career 146 (69%), love 65 (31%)? North Korea is preparing to make nuclear bombs (Source: Washington Post, ‘U. N. Warns North Korea to Comply with Nuclear Accords’, 6 Jan 03). Do you think this is something to be concerned about? Yes 126 (60%), No 85 (40%). Some young people who failed the college entrance examinations are attending famous university classes without registering or paying the required tuition fees. (21st Century Shanghai, ‘Keeping a Low Profile in Class’, 26 Dec 02). Should the professors allow these students to listen to the lectures 155 (75%) or kick them out of the class 56 (25%)? 700,000 Chinese college graduate from 2002 have still not found jobs as of March 2003. In 2004, college enrollment will increase by one-third (Source: Xinhua News Agency, ‘More College Students Put Strain on Job Market’, 31 Dec 02). Do you think there are too many universities and colleges in China? Yes 89 (48%), No 122 (58%). (After the poll was taken, the students who voted yes, when asked, opposed closing their own college.) One year after the terrorist attack on New York City on 9/11, a young couple put a fake bomb in their suitcase and tried to board an airplane. They were caught and explained that it was just a joke on the police (source: CNN, ‘Luggage Hoax Lands Couple in Jail’, Jan 03). Do you think this was a good joke? Yes 19 (9%), No 192 (91%).

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12. India and Pakistan are southern neighbors of China and both have nuclear bombs. Are you concerned about India and Pakistan dropping nuclear bombs on each other? (Source: Associated Press, ‘Musharraf Says Pakistan Was Ready to Wage Nuclear War’, 30 Dec 02): Yes 150 (71%), No 61 (29%). 13. A thirteen-year-old girl met a pedophile on the Internet and agreed to meet him for sex. When the pedophile arrived for the meeting he was met by the police and arrested. (ABC News, ‘Caught by Christine’, 3 Jan 03) Do you think the Internet is a dangerous place to meet someone? Yes 115 (55%), No 96 (45%). Should you give someone on the Internet your real name? Yes 53 (20%), No 158 (80%). Should you give someone on the Internet your phone number? Yes 44 (20%), No 167 (80%). Should you give someone on the Internet your address? Yes 32 (15%), No 179 (85). Should you give someone on the Internet your school name? Yes 47 (22%), No 164 (78%). Should you give someone on the Internet your work address ? Yes 109 (52%), No 102 (48%) 14. Many universities and colleges prohibit students smoking on campus but allow faculty and staff to smoke on campus. (21st Century Shanghai, ‘Restricting Campus Smoking’, 26 Dec 02). Do you think the school has the right to restrict student smoking? Yes 110 (52%), No 101 (48%). Do you think the school policy is hypocritical? Yes 194 (90%), No 18 (8%). 15. Where did you learn the difference between what is right and what is wrong? Parents 111 (49%), Primary School Teachers 32 (14%), Middle School Teachers 27 (12%), TV 9 (4%), Friends 49 (21%).

APPENDIX C: ENGLISH CONVERSATION CLASS INTRODUCTION December 2002, Martin Wolff Course Description: This is an English conversation class, not a lecture class. This means that the Professor is a facilitator and that the student carries the bulk of the conversation. Classroom Behavior: This is an English class. Therefore you will speak English at all times in this class, unless the Professor gives permission for a Chinese translation or explanation. If you insist on speaking Mandarin you may be asked to leave the classroom. Be On Time: Do not be late to class. Coming to class late is extremely rude and thoughtless, in disregard and disrespect of your Professor and your fellow classmates. It is extremely disruptive. If you arrive late, you may find the classroom door locked and you may be denied late entry.

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Be Prepared: Always bring your writing instruments, textbook and dictionary (preferably electronic with pronunciation function), to class. Always bring your homework and other class assignments to class. Always come to class having prepared your homework assignments. If you come to class unprepared you may be asked to leave the classroom. Do not bring mobile phones to class. Any mobile phone that rings during class will be confiscated and not returned until the end of the school year. Ask Questions: If you do not understand anything at all, ask the Professor to explain. The only stupid question is the one you do not ask. Grading: 75% of your grade will be based upon your classroom participation. This will require that you read all homework assignments to be prepared to participate in the class discussion. 25% of your grade will be based upon the final exam. Quizzes are for information and evaluation only.

REFERENCES

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Bergen Evans (1971), “The Play of Language” Deng Di (6/9/00), “Language Education Should Be Reformed,” China Daily He Mei (9/28/00), “English Teaching Method Faces Challenge,” China Daily Kirpatrick (11/23/00), “English as an Asian Language,” The Guardian Weekly Ming-Sheng Li (1999), “Conflicts in Teacher-Student Role Beliefs and Expectations: A Study of Expatriate Teachers Teaching English in China,” The Weaver) He Qixin, (7/00), “English Language Education in China,” Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, http://news.com.com/2100-1023-957237.html

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Chapter 5

CHINA EFL: QUESTIONS – QUESTIONS – QUESTIONS∗ Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff ABSTRACT

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The teaching of English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in China has become a nationwide endeavor pursued at all academic levels, from kindergarten to the university. In the past 10 years there has been an explosion in the development of public school English programs and private English language schools throughout China. EFL/ESL has become very big business in China (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02.) Reports show that ESL has become a 10-billion-yuan business in China. Of the 37-billion-yuan annual book sales, ESL takes up as much as 25% of the market share. And a few ESL teachers in Shanghai command an hourly rate of 1,000 yuan (US$120). Even on average, a student pays 10–20 yuan (US$1.2–2.4) for one hour of ESL training. This chapter raises numerous fundamental issues that appear to have been overlooked by China in its exuberance to embrace EFL/ESL teaching as China rushes to join the new world order and partake of its share of the global economic pie. The chapter establishes a solid and fundamental legitimization for asking the politically incorrect, controversial and sensitive questions, but leaves their final resolution to the language teachers, graduate students and linguists who have the inherent fundamental duty to seek the answers.

INTRODUCTION “Can we talk?” This question precedes the often politically incorrect, controversial or sensitive monologue of one of America’s famous stand-up comics, Joan Rivers. It is often followed by “Really people, let’s get serious.” So . . .

∗

(2007) Frontiers in Higher Education, Ch. 10, Nova Publications

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Can we talk? There are many unanswered questions concerning China’s nationwide EFL/ESL teaching fever which are probably politically incorrect, controversial and sensitive: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Why should 1.3 billion Chinese learn English? How can EFL/ESL teaching in China be called a success? Is EFL/ESL teaching in China a case of the blind leading the blind? Can anyone really be expected to acquire English in this hostile environment? What is the Chinese English student’s favorite wine? Is it inevitable that, although we teach them English, they will learn Chinglish? What’s in a name? What is worse: students who cheat the system or a system that cheats the students?

This chapter raises numerous fundamental issues taht appear to have been overlooked by China in its exuberance to embrace EFL/ESL teaching as China rushes to join the new world order and partake of its share of the global economic pie. The chapter establishes a solid and fundamental legitimization for asking the questions but leaves their final resolution to the language teachers, graduate students and linguists who have the inherent fundamental duty to seek the answers. Really people, let’s get serious.

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1. WHY SHOULD 1.3 BILLION CHINESE LEARN ENGLISH? In 1862, under the Great Qing Dynasty, the first English Language School was officially opened by the Chinese Government to train 10 men for the newly-created diplomatic corps (Deyi, 1992 Panda Books). In the past 10 years, there has been an alarming increase in the emphasis on English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in China. Now, China annually recruits 100,000 “Foreign Experts” (FE) to teach English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) (www.Chinatefl.com), with an accompanying 10billion-yuan price tag (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02). According to one Internet recruiting Web site, there are 150,000 foreign ESL teachers working in China (www.AbroadChina.org). People’s Daily reports that in 2001 the industry made a 700million-yuan (US$8,700,000) profit in Beijing alone (People’s Daily, 1/23/02). Public middle schools, high schools and universities throughout China have developed and implemented English-language programs. Private EFL/ESL schools (kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges) have proliferated to such an extent that, according to statistics from the Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee of the NPC, about 54,000 private schools had been set up in China by the end of 2000, with 6.93 million registered students (People’s Daily, 5/23/01). At first blush, it may appear admirable that China has so wholeheartedly made such a concerted effort to adopt English, the international language of commerce, as its second language. On October 24, 2002, Zang Xinsheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education

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reportedly said: “With China’s accession to the World Trade Organization and the approaching Olympics in 2008 more than ever is it a priority for young Chinese to learn and improve their language skills” (China Daily, 10/25/02). The same article states that “Beijing is striving to reach its goal of teaching citizens to speak English to improve its image as an international metropolis.” Beijing wants its 13 million residents to speak English to enhance its image as a cosmopolitan city (China Daily, 10/05/02). China’s Ministry of Education wants all young people of China to learn English due to China’s WTO membership and China’s hosting the 2008 Olympics (China Daily, 10/05/02), and certain municipal governments in China require all of their civil servants to learn some English (China Daily, 10/05/02). These goals or objectives beg the question, “Why?” Market studies, market analysis and affirmative recommendations from experts in the fields of business, math and linguistics should support each of the forgoing propositions, but do not appear to have been conducted. What is the mathematical probability that each of Beijing’s 13 million or so residents will need to be able to speak English for an intended or even accidental encounter with a single English speaking foreigner during the 2008 Olympics? Probably not very high. Does a market study support the proposition that Beijing’s image will be enhanced in the eyes of foreigners if all the residents of Beijing can speak English? Further, would such image enhancement translate into increased economic benefit for Beijing? If so, how much economic benefit will accrue to Beijing and does it offset the social, cultural and political costs that must be paid along the way by the people of Beijing? These questions do not appear to have been addressed by any formal study. How many bilingual (Chinese-English) jobs will actually be created in China due to China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and hosting the 2008 Olympics? Does the number of new jobs requiring English support the need for all of China’s young people to learn English? Answers to these questions are not readily available. And about the bilingual jobs created by the 2008 Olympics: How long will they last? A few months? Why should someone spend three or four years studying English in College for a job in 2008 that will only last a few months? Post-Olympics, what becomes of these Chinese English speakers? What is the mathematical probability that all municipal government civil servants, in any particular Chinese municipality, will need to use English in their daily work? Very slim. Is there any empirical study or evidence to support the current EFL/ESL revolution in China, which revolution may in fact have significant adverse social, cultural and political effects? (Qiang/Wolff, 4/03). It does not appear that the Chinese Central Government has issued any formal resolution or position paper authorizing, condoning or supporting the current ESL revolution in China. Rather, it has been allowed and even encouraged to just evolve. Other than standardized testing for college entrance, the Central Government seems to have no set educational policy or curriculum for EFL/ESL. There is no single Ministry of Education document stating the government’s policy on EFL/ESL in China (He Qixin, 8/01). This rush to educate has spawned an industry run amok, without appreciable government control or regulation (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03). Why the concerted effort to require 1.3 billion Mandarin speakers, 25% of the world’s population, to learn English as a foreign/second language? Since Mandarin is one of the six

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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working languages of the United Nations, does the world at large have a greater appreciation for the importance of Mandarin than China itself? Is the current EFL/ESL revolution in China a misguided, self-inflicted English colonialization, brought about tacitly, if not officially, by adopting EFL/ESL teaching as a national program? Will the West conquer China from within, without a single shot ever being fired? Will English enculturation supplant traditional Chinese culture and values? Will Beijing duck and dim sum be replaced with McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken? Why has China apparently forsaken Mandarin for English when 25% of the world’s population already speaks Mandarin, and Mandarin is one of the six working languages of the United Nations? Why does China so meekly submit to the English-based new world order emanating out of Washington, D.C. when 25% of the world’s population looks to Beijing for its leadership? Does China not yet realize the reality that the emerging China has the immediate clout to demand that those desiring to do business in China or with China should learn Mandarin, rather than expect 1.3 billion Chinese to learn English? Why should 1.3 billion Chinese learn English when “95% of Chinese college graduates will not use oral English in their whole lifetime nor will they read any English materials” (China Daily, 11/03/03)? Could or should China learn something from the EU’s prioritizing the preservation and continued use of native languages (Qiang/Wolff 4/03)? Is the risk posed by EFL/ESL to China’s social, cultural and even political structures and systems outweighed by the potential economic benefits such that China’s Chineseness is for sale? EFL/ESL at any cost? Should the love of money replace traditional Chinese wisdom as the most valuable asset of the new Chingland? Should economic gain be at the expense of what makes China different from all other nations? National identity is tied directly to the preservation of the native language. Subsequent to our first raising this issue in April 2003 (“China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish?” English Today, Cambridge University Press), more Chinese scholars have joined in asking the question, “Why should 1.3 billion Chinese learn English?” (Kechang 3/04; Cho 3/04).

2. HOW CAN EFL/ESL TEACHING IN CHINA BE CALLED A SUCCESS? The Kindergarten Experience Foreign experts employed in middle schools and colleges are routinely asked to give Saturday or Sunday English classes to kindergarten teachers and students. Having examined this phenomena in three provinces, the various experiences can be reduced to a similar pattern. The foreign expert is picked up at their home by a kindergarten car and driven to the school. Upon arrival at the school, the foreign expert is introduced to the head mistress, who does not speak a single word of English. (One immediately wonders how such an administrator can properly supervise or evaluate the effectiveness of her English teachers.) Then, a few kindergarten teachers are paraded before the foreign expert. Aside from the perfunctory “Hello, how are you?”, the teachers are unable to engage in the most rudimentary conversation with the foreign expert.

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Next, the foreign expert is paraded through the campus, visiting select classrooms where the foreign experts greet the children and nothing more. It is now lunchtime and the foreign expert is treated to a feast. During lunch the foreign expert inquires when the teaching will begin and is informed that it is already finished. Then the foreign expert inquires as to the identity of the person with the movies camera who had filmed the entire event and is informed that was the representative of the local television station. After lunch the foreign expert is driven back to their apartment to relax and bask in the satisfaction of knowing that they have made a significant contribution to the EFL/ESL teaching in China. NOT! The foreign expert is thoroughly disgusted that they have been used as a marketing tool, a sort of endorsement for the school to establish that the school has a relationship with a real live foreign expert. This relationship encourages new enrollments and higher profits but has little or nothing to do with teaching EFL/ESL.

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The Middle School Experience Foreign experts employed in colleges are routinely asked to give English classes to middle school teachers and students. One such experience in 2003 is representative of this experience. A foreign expert was asked to present a series of six courses to middle school teachers for two hours and a student class for another two hours. After the first two lessons to the 30 teachers, the vice principal cancelled the teachers’ class without any advance notice to the foreign expert. When the foreign expert showed up for the third teachers’ class, a student class was substituted without explanation. Since the foreign expert had prepared a teachers’ lesson, this made things a little difficult for the foreign expert. When this was explained to the vice principal, he responded that the foreign expert should “just read from the approved textbook like the Chinese teachers do.” Upon inquiry, the foreign expert was informed that the vice principal did not want his teachers being further informed about any Western teaching methodology. The vice principal also unilaterally changed the student class format to four classes of 200 students for one hour each. The foreign expert also learned about this change when he showed up for the third lesson. When the foreign expert inquired as to how he was to teach such classes without having made appropriate preparation, the vice principal advised that his “students have prepared questions to ask so just talk with the students.” In one representative class, 38 students out of the 200 asked all of the questions. The students had not prepared any questions in advance of the class. (So much for the vice principal’s claims of student preparation.) The students simply opened their textbooks and randomly selected questions to read to the foreign expert. With the exception of one question, they were all answerable with a “yes” or “no.” (So much for “talking” with the students.) The only question that required a different answer was, “What color is it?” This “color” question was asked seven times in the one representative class, six times after it was explained that the question was an incomplete sentence lacking a proper subject or object. (So much for listening comprehension.) Other questions were repeatedly asked in the representative class:

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff Question: Do you like China? (Asked 22 times) Answer: yes Question: Do you like Chinese food? (Asked 21 times) Answer: yes Question: Do you like Chinese people? (Asked 19 times) Answer: yes Question: Do you play the guitar? (Asked 4 times) Answer: no Question: Do you play the piano? (Asked 7 times) Answer: no Question: Do you play basketball? (Asked 11 times) Answer: no Question: Do you play football? (Asked 9 times) Answer: no Question: Do you like us? (Asked 17 times) Answer: (audible) Yes (inaudible) I am starting not to.

Is there a listening comprehension problem? NO! It was the first time that any of these students had ever met a foreigner and each of the brave ones wanted to say something, anything, to the foreign white monkey the school had brought around for an afternoon’s entertainment. The real problem appears to be a less than competent school administrator, an issue discussed below. A foreign expert was introducing himself to individual students in a middle school class and the dialogue went like this:

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FE: Hello. My name is Bob. What is your name? Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: My Chinese name is xxx. My English name is Bill. FE: How are you, Bill? Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: I am fine. How are you? FE: I am fine, thank you. Nice to meet you, Bill. Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: Nice to meet you, too.

After this exchange occurred with six or seven students, always with the prompting of the Chinese English teacher, the foreign expert changed the dialogue ending. The following occurred: Student: I am fine. How are you? FE: I am really very tired and I wish I were not here teaching this class. Student: Stares at FE with frightened “deer in headlights” look. Chinese English teacher: Silent, Student: Turns and looks at Chinese English teacher. Chinese English teacher: Shrugs shoulders, Student: Turns to foreign expert and shrugs shoulders,

Are the middle schools merely training parrots? May it never be! A foreign expert wrote a tongue twister on a middle school blackboard: “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” The foreign expert asked a middle school student to stand and read what had been written on the blackboard. The student stood only after several classmates said something to him in Chinese. Instead of reading, the student remained silent and appeared to have difficulty seeing

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the blackboard from the back of the classroom. The foreign expert asked the student to come forward. The student did not move until some classmates said something to him in Chinese. When the student arrived at the front of the room and stood facing the blackboard, the following dialogue occurred: FE: Please read what I have written on the board. Student: Please read what I have written on the board. FE: Yes. I want you to read what I have written on the board. Student: Yes. I want you to read what I have written on the board. FE: Can you read? Student: Can you read? FE: OK. Please take your seat. Student: OK. Please take your seat. FE: Go and sit down. Student: Go and sit down. FE: I want you to go and sit down in your seat now. (Pointing to the student’s seat at the back of the room.) Student: I want you to go and sit down in your seat now. (Pointing to the student’s seat at the back of the room.)

YES, we are merely training parrots! Middle school teachers use the ‘talk and chalk” teaching methodology and the parrots err students repeat after the teacher who reads what they have written on the board. Vocabulary is taught in the same manner, with emphasis on memorization, but completely lacking in definitional meaning or contextual usability.

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The College Experience The incompetence of many graduates from high schools or even colleges and universities to communicate effectively in spoken and written English is related to the teaching methods in China. Students are usually spoon-fed, listening and taking notes with teachers standing at the front and doing most of the talking (He Mei, China Daily, 9/28/00). Most of us begin studying English at 12 or even younger. By the time we graduate from the university, we have studied English for over 10 years. However, the result is awful. Many students can say nothing but some simple phrases. Even for some English majors, writing an article in English also means nothing other than making countless mistakes (Deng Di, China Daily 6/9/00). A business English major at Xinyang Agricultural College, Henan Province, inquired: “What use is a degree from this college when I can only get a job as a laborer?” In the summer of 2002, two weeks before graduation, a business English major commenced his graduation party speech with the following sentence, “My English is so poor I will make my talk in Chinese.” In the summer of 2002, two weeks before graduation, one-third of a business English class could not spell “business.”

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff “I read nothing but English during my free time,” said Xiao Zhong, a postgraduate from the Economic Department of Beijing Normal University, “but my listening comprehension and oral English remained far behind satisfaction.” A girl had to take the graduate school entrance examinations five times because of failure in English in the four previous yours, although she had excellent records for her major subjects. “During the past five years, I had spent 80 percent of my time on studying English until finally past the examination,” she complained. She said that if she had spent the time on her major subjects, she might have great progress in her studies. Professor Gu Haibing from the National Economic Management Department of Remin University of China said that for most people who had finished nine-year compulsory education, it is impossible or unnecessary to be excellent in all the subjects, given the current circumstances that professions are all meticulous divided. We suppose the study cost (time) on basic subjects are the same, if a person spends more time on English and his time on other subjects will be less. The result is that the person masters neither English nor other subjects (China Daily, 11/03/03).

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Currently, the English teaching in colleges and universities is not at a higher level, but only a repetition of what the students leaned in high school. And again, the English class for postgraduates is a repetition of their college classes (Haibing, China Daily, 11/3/03).

During the Spring 2004 academic semester, at a major Shanghai teacher’s college, a 3rd year Chinese English student opined that he believed no Chinese man should get married until he owned a horse and cow. When the class’ laughter subsided, the foreign teacher asked the student to repeat his comment. The student said, “I believe that no Chinese man should get married until he owns a horse and cow.” When asked if he was from a Western province where such may be a custom, the student proudly proclaimed that he was Shanghaiese. The foreign teacher asked the student to write his statement on the blackboard. The student dutifully wrote, “I believe that no Chinese man should get married until he owns a house and car.” Is China producing more EFL/ESL failures than successes?

3. IS EFL/ESL TEACHING IN CHINA A CASE OF THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND? The all-time best-selling book, which was banned from China for a very long time, contains an applicable admonition which should quite possibly be taken to heart by those charged with promulgating and administering educational policy in China. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit. (Holy Bible, NAS)

China recruits approximately 100,000 native English teachers each year (www.chinatefl. com). “According to a certain statistics about 100 thousand teachers will be needed every year in China.” English teachers from Australia, Great Britain, Canada, and the United States

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of America are heavily recruited through the Internet (http://www.chinatefl.com; http://www. tefl.com; http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo). Generally speaking, in America, a University Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate Degree, in any discipline, merely qualifies a native speaker to enroll in a teacher training program where they will then receive a teaching certificate or Masters Degree, which amounts to a license to teach. Unfortunately, there is no universal recruitment standard for EFL/ESL teachers in China other than the requirement that they are native speakers and have a college degree, in some recognized discipline. (See below) Most Chinese schools require a bachelor’s degree, at a minimum. Unfortunately, the degree does not need to be in English, literature, linguistics or education. There are many circumstances in which native English speakers have been employed with an associate’s degree or as little as a U.S. high school diploma. ASIA VOLUNTEERS—Frequently Asked Questions: China—About Qualification Do I need any qualification or training to join Volunteer English Teaching Program in China?

No qualification is needed. Must be a native English speaker. Minimum committeement of one month is required. http://www.asiavolunteers.com/china/faq.php (Global Crossroad) Who can do it?

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You can teach English overseas if: – you are at least 19 years old or you have finished high school – you have a passport from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, America, Great Britain, Ireland or South Africa – you speak English fluently, with minimal accent – you are interested in travel and other cultures – you are comfortable with strangers and have good social skills (http://www.teachinternational.com/who_can_doit.php [Teach International]) “Xin Pai Foreign Language School Date: Monday, 20 January 2003, at 10:08 a.m. More Job Vacancies—Four more teaching positions are now available at Xin Pai Foreign Language School … but even those with no experience, who would like to try their hand at teaching, are welcome, as we can provide on-the-job training and assistance” ([email protected]). Frequently Asked Questions: 1. What qualifications should one have in teaching in China? The basic qualifications are: being a native speaker of English, having a minimum BA degree and commitment to teaching, loving China and its people. Clear, well-spoken English and a good knowledge of the fundamentals of English grammar. Teaching experience/ certificate is preferred but not a must (http://www.chinatefl.com/abroad.html).

A major ESL teacher recruiting Web site (www.AbroadChina.org) gives the following advice: What if I do not have a degree? If you do not have a degree, you must have:

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff Qualified Teacher Status and at least one year’s recent classroom-based experience of teaching English or modern languages, or a TEFL qualification and one years' classroombased experience of TEFL or teaching another subject. However, some schools will accept you without degree requested, and in some summer program, they may also accept. But some schools will not accept you without a degree, so your options will be restricted. What if I have limited teaching experience? With TEFL qualifications or equivalent and less than one year’s experience, if you have a degree, some host schools still will accept you.

The above directly contradicts, at least as to public universities and institutions of higher learning, the following official position of the Chinese Central Government: The Central Government guide provides:

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Those in search of language teaching positions in universities and institutions of higher learning should have a good grasp of their native languages and literature and should have at least three years’ language teaching experience. They should be able to speak their native language in standard pronunciation and intonation (State Bureau of Foreign Experts, 1994, “Guide for Foreign Experts Working in China”).

Note that the above is advisory and applies only to “universities and institutions of higher learning,” presumably public colleges and private Business Institutes, but not kindergartens, primary schools, middle schools or high schools, public or private. The use of the word “should” and not “must” should also be noted. The final and most important observation must be the lack of any requirement that English be the native language of the foreign expert hired to teach EFL/ESL. Most schools request a TESOL, TEFL, TOFL, ESL or CELTA certificate, but actual teaching experience or business experience is an acceptable substitute. (See above.) Most EFL/ESL teaching certificates are designed for EFL/ESL teaching in Europe whereas Asia is a completely different situation involving a different cultural orientation completely unlike that of Europe. The standard teaching certificates do not prepare one to be an EFL/ESL teacher in China. All of these programs assume that the ability to teach second language acquisition is such a simple matter that it can be learned in a short 30 day period. Although many schools claim to offer training once the FE is in China, in fact only a handful of private schools provide any pre-employment or on-the-job training specifically for EFL/ESL teaching in China. Public schools provide no formal on-the-job EFL/ESL training. Most Chinese schools prefer some teaching experience but some do not, let alone EFL/ESL experience. Likewise, most schools do not provide any type of teacher training, either on-the- job or on-line. They use the learn-as-you-go, on-the-job, by “trial-and-error” method of teacher training. Unfortunately there does not appear to be any enforcement of even the most basic requirements that an EFL/ESL teacher be a native speaker of English or have a college degree in some discipline.

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We are a network of English Training Centers based in Guangxi province, South China, and have an urgent need for English teachers (non-native speakers should have a fair English accent), for our centers and partner schools in the region (www.routard.com).

Non-native English speakers, or put another way, L2 English speakers currently teaching EFL/ESL in China are from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Philippines, Pakistan, India and Russia. In reality, there is no native English speaker requirement, teacher training requirement, or even any teaching experience requirement to become an English teacher in China. (Quang/Wolff, [in press], Progress in Education, “China EFL/ESL Jobs: A Case of False Advertising”). Most EFL/ESL teachers are recruited to China with very attractive bait (Travel/Teach English: The Global TESOL Institute, http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/sefer.cgi?China):

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Looking for a well-paid job to explore China? Come to TDM! Posted By: TDM Language College [email protected]. Date: Thursday, 16 January 2003, at 10:04 a.m. But you are very well paid. Your salary will be more than enough for you to live comfortably, to explore exciting China, its history, its nature, its people, its culture, its language and its food).

The recruit is usually very young with no prior teaching experience, away from home for the first time, in his first cross-cultural experience, and under the belief that they are about to embark upon a China vacation, which of necessity, must be interrupted occasionally for a little work. There is little or no advance training, preparation or indoctrination for teaching EFL/ESL in China. Far too many recruits never finish their one-year contract, some leaving within the first week, month or first several months. The reasons for disillusionment are almost as many and varied as the number of apparently disillusioned (http://www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo/asia/ sefer.cgi?China). In a two-year period, 113 FEs published more than 400 complaints, mostly about Chinese owned and operated primary schools (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03). Too many people with no real interest in the job come here (China) for a good time (very easy to do) and leave the real teachers trying to clean up the mess and repair their image. A white face and a degree, even a fake one, land a job (Tamblyn, Andrew, 1/15/03, letter). The tragedy is that some folks come here not to teach, but to travel, so they get all romantic and misty eyed. They can’t teach, don’t want to teach, and want to party like in the good old USA. This devil-may-care, happy camper attitude unfortunately leads them to make immature decisions and to be placed in schools that can not wait to capitalize on these ‘Rage Against the Machine’ look-a-likes. They also give serious teachers a bad reputation (H. Jones, 2/25/01, Letter).

China is burdened with far too many “backpackers” parading around as EFL/ESL teachers. Evidence that the native English teacher produces students any better equipped to speak English than their Chinese English teacher counterparts is lacking. This is partly due to poorly designed curriculum and partly due to the fact that too many native English-speaking teachers

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are simply not trained to teach anything, let alone teach EFL/ESL, which is a highly specialized field. Most private English schools rely upon the foreign expert to bring appropriate teaching materials with them and to prepare their own courses. Middle school and high school students of Chinese English teachers are subject to objective evaluation through the college entrance examination process. University students of Chinese English teachers are subject to objective evaluation through the Band 4 and Band 6 testing program, however limited and inadequate they may be in testing oral capabilities. However, private college or business institute students taught by “native” English speakers are not subject to any objective evaluation testing process. The effectiveness of these private educational programs is an unknown factor and hence their contribution to the Chinese society is also an unknown factor. The only thing really known for certain about these private English schools is that they are draining an appreciable amount of yuan from the local economy (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02). This situation cries out for and demands an empirical study of the real benefit of private English colleges and business institutes in relation to their economic profiteering. The 16th Communist Party Congress discussed the advisability and merits of allowing private educational institutions to begin engaging in business for profit, as if it was not a current reality. Acknowledgement that private educational enterprises are making a financial killing in China already is a prerequisite to developing appropriate Governmental regulation and quality control standards for the private educational sector. Language and culture are inseparable; on this there is no apparent disagreement between linguists. How then can an L2 EFL/ESL speaker, without any actual immersion in, or exposure to, the L2 EFL/ESL culture, possibly expect to be an effective L2 EFL/ESL teacher? They are certainly capable of dissecting the grammatical rules, analyzing English writings, reading extensively, and memorizing vocabulary, but this will enable them to do nothing more than teach a “DD” form of English. Additionally, in far too many cases, (especially the primary school teachers) their own pronunciation is so atrocious that they cannot possibly correct a student’s improper pronunciation and they are so steeped in Chinglish that it is impossible for them to recognize it and correct it in their students (Yanping Dong, 2003). The L2 students of L2 teachers will not have any appreciation for the cultural or environmental context in which the native speaker actually uses the language. The student will speak, if at all, in a “DD” form of English that the native speaker will find very strange, bookish, stiff or formal, and unintelligible; or, the Chinese student will use a form of Chinglish which is universally understandable by other EFL/ESL speakers and L1 English speakers alike. Chinese English teachers at the middle school and high school levels are themselves so unaccomplished in proper English pronunciation that they discourage and even intimidate their students from attempting to speak in English (He Mei, 9/28/00). When these students reach the university level they have little or no practical speaking ability and have very poor pronunciation, making the university oral English teachers job almost an impossibility. This situation has also been fostered by an English curriculum that is test result driven rather than driven by practical conversational ability (China Daily, 11/3/03). Middle school and high school students focus on learning only that which is required to pass the college entrance examination, which does not at present include oral English. Few, if any Chinese English teachers are educated as to the difference between language learning and language acquisition. Those Chinese English teachers trained more than five

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years ago read a textbook that had only one or two chapters dealing with 20-year-old language acquisition theories. At least one college level Chinese English teacher was hired for the 2002–2004 school years with only a high school diploma and absolutely no language acquisition training. The following are examples of a dictionary definition (DD) conversation and a culturally insensitive textbook:

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EXAMPLE #1: Dictionary Definition, Chinese English Teacher talking to Foreign Expert, Feb. 24, 2003 CET: Tomorrow you will ‘fetch’ your Temporary Residence Permit from the Public Security Bureau. FE: Why do you talk to me like that? I am not a dog! CET: What do you mean? FE: In America we command our dogs to ‘fetch’ when we want them to retrieve something for us. CET: But the dictionary says that ‘fetch’ is used to refer to going someplace and bringing something that is there back. FE: Yes, but in actual daily usage we only tell our dogs to ‘fetch’ when we throw something and have them chase it and bring it back or when we are using dogs while hunting for birds. It is an insult to tell a person to ‘fetch.’ You insinuate that they are a dog. EXAMPLE #2: Cultural Ignorance, excerpts of inappropriate conversational English randomly taken from an English textbook published in 2001 and written by a Chinese L2, “Interactive Speakers.” It’s time to say our farewells. (P55) Could they make me known the exact time the plane takes off? (P69) Have I got the go ahead to put out the fire? (P119) I wonder if you’d excuse me for a moment. (P152) … I’m afraid. (P183) I’m afraid…. (PP 24, 167, 182) Will it be convenient if I call upon you at seven this evening? (P220) To be openhearted, your denial that you had witnessed the accident dumbfounded me. (P249) He chooses to look into the matter till the truth is out. (P264)

Should properly-qualified Foreign Experts be pressed into the service of teaching primary and middle school teachers how and what to teach in their EFL/ESL classes? Today’s Chinese English/Linguist PhDs study language acquisition but where do they end up teaching? The Chinese PhDs either go abroad or congregate in the national or provincial top-tier universities where they reach a minority of the 16 million college students. The majority of English majors are dispersed throughout the second- and third-tier colleges and universities where language acquisition theory is a relative unknown. The Chinese linguists concentrate their research primarily on the top tier students and their journal articles are thus misleading as to the state of EFL/ESL teaching for the majority of Chinese English students who are languishing in the second- and third-tier colleges and universities. Even at a top-tier Shanghai University, a Chinese PhD associate professor employed in the English department teaches a class in English, about English, and then allows the final exam to be written in Chinese. The claimed rational is that it is harder for the Chinese English major to formulate and write the final exam paper in Chinese. This would be a great rationale

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for a Chinese class, but inappropriate for an English class. The bottom line is that it is easier for the associate professor to read, correct and grade the final exam paper written in English. This is just plain laziness at the highest academic level in China. A flawed L2 curriculum, taught by L2 speakers who themselves are deficient in their L2 language understanding and production ability, constitutes an educational program doomed to less than stellar results. In fact, the results are so poor as to require a very lenient grading standard to avoid failing more than half of the Chinese English students in each class. “Currently, the English teaching in colleges and universities is not at a higher level, but only a repetition of what the students leaned in high school. And again, the English class for postgraduates is a repetition of their college classes. The students take the course only for passing the examinations. The real meaning of English learning no longer exists” (Haibing, China Daily, 11/3/03). The college Chinese English teachers are merely teaching what they were taught, the way they were taught, without much knowledge about EFL/ESL acquisition. How can someone teach beyond his or her own knowledge? When Chinese English teachers and non-Chinese English teachers are incompetent to teach English, can they produce anything other than incompetent students? Is this just like the “blind leading the blind”? Exactly how does China wind up with so many incompetent EFL/ESL teachers? Clearly the Government guidelines are inadequate and do not even have the force and effect of regulations or laws and are rarely the subject of any enforcement proceedings or actions. But there may be something more basic at the root of this situation and it may be a case of incompetent school administrators. In 2002 a second-tier Shanghai University appointed a history major (who could not utter one English word) to be Dean of the English department. An isolated case you think? Consider that in 2002 a second-tier university in Hebei Province appointed a civil engineer (who could not speak English) to be the Dean of the English department. A private business institute in the same province appointed a North Carolina hillbilly Seminary dropout with no teaching credentials or experience to be the Director of Studies. And reflect further on the fact that in 2002 a Veterinarian who could not speak any English was the Dean of the English department in a third-tier college in Henan Province. This Vet hired three department employees who could not speak a word of English and all departmental meetings, communications and notices were in Chinese. To improve EFL/ESL teaching in China, maybe there needs to be a fundamental shift in educational philosophy and administrative qualifications. If the English department business is conducted in Chinese, how can the department set a proper example for the Chinese English majors to utilize English at all times? An English department operated in Chinese does not create a friendly English acquisition environment.

4. CAN ANYONE REALLY BE EXPECTED TO ACQUIRE ENGLISH IN THIS HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT? You are forced to trudge up three to five flights of cold concrete stairs, (past the stench of open trench, self-cleaning bathrooms reeking of urine and feces,) to reach your assigned concrete cubicle where you are required to sit on a 17″ high backless wooden stool with an 8½″ x 11″ seat, in front of a 30″ high wooden bench, enclosed on three sides with glass partitions. The cold concrete floor is swept daily by merely pushing the dirt into a corner

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where it stacks up. Water is splashed on the floor to keep the dust down. There is no heat to ward off the freezing cold of winter nor air conditioning to provide relief from the sweltering heat of summer. The walls are dingy-yellowed with time, dirty and in disrepair. The lighting is bare fluorescent tubes just like a sweatshop. In the front of the room is a Chinese language sign that roughly translated means “only speak mandarin in this room.” There is a second Chinese language sign on a sidewall that roughly translated says “no talking in this room.” This cold, dank, concrete box is surrounded by construction noises on one side, and from another side the machine-gun rapid-fire pops of hundreds of dribbled basketballs on the concrete exercise yard and the sound of popcorn popping as 50 ping pong balls are slapped with bare wooden paddles and bounced on concrete tables located underneath your windows; and from yet another side the sounds of people noisily clomping up and down the adjacent stairs or people in an adjacent concrete cubicle playing a Chinese movie on the television loud enough for the entire building to participate in the audio bombardment. Inside the concrete cubicle you sit theater style facing the front of the room, in a semiisolation cubicle if in a sound lab, for nine hours each day. There are no English signs or notices posted on the walls, no decorations to instill any thoughts about the West, its culture, or its language. There are two Chinese signs on the front wall, one says, “No Talking in Class” and the other says, “When You Speak Use Mandarin Only.” There are no maps or globe of the outside world. You are deprived of any and all English newspapers, magazines and periodicals. There is no western music or television. And worst of all, no one speaks to you in English, not even those sitting next to you, let alone any of the other 40-plus occupants of the cubicle. You are forced to watch Chinese movies or be completely bored. Suddenly, but on cue, an authority figure enters your cubicle and announces that you will now learn English as a foreign/second language and you are snapped into the reality that you are now in an environment where you are required to not only learn but to “master” English as a foreign/second language. Your English teacher stands in front of the two Chinese signs that advise against talking in class or when you must, only use Mandarin. Your teacher commences to teach you English using Mandarin. No, this is not punishment, a prison, a concentration camp, a re-education camp nor some other type of detention facility. You are a free spirit! Free, that is, to “master” English and do it within the next three years or four years by memorizing a vocabulary of 1,000 to 5,000 words, memorizing grammatical rules and memorizing set phrases or language patterns. Outside your cubical you are constantly bombarded with Mandarin over the campus-wide loudspeaker system and in the written notices and bulletins posted on the public information boards around the campus, but nothing in English. Even the posted notice advising of an impending English Corner is written in Chinese characters. You note the absence of English reading materials in the brand-new $3.5 million college library, the absence of English music CDs, English DVD movies or television programs, the blaring Chinese movies in the cafeteria, the total absence of English signs or decoration anywhere on campus, and the lack of any inducement to speak English. When you go to the English department offices, all of the staff and students are communicating in Mandarin. You observe that the English department staff meetings are held in Mandarin. There are no staffs in the college library, cafeteria or store that speak English. No staff in the College President’s Office or other college administrative offices speaks English. The campus medical clinic and post office staffs also speak only in Mandarin.

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There is nothing special or attractive about being an English major and there is no inducement to acquire English as a foreign/second language, just learn it as it is taught to you by your Mandarin speaking teachers who predominantly speak and teach in their L1 using a “chalk and talk” methodology (Qiang/Wolff, 3/04). The above-described environment violates every principle set forth by Krashen for establishing a friendly English acquisition environment (Krashen, 1989). Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language—natural communication—in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding. … The best methods are therefore those that supply ‘comprehensible input’ in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are ‘ready’, recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production (Stephen Krashen).

It also constitutes Chinese immersion rather than English immersion. Learning English needs a language environment. Without it, people have to spend a lot more time on memorizing. For many of the learners, even they have tried hard, they still achieve very little. … Here is the dilemma: on the one hand English is compulsory in school, on the other hand, there is no language environment in the society. —Professor Gu Haibing, National Economic Management Department, Remin University (China Daily, 11/3/03).

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EFL/ESL students require comprehensible input within a friendly, no stress environment, to acquire the target language, which should be taught in the target language (Krashen 1997). Chinese English majors with adequate financial resources study abroad where there is a friendly English language environment. By studying abroad the Chinese student is immersed in an English language environment. In the real world, conversations with sympathetic native speakers who are willing to help the acquirer understand are very helpful. (Stephen Krashen).

But for the majority of Chinese students this approach is not realistic. As Professor Haibing points out and the above described English language environment at a Chinese college portrays; Chinese colleges not only fail to provide a friendly English acquisition environment, they actually seem to go out of their way, either through design or ignorance, to create an environment that is hostile to English acquisition. Why don’t Chinese colleges and universities make the most modest attempt to create a friendly English acquisition environment for their English majors? It seems to us a matter of common sense that if going abroad is the preferred manner of learning English due to immersion in a friendly English environment, then for those who are financially embarrassed, the Chinese college should at least make a modest attempt to bring “abroad” to the Chinese college campus. Merely hiring a few foreign experts to visit with the students a couple of hours a week does not constitute the creation of a friendly English acquisition environment when all of the other daily input is Chinese. Students must have free library access to diverse English reading

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materials (books for all ages and language development stages including comic books, magazines, newspapers, novels, journals, classics, as opposed to English textbooks) since comprehensible input will be different for each student based upon their stage of English language development and learning speed differentials. They must also have free library access to English music (English CDs at 8 rmb each), movies (English DVDs at 6 rmb each), and television (CCTV Channel 9 [English International]). Free access in this sense means freedom to choose interesting and understandable materials (comprehensible input); freedom to decide when to access the materials; and freedom from the stress of doing assignments in preparation for a test (friendly environment). Acquiring English should become a matter of enjoyment and fun in the sense of a little child finding themselves alone and unsupervised in a candy store. The student should receive as much daily comprehensible input in the target language as possible which means the college should have bilingual signage; the English department should have English only signage; the English department should conduct all of its business in English; within the English department there should be a communicate in English only rule; class schedules, class rosters, notices to students and memoranda and other communications with staff should all be in English; the English department should be decorated with things English; the English department should be readily identifiable as a “little English enclave” even to the casual observer. Walking into the English department should be like walking into another world, an English-speaking world. When a Chinese student goes abroad, they are forced to acquire English very rapidly or face the probability that their basic needs will go unmet. This is made easier due to the immersion in everything English. The same should be true in the Chinese college English department. Is the cost to create such a friendly English acquisition environment much more than the cost to send one Chinese student abroad?

5. WHAT IS THE CHINESE ENGLISH STUDENT’S FAVORITE WINE? There is a New York joke that goes like this: Question: What is the favorite wine of a New York Jewish princess? Answer: I’d rather be in Miami!

This is a play on the words “wine” and “whine” which are both pronounced the same, at least by New Yorkers. The favorite Jewish “wine” is Manishevits. A “Jewish Princess’ is a young, beautiful Jewish girl who demands the best of everything, including spending New York’s cold winters enjoying the warm sunshine of Miami, Florida. How many Chinese English scholars would understand this joke without the background explanation? Ask any foreign expert what is the favorite wine [sic] of Chinese English students and the resounding answer is: “My English is so poor, how can I make it better?” In response to this “whine” the foreign expert explains the difference between language learning through traditional “chalk and talk” teaching methodology with rote memorization as its core, and language acquisition through comprehensible input in a friendly English acquisition environment. The teacher explains the need for the student to take charge of their

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own learning experience and to become both responsible and accountable for free reading, free listening, free film or television watching, and constant oral practice. (Krashen 1989) The EFL/ESL teacher explains that English should be spoken during class breaks, in the dormitory, in the halls, in the cafeteria, and that questions of the Chinese English teachers should be asked in English and answers should be demanded in English. During the next class break the foreign expert observes that the students are still communicating with each other in Chinese. That evening the foreign expert calls one of his student’s dormitory rooms to hear the phone answered “Wei! Ni Hao!” The next day the foreign expert observes his students speaking Chinese in the cafeteria and asking Chinese English teachers’ questions in Chinese. Two of his students prepare a notice of English corner to be posted on the campus, and, you guessed it, the notice is written in Chinese. The following week, at the end of the class, the foreign expert asks the standard question: “Do you have any questions?” At least one student inquires, “My English is so poor, how can I make it better?” The foreign expert’s inaudible reply goes something like this: You lazy no good for nothing S.O.B., why don’t you try getting off your dead a** and do a little work like reading, listening, and speaking more. You might also try coming to class more often. Do you honestly think your English will improve by repeating your stupid question every dam* week that you do decide to grace us with your presence in this class, which is not very often? The audible reply goes like this: “You must read more, listen more and speak more. You may also try coming to class more often so you hear all of the lectures and do not ask for material to be repeated.” Of course, since most school libraries are lacking in English materials, this does require the student to search out their own learning materials. Professor Gu Haibing stresses, “For English today, especially the study of spoken English, practice is very important” (China Daily, 11/3/03).

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Without practice, the level of oral English of some people who have studied English for many years may not match those vendors at the foot of the Great Wall who often speak English with foreigners while hawking their commodities (Gu, China Daily, 11/3/03).

There is a lot to be said for only allowing students interested in learning and acquiring English to participate in English classes and to stop using English as the great warehouse to store people until the job market expands to afford them a viable employment opportunity or worse still, to simply keep them off the streets and out of trouble. Student motivation is an indisputable crucial component of any educational process. Unmotivated students do not learn (Krashen 1988).

6. IS IT INEVITABLE THAT ALTHOUGH WE TEACH THEM ENGLISH, THEY WILL LEARN CHINGLISH? The purpose of all language is effective communication. “Pidgin” English is understood amongst the native Hawaiian people and it also enables them to effectively communicate with the English-speaking foreigners who are occupying their homeland.

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“Singlish” is an effective form of English communication amongst the people of Singapore and their English speaking world trading partners, business associates and tourists. In fact, almost every nation that has adopted English as a second language has developed a form of English that can be readily used by the lowest common denominator within its own people’s abilities to communicate and to still have effective communications with the native English speaker. Regional Englishes abound worldwide. There may be some purists who look down upon “Chinglish” or anything less than “perfect English” but of course their definition of what perfect English is will also depend upon which of the seven standard English forms they consider to be their native form or “pure English” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Sixth Edition). There are some who argue that there are many more “standard Englishes.” China is a developing Nation and is well within its rights to develop a form of English or regional English that best suits its general population’s need to communicate with each other as well as with native English speakers, while insisting on a more refined proper English or standard English, (Jiang Yajun, 1995) only for its official translators and some groups of professionals such as lawyers, accountants, scientists, medical doctors, etc. (Shanghai Star, 10/24/02). Chinglish is not a bad thing! In point of fact, it is inevitable (Jiang Yajun, 1995) Some professionals believe that as long as one knows 1,000 to 2,000 vocabularies, basic grammars, simple dialogues and the way to check into a dictionary or relevant software, he or she would be able to use English as an important tool in their future work and studies (China Daily, 11/3/93). Certain Municipal Governments require all of their civil servants to have a minimum of 1,000 English words in their vocabulary (China Daily, 10/05/02). This official policy forces Chinese speakers of Mandarin to sprinkle a few English words in to give a little English flavor to their Mandarin. This is nothing less than an officially sanctioned and promulgated form of Chinglish.

7. WHAT’S IN A NAME? At a third-tier college in Henan Province with a total student enrollment in excess of 5,000 and an English department of 600 majors, 20 Chinese English teachers and two foreign experts; it is difficult for the staff and even the students to recognize each other on campus or in town. It would be beneficial for the English department staff and the students to be able to identify each other at all times so they would identify with each other and also know when it would be appropriate to use their English. All students are required to wear nametags but the English majors wear the same Chinese nametag as the other students. This works to the disadvantage of creating a friendly English acquisition environment and is a missed opportunity to create an exclusive club identity, which is so important in creating proper language acquisition motivation. This is but one example of where an informed administrator could implement a simple, cost free administrative change that would help create a better language acquisition environment. Chinese English teachers are predominantly known to their students by their Chinese name and many such teachers do not even require their students to have proper English names. In a completely unscientific study, it was observed that if a student addresses their

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Chinese English teacher by their Chinese name, it is highly likely that the ensuing conversation will also be in Chinese. However, it has also been observed that when a student addresses their Chinese English teacher by their English name, the ensuing conversation is more likely to be in English. The need to teach L2 by using the target language is beyond linguistic dispute (Krashen) and yet the Chinese English teachers continually teach EFL by using their L1 Mandarin. It is also beyond linguistic dispute that “prompts” and “cues” must also be in the target L2 language. (MacWhinney) Why doesn’t China require all Chinese English teachers to teach in English and to use their English name as well as the English name of their students? Use of Chinese names and language prompts the Chinese mental lexicon while use of English names and language prompts the use of the English mental lexicon. As has already been noted, many English majors are not required to take English names. It has also been observed that when English majors do take English names, they tend to look in a dictionary and assume an English word rather than a name. Some students have assumed such bizarre “names” as: Chinese, Kaka, God, Raingirl, Peak, Money, Cash, Japan, Moonbeam, Success, Crayon, Ship, Vessel, Silent, Orange, Apple, Candy, Cookie, Cappacino [sic], etc.

These “names” (sic) go uncorrected by the Chinese English teachers. It has also been observed that the boys who take seats in the back of the room and assume such names as Hitler and Stalin turn out to be the habitual failures. It may be interesting to study the correlation to see if assuming the power name influences the failure of academic performance.

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The following dialogue occurred when a student announced that his name was “God.” Teacher: What is your English name? Student: My name is God. Teacher: You cannot take my class. Student: Why? Teacher: Because God already knows everything and cannot learn anything from me. Student: Can I have a different name?

8. WHAT IS WORSE: STUDENTS WHO CHEAT THE SYSTEM OR A SYSTEM THAT CHEATS THE STUDENTS? Students cheating on tests, students engaging in plagiarism, students manufacturing fake diplomas and credentials, and school administrators' falsification of students' records are rampant practices throughout China's universities and colleges, both public and private. Of this there is neither doubt nor dispute (Qiang/Wolff, 3/04). The Ministry of Education has taken a strong stand against exam cheating by announcing that anyone caught cheating on college entrance exams would have their names published for public humiliating purposes i.e. loss of face (China Daily, 7/8/02).

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Official reaction to the call of the Ministry of Education to crack down on rampant cheating in universities has been limited, but very positive. Beijing University will not only punish exam cheats who hire a surrogate test taker but will also punish the surrogate who takes an exam for another. Electronic instruments such as personal data assistors, calculators with higher memory function and communications equipment like mobile phones will be excluded from exams. The new rules will also punish students who attempt to plead with, threaten or bribe a professor (China Daily, 6/28/02). Peking University has adopted new rules to curb plagiarism on essays and thesis. The punishment can result in failing a course and even loss of the opportunity to complete the requirements for a degree (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 7/5/02). Li Ki’an, the head of the Academic Affairs Office, says that the new rules “are meant to curb the rampant problem of cheating.” Fujian Normal University has expelled a PhD candidate and three master’s degree candidates because they sat a college English test for other students. The Chinese University of Science and Technology punished eight students for either hiring test takers or for sitting an examination for someone else (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 1/16/03). In China grades are meted out on a predominantly “A”, “B”, or “C” standard. Teachers are loath to offend a student with a “D” or “F” for various reasons discussed in “Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved?” (Qiang/Wolff, 6/04). This results in English majors graduating without the knowledge and skills represented by the diploma. This is a fraud upon the students whose diploma is a representation to them that they have acquired the knowledge and skills represented by the diploma. It is also a fraud upon the parents who financed the student’s college education and are led to believe that their child has made a major accomplishment other than just sitting through a university education. It is also a fraud upon the student’s future employer who will rely upon the college diploma when making the initial employment decision, only to subsequently realize that the student is totally unqualified for the job. But worst of all, it is a fraud perpetrated upon a society that believes that a highly educated workforce will lead to a better-off society and therefore expends huge amounts of resources on higher education. The college graduate with the unearned diploma is qualified to do little more than be a “highly educated” laborer with a college diploma. Society will only be advanced on paper and in the minds of its members, while the goal of a better-off society will have been lost to the disillusionment of reality as these “educated” college graduates fail to make meaningful contributions to society.

CONCLUSION There is something terribly amiss with EFL/ESL teaching in China. The major clue to what is wrong is found in the statements of Deng Di and He Mei found on page 39 of this chapter. But what should be resonating in our minds, like the clap of thunder rolling just above our heads, is the question of the anonymous business English major at Xinyang Agricultural College, “What use is a degree from this college when I can only get a job as a laborer?” This question speaks volumes about the poor quality of EFL/ESL teaching in China rather than constituting a comment on the job market.

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Until the euphoria of EFL/ESL teaching and the huge economic business sector it has spawned are put into proper perspective, China will continue to waste its valuable resources producing more EFL/ESL failures than successes.

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REFERENCES Deyi, 1992 Panda Books, Diary of A Chinese Diplomat. China Daily, 6/28/02, “Beijing University Enforces Stricter AntiCheating Rules”. China Daily, 7/8/02, “Exam Time Again for Students, Parents”. China Daily, 10/25/02, “Government Encourages Public to Learn English”. China Daily, 11/03/03, “Is English Invading Chinese Culture?”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 7/5/02, “Exam Cheats Could Get Kicked Out of College”. ChinaDaily, Hong Kong Edition, 10/9/02, “English Patients”. China Daily Hong Kong Edition, 1/16/03, “Universities Put a Lid on Cheating”. China Daily, 3/25/04, “English Equation Unbalanced”, Xie Kechang. China Daily, 3/25/04 “Is It Conscionable for Chinese to Immerse in an ‘All English’ Environment?” Wei Chao. Deng Di, China Daily, 6/9/00, “Language Education Should Be Reformed”. He Qixin, 8/01, Beijing Foreign Studies University, “English Language Education in China”. He Mei, China Daily, 9/28/00. “English Teaching Method Faces Challenge”. Holy Bible, NAS, Matt 15:14. Jiang Yajun, 1995, English Today, “Chinglish”. Krashen, Stephen D. (1987), Prentice-Hall International, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Krashen, Stephen D. (1988), Prentice-Hall International, Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Krashen, Stephen D., (1997), Crane Publishing Co. Ltd., “Foreign Language Education”, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Sixth Edition. MacWhinney, B. (2002), The Competition Model: The Input, the Context, and the Brain, Cambridge University Press. MacWhinney, B. J., Leinbach, J., Taraban, R., and McDonald, J. L. (1989). “Language Learning: Cues or Rules?” Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 255-277. People’s Daily, 1/23/02, “English Language Training Profitable Industry in China”. People’s Daily, 5/23/01, “China to Draft Law on Private Schools”. Shanghai Star, 10/24/02, “English Dominance”. Qiang/Wolff, 4/03, English Today, “China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish?” Qiang/Wolff, 9/03, Progress in Education Vol. 12, Chapter 4, “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok?” Qiang/Wolff, 6/04, Asian EFL Journal; 12/04, Progress in Education (in press), “Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved?” Qiang/Wolff, 3/04, Asian EFL Journal; 9/04, Progress in Education (in press), “Can You Get a First-Class Education in a Third-Tier College in China?” Quang/Wolff, Progress in Education (in press), “China EFL/ESL Jobs: A Case of False Advertising”.

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State Bureau of Foreign Experts, 1994, “Guide for Foreign Experts Working in China”. www.AbroadChina.org. www.Chinatefl.com. www.eslcafe.com/jobinfo. www.tefl.com. www.routard.com. [email protected]. Yanping Dong, 2003, “Are We Ready for an Early Start in Foreign Language Learning? A Survey of Primary School English Education in Guangdong Province” in Mordern Foreign Languages (1).

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Chapter 6

ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: THE MODERN DAY TROJAN HORSE?

∗

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff Throughout China, the national language, Mandarin, is spoken by only 53% (Yan 2005) of the Chinese population, while most primary schools, all middle and senior-middle schools, colleges and universities have mandatory English instruction (Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff, 2004). “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare). But “linguistic imperialism”1, denoted by such economically optimistic and sensationalized names as Globalization,2 McDonaldization,3 Englishization, or New World Order, etc., still amounts to post-colonial (United Nations Declaration) re-colonialization. “Englishisation is inextricably linked to globalisation and Americanisation (which some see as neo-imperialism or hyperimperialism, or merely empire [Hardt and Negri, 2000]), and to Europeanization” (Phillipson, 2004). “Linguistic imperialism can occur when English becomes a gatekeeper to education, employment, business opportunities and popular culture and where indigenous languages are marginalized (Pennycook, 1995, 2001) [one] is suspicious that the spread of English is beneficial; in many cases the language is appropriated and changed by different cultures. Cooke (1988) uses the metaphor of the Trojan horse to describe the way that English may be welcomed initially in a country but then cause concern as it dominates the native language(s) and cultures” (Ljungdahl 2002). In China, English is viewed as “the gatekeeper” to higher education, employment, economic prosperity and social status. (“Is Chinese Drowned in the Sea of English?”, www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-30 16:08:02; “English, a Language You Have to Learn?”, www.

∗

English Today, Volume 21, Issue 04, (Oct 2005) “The dominance asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages” (Robert Phillipson). 2 Possibly originating with Marshall McLuhan’s vision of a “global village” or Immanuel Wallerstein’s “worldsystems theory”. 3 “McDonaldization...is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world” (Ritzer, 1993:1). 1

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chinaview.cn 2004-04-01 15:26:56; “Shanghai Ranks No. 1 in Income”, www.chinaview.cn 2004-03-09 11:13:22). “Academician Xie Kechang of the Chinese Academy of Engineering has questioned the necessity for the entire nation to learn English. It is a compulsory subject in college entrance examinations, and college students whose English falls short of the required standard do not receive their diploma. English is also a decisive aspect of the postgraduate entrance examination. White-collar workers expend a lot of energy on English learning, despite having few opportunities to use it, because it is a pre-condition for promotion. A professional’s English language level is considered indicative of their overall caliber” (Xie Kechang, 2004). English remains a gatekeeper to higher education, better jobs and social position in the Hong Kong SAR (Mee-Ling Lai 1999). China has embraced English with unparalleled fervor (Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff, 2005). But in doing so, China has also subjected itself to the monolanguage and monoculture predicted and disdained by Marx and Engle. “In . . . Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith identifies the global character of Western capitalism from its outset, foreseeing the ‘mutual communication of knowledge’ and ‘an extensive commerce from all countries to all countries’ that would be of benefit to all parts of the globe. Famously, in a phrase which at least partially echoes Goethe’s discussion of Weltliteratur, in The Communist Manifesto (1848) Marx and Engels link the global spread of capitalism to the production of a global culture. For them, the constant revolutionizing of bourgeois production and the search for new markets that fueled imperialism meant that ‘national one-sideness and narrowmindedness become more and more impossible, and from the numerous national and local literatures there arises a world literature.’ For all their other differences, both Smith and Marx and Engels viewed the process of economic and cultural globalization as one leading toward a genuine universalism on the other side of the false particularities produced in the era of nations and nationalisms. There remains a strong undercurrent of universalism in some variants of the concept of globalization, especially insofar as it seems to inexorably suggest the production of a single, homogenous planetary space” (Szeman 2001). Apparently ignoring the admonition of Marx and Engels or calculating that the death of Marxism in China is preferable to continued economic stagnation and poverty, China opened its gate to English as the unofficial second language. Legions of approximately 150,000 foreign EFL teachers (Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff, 2003) and more than 1,000,000 Chinese English teachers (MacArthur, 2004) are currently teaching English to more than 600,000,000 Chinese at any given moment, twice the population of the United States of America. This army of English teachers unavoidably brings with it a simultaneous invasion of Western culture. “…Language and culture converge when we assign value to particular words and their corresponding objects or symbols. In this sense, words are little more than audiovisual tags for cultural value” (Steggaman 2004). The British Council, the United Kingdom’s international organization for educational opportunities and cultural relations, brags that “The English language is the UK’s biggest export success story” (www.britishcouncil.org.belgium/ english/). However, Britain’s role remains an essentially imperial one: to act as junior partner to US global power, to help organize the global economy to benefit western corporations, and to maximize Britain’s (that is, British elites’) independent political standing in the world and thus remain a ‘great power’ (Curtis, 2003). Underpinning the English language and culture lays the Judeo-Christian religious concepts of justice and social order. The European Union, the North American Free Trade

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Agreement, the World Trade Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Bank, the nternational Monetary Fund, and even the United Nations itself are all predicated upon Western legal concepts evolved from British Common Law (Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff, 2004) and are vehicles for the implementation of linguistic imperialism on a regional or global scale. To fully participate in the new global economy, a country is economically coerced into “voluntarily” accepting economic, political and social reforms that are pleasing to Western democratic principles. (Either reform and conform or be left out of the new economic prosperity.) It is the Western economic superpowers that have re-coined the “Golden Rule” (Holy Bible) from “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” to “He who has the gold, RULES.” Large protest groups repeatedly attempt to disrupt meetings of the IMF, World Bank, WTO, and NAFTA to highlight their perception that these international organizations are mere tools of Western dominance and economic injustice. China spent 15 years negotiating the terms of its membership in the WTO (Long Yongtu, 2001). Membership per se was not the issue. What was at stake was the timetable for China to institute numerous reforms and thereby conform to Western principles of market economy, democracy and justice, after its accession to the WTO. The WTO is the most significant instrument for implementing linguistic imperialism on a global scale (Phillipson, 1992). “English, which in the words of George Steiner (1975: 469) ‘acted as the vulgate of American power and Anglo-American technology and finance’, has secured its status as a global language in the 20th century, and has acted as a force facilitating globalization (Dendrinos, 2002; Phillipson, 2001). Economic, political and cultural domination of the single super-power today, the USA, goes hand-in-hand with the language that encodes the cultural practices that it helps to sustain. Therefore, alarm about the domination of English does not merely reflect disquietude regarding its ruling power over other languages, ‘big’ or ‘small’, nor to its colonizing effects on them; it conceals consternation concerning the role it plays in minimizing the importance of the nation and in maximizing the role of globalization” (Dendrinos, 2005). “American hegemony—its geopolitics driven by the key assumption that it has defined the way of life that must be adopted by all—must rely on the learning of its language in order to maintain and cement its control” (Templer, 2002). English is the same colonial language accomplishment that it was in the last century. It is even more so today. Globalist economic ideologies have pronounced English a key element in creating technical labor forces that meet their investment specifications, and national ministries of education have uniformly complied with these ideological demands by stacking their pedagogical chips on more English (Pennycook, 1999). Upon China’s accession to the WTO, reporter Antoaneta Bezlova stated, “Its biggest benefit probably is the hope that free trade will eventually lead to the triumph of free society.” And therein lays the truth about globalization being, in reality, just another fancy name for recolonization or reshaping the world in the image of the U.S. and its philosophy of a “free society.” This is also reminiscent of the arrogant and offensive comment, “We are here to help the Vietnamese, because inside every gook there is an American trying to get out” from the 1987 Stanley Kubrick film Full Metal Jacket. This subliminal, arrogant, and egotistical thinking may explain the real reason for the invasion of Iraq in 2004 and the new legions of EFL teachers recruited to teach EFL to the Iraqi people. “The Pentagon already needs entire battalions of interpreters—or brigades of imported teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) to administer the “rebuilt” Iraq now on the drawing boards. The lucrative “market” for

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EFL being opened up by our generals will be a windfall for teachers from Sydney to Seattle. Experts from numerous other fields are also being recruited to “reshape” Iraqi education, from kindergartens to universities. And platoons of Western researchers, including grad students, will soon descend on a ‘pacified’ Iraq as transnational foundations seek to fund new projects. North American, British and Australian universities will attempt to set agendas for ‘collaboration’ and research in Iraqi academe. In this complex picture, I want to concentrate on the predictable massive infusion of what Chinua Achebe called ‘the world language which history has forced down our throats’ ” (Templer, 2002). Inside every Iraqi is there an American trying to get out? Or, inside every citizen of the world…? Is linguistic imperialism the non-military manifestation of over-inflated nationalistic pride? Is it that simple to explain? Have English words become the weapon of choice, rather than bullets, for the colonization of the world by the United States of America and the United Kingdom? There are those who suggest that the current invasion of EFL teachers is merely the new wave of Western evangelist missionaries (Hadley, 2004) engaging in a different type of “war of words” that has merely replaced the “cold war” wherein world domination by the English speaking world was pursued through military intimidation, i.e., wars and threats of wars. Suggested counter measures to this English invasion include adopting an artificial language such as Esperanto (Dr. Ludwig L. Zamenhof, a Polish physician, published it in 1887) as the international language of commerce; placing a prohibition on learning or using English, or placing an embargo on importation of Western culture through literature, movies and songs (Phillipson, 2003). For obvious and not so obvious reasons, each such absurd suggestion is doomed to failure (Modiano 2003). But such suggestions sound much like the reverse of closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. The Trojan horse is an invited guest, which has taken up permanent residence, and will not be evicted without a major battle for the minds and souls of all the people of the world. Will English culture inevitably become the monoculture of the world through universal adoption and use of English as the monolanguage of international commerce? Before aligning with those in the “inevitability” camp, we must give serious consideration to the continuation of ethnic cleansing from Biblical times through modern world history and the recent escalation of global terrorism. These two phenomena have certain common characteristics which bear on the issue of acceptance of an English language based New World Order. Ethnic cleansing is defined as “various policies of forcibly removing people of another ethnic group. At one end of the spectrum, it is virtually indistinguishable from forced emigration and population transfer, while at the other it merges with deportation and genocide. At the most general level, however, ethnic cleansing can be understood as the expulsion of an ‘undesirable’ population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic discrimination, political, strategic or ideological considerations, or a combination of these” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing). The Torah or Old Testament of the Bible talks about ethnic cleansing in the 13th century BCE between the Hebrews and the people of Canaan. The most infamous example of ethnic cleansing was the extermination of Jews by Nazi Germany in the 1940s. In the late 1900s and into the 21st century, ethnic cleansing has spread through the former Yugoslavia in Europe and far too many African nations such as Rwanda and Sudan (http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing).

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Modern terrorism is hard to define (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_ terrorism). Academic consensus: terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individuals, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby—in contrast to assassination—the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-based communication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperilled) victims, and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience[s]), turning it into a target of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought. According to Jason Burke, an expert on terrorism: terrorism is the use or threat of serious violence to advance some kind of “cause”. Some state clearly the kinds of group (“sub-national”, “non-state”) or cause (political, ideological, and religious) to which they refer. At the core of ethnic cleansing and terrorism is a sense of nationalism tied to language, religion, culture, or ethnicity, all of which are racist in nature. There is a perceived compelling need to protect and preserve that which one equates with their own self-identity and self-worth and which separates them from all others. There is a primal need to attack and eradicate those who are perceived to threaten or dilute that most valuable and innate asset which makes an identifiable group, be it a threat to language, religion, culture, or ethnicity. Ethnic cleansing and terrorism may be the natural defensive mechanism to the Trojan Horse bearing the EFL army, armed with English language and culture. Those who suggest poverty as the impetus for ethnic cleansing or terrorism may suffer from a myopic and very wrong world view (Abadie, 2004). Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden is by no means poor nor has he espoused any agenda to eradicate poverty. Bin Laden is an Islamic Fundamentalist born into Saudi Arabian wealth, who is opposed to the New World Order emanating out of Moscow, Russia, or Washington, D.C. and London, England, and opposes a perceived threat to his religion, language, culture and family dominance in local politics. To many, Bin Laden is a radical terrorist, a fringe fundamentalist Muslim, but to many others, particularly disenchanted or disenfranchised Muslims around the world, he is simply a freedom fighter opposing the colonization of the Muslim world by the Western economic superpower through the imposition of Judeo-Christian beliefs which underpin the use of English as the language of international commerce. In short, Bin Laden engages in terrorism to protect his religion, language and culture from a perceived, and probably very real, worldwide threat posed to his Islamic world by the English based New World Order. U.S. President George W. Bush has stated his agenda: …The rise of a free and self-governing Iraq will deny terrorists a base of operation, discredit their narrow ideology, and give momentum to reformers across the region. …Helping construct a stable democracy after decades of dictatorship is a massive undertaking. …Our agenda, in contrast, is freedom and independence, security and prosperity for the Iraqi people. …Our coalition has a clear goal, understood by all—to see the Iraqi people in charge of Iraq for the first time in generations. …There are five steps in our plan to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom. … The second step in the plan for Iraqi democracy is to help establish the stability and security that democracy requires. …These two visions— one of tyranny and murder, the other of liberty and life—clashed in Afghanistan” (George W. Bush, May 24, 2004).

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Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. This strategy requires the same persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before. And it will yield the same results. As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace (Bush, 2003). As long as there are those who value their ethnicity, religion, language or culture more than money, and are willing to fight to protect what they value, the “inevitability” of the English language based New World Order is in jeopardy. According to the Judeo-Christian religion, there was a time in world history when all people spoke one language. (Holy Bible) And when the people attempted to build a tower to Heaven to become as knowledgeable as God, He confused their language, scattered them and destroyed their Tower of Bable. And yet, it is those whose culture and beliefs are founded upon this Judeo-Christian religion who are now attempting to bring about a world unity of one language by evangelizing the whole world with the English language. These same people attempt to replicate their God’s knowledge and usurp His domain through scientific experimentation which goes so far as to propose to clone human beings (CNN, 2005). Do these people not realize that, according to their Bible, all of their efforts are vanity? The scriptures they appear to cherish proclaim the return of their Messiah to claim His thrown and world dominion, making all of their worldly efforts for naught. Do these “English only” evangelists not have the conviction of their own religion? Although the Internet is also viewed by many as a factor in accelerating the dominance of English as the international language of commerce, a recent study foretells a much different and linguistically diverse future for e-commerce on the Internet (Cox, 2000). Further, free, speedy and accurate translation services available on the Internet tend to reduce the need for a universal or international language. The Internet may be the world’s last legitimate and acceptable line of defense against linguistic imperialism. Finally, there is a growing number of linguists who are starting to realize the necessity of sounding the alarm and opposing the injustice of linguistic imperialism. Professor Kanavillil Rajagopalan of Brazil recently assembled and published 36 articles from 33 authors in A linguistica que nos faz FALHAR (Portugese, Parábola Editorial of Rua Clemente Pereira, 327 – Ipiranga 04216-060, São Paulo, SP, Brazil). This compilation of articles provides some of the most current thinking about the need for proper language planning and is exceedingly pro linguistic ecology or linguistic diversity. To the extent that there are forms of resistance to the spread of English, we can talk about a process of hegemony being in operation. By extension, we can talk about the hegemony of English (Macedo, Dendrinos and Gounari, 2003) that involves struggles to do away with any forms of resistance and thus allow it to dominate. This process is actually the essence of hegemony (Dendrinos, 2005). President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism may be just such an attempt to do away with Islamic resistance to linguistic imperialism. We are very uncomfortable with the idea that linguists, leaders of ethnic cleansing movements, and terrorists may be aligned in the resistance movement against linguistic imperialism. But we are likewise disturbed that some people may feel so threatened by linguistic imperialism that they may be compelled to put down the pen and pick up the sword. We by no means condone ethnic cleansing or terrorism, but we do understand some of the pressures and threats that may frustrate someone to such anti-social and unacceptable behavior. Leaders of the linguistic imperialism movement, who are also committed to fight a war against terrorism (U.S. President George W. Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair)

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may be well advised that the search for the enemy should not take place in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan or the deserts of Iraq, but the true enemy may be found by looking in a mirror. President George W. Bush has stated that Osama bin Laden and terrorists like him hate the American way of life and freedom (Bush, 2001), but maybe Osama bin Laden simply sees the American way of life and freedom as “an invasive threat to his cultural identity” (Boyle, 1997) when forced upon his Muslim world through linguistic imperialism.

CONCLUSION Linguistic imperialism is a struggle for power (Tollefson, 1995). Linguistic imperialism is an insidious weapon for the use by one country to interfere with the internal affairs of another country. Language planning must not only consider the affirmative needs of the particular society but must also have a defensive element to protect against linguistic imperialism perpetrated by another society. Yes, EFL is a modern-day Trojan horse filled with EFL teachers/soldiers or missionaries, armed with English words rather than bullets, intent upon re-colonizing the world to remake it in the image of Western democracy. China has brought the Trojan horse within its gates, and the army of EFL teachers is hard at work westernizing China.

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REFERENCES Abadie, Alberto (2004). Poverty, Political Freedom, and the Roots of Terrorism, http://www.ksghome.harvard.edu/aabadie/povterr.pdf. Bezlova, Antoaneta (1999). Beijing Faces Steep Political Price in Deal with US, http://www.cb3rob.net/~merijn89/nieuws/99-11-26.html. Boyle, Joseph (1997). English in Hong Kong. English Today 51, Vol. 13 No. 3. Bush, G.W. (2001). Speech to Joint Session of the US Congress, http://www.bushcountry. org/bush_speeches/president_bush_speech_092001.htm. Bush, G.W. (2004). Speech On Iraq http://www.bushcountry.org/bush_speeches/president_ bush_speech_052504.htm. Bush, George W. (2003). Remarks by the President at the 20th Anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/11/20031106-2.html CNN (2/8/05). Dolly creator gets cloning license. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/ 02/08/uk.cloning/index.html. Cox, Beth (2000). U.S. Internet Dominance Waning, http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/ news/trends/article.php/3551_338521. Curtis, M. (2003). Web of deceit: Britain’s real role in the world. London: Vintage. Dendrinos, Bessie (2000). Linguoracism in European foreign language education discourse. In Martin Reisigl and Ruth Wodak (eds.) The Semiotics of Racism: Approaches of Critical Discourse Analysis. Vienna: Passagen Verlag, pp. 177-198. ———. (2002). “The Marketisation of the (Counter)Discourses of English as a Global(ising) Language”. In Mary Kalantzis, Gella Varnava-Skoura and Bill Cope (eds.) Learning for

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the Future: New Worlds, New Literacies, New Learning, New People. TheUniversity Press.com (Australia): Common Ground Publishing, pp. 241-255. ———. Forthcoming. Linguistic Diversity vs. National Language Protectionism: Language Planning in Action in Greece. Paper delivered at the first official general assembly and annual conference of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language, in Stockholm, Sweden, October 2003. To appear on the Web site of EFNIL (http:// www.eurfedling.org). Dendrinos, Bessie (2005). Conflicting Ideologies in Discourses of Resistance to the Hegemony of English, Parábola Editorial of Rua Clemente Pereira, 327 – Ipiranga 04216060, São Paulo, SP, BRAZIL. Hadley, Gregory (2004) ELT and the New World Order: Nation Building or Neo-Colonial Reconstruction? TESOL Islamia. Holy Bible, Genesis 11:1-9. Holy Bible, Luke 6:31. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_terrorism Long Yongtu , Vice Minister, Head of the Chinese Delegation, at the sixteenth session of the Working Party on China (July 4, 2001) http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news01_e/china_longstat_jul01_e.htm Ljungdahl, Lesley (2002) “The English Language and Linguistic Imperialism: The Trojan Horse?” The International Journal of Learning 9 MacArthur, Tom (2004) English Today Vol 20 No. 3 pg. 37. Macedo, Donaldo, Bessie Dendrinos and Panagiota Gounari. 2003. The Hegemony of English. Colorado: Paradigm Publishers. Modiano, Marko (2003). Review of Robert Phillipson: English-Only Europe? Challenging Language Policy. Routledge, Applied Linguistics Vol. 25 No. 1. Mee-Ling Lai (1999). Hong Kong: Language and education in a Post-colonial Era, Language, Culture and Curriculum Vol. 12 No. 3. Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (2005). “EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions – Questions – Questions”, www.usingenglish.com. Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (2004). “The Chinglish Syndrome: Do Recent Developments Endanger the Language Policy of China?”, English Today Vol. 19 No. 4. Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (2003). “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok?” Progress in Education Vol 12 Ch. 4. Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (2004). “Linguistic Failures”, www.usingenglish.com/esl-inchina/ china-or-chingland.pdf. Pennycook, Alastair (1999). English and the Discourses of Colonialism, New York: Routledge. Phillipson, Robert (1992). Linguistic Imperialism, Oxford University Press. Phillipson, Robert 1999 "Englishisation: one dimension of globalisation", English in a changing world, AILA Review, 13, 17-36, ed. David Graddol and Ulrike Meinhoff (with Tove Skutnabb-Kangas). Phillipson, Robert (2004). Figuring out the Englishisation of Europe. Phillipson, Robert (2001). “English in the new world order. Going beyond national and corporate linguistic imperialism”. Paper delivered at the Niegerian conference on “Millenium Sociolonguistics”, August 2001.

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Rajagopalan, Kanavillil, “A linguistica que nos faz FALHAR” (Portugese), Parábola Editorial of Rua Clemente Pereira, 327 – Ipiranga 04216-060 São Paulo, SP, BRAZIL Ritzer 1993:1. Stegemann, R.A., English: Bridge or Barrier? Steiner, George. 1975. After Babel. Aspects of Language and Translation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Szeman, Imre (2001). GLOBALIZATION In John Hawley, ed., Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,): 209-217. Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Templer, Bill (2002). Teaching the Conqueror’s Language Z Mag Tollefson, J.W. (Ed.). (1995). Power and Inequality in Language Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. United Nations: Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1960 General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), December 14, 1960. www.britishcouncil.org.belgium/english/ www.chinaview.cn 2004-08-30 16:08:02 “Is Chinese Drowned in the Sea of English?” www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-01 15:26:56 “English, a Language You Have to Learn?” www.chinaview.cn 2004-03-09 11:13:22 “Shanghai Ranks No.1 in Income”. Xie Kechang (2004) www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e2004/e200405/f2.htm, Doubts Raised on Mandatory English Learning. Yan, Rachael 2/2/2005, Locals Master Mandarin, but Not Pinyan, Shanghai D10.

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SECTION II – CHINA EFL CURRICULUM REFORM

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Chapter 7

CHINESE UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA: CAN ITS INTERNATIONAL IMAGE BE IMPROVED?∗ Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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INTRODUCTION As of 1999, China had more than 800,000 public schools, primary through college (www.umich.edu), churning out more than 2.5 million college graduates each year (Xinhua News Agency, 3/27/02) with the numbers still on the rise. A different report claims that China currently has 1.35 million schools and an enrollment of 320 million students (China Daily.com, 10/30/02). In 2001, the class of entering college freshman swelled to 2.6 million, 800,000 more than in 2000 (China Daily, 11/28/01), with a total college enrollment of 11.75 million in 2002, 8.02 million more than in 1990 (China Daily, 10/30/02). As of 1999 there were more than 13 million teachers serving more than 71 million students (www.umich.edu). Accurate, up-to-date figures do not seem to be readily available, which may be attributable to the sheer magnitude of the educational system. In its quest to make up for lost time, China is mass-producing university graduates like a modern factory assembly line produces consumer goods. Educating a nation of 1.3 billion people is a monumental task beyond belief. As with any production process, educating China is not without its problems, and defective products do occur (Qiang/Wolff/Teng/Gregory, “Can You Get a First-Class Education at a Third-Tier College in China?”, Progress in Education, Vol. 13, Ch 2). Without adequate quality assurance. the end product may be unacceptable in the marketplace. Such is the case with so many diplomas from Chinese universities and colleges; they just do not garner the international respect and admiration to which they aspire. There may be multiple factors contributing to this phenomenon (Qiang/Wolff, “EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions – Questions – Questions”, in press), but we are here concerned with but one aspect of the problem—the integrity of the diploma and its holder. Was the diploma earned or received through “guanxi” (the art of developing

∗

(2007) Frontiers in Higher Education, Ch. 8, Nova Publications

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relationships and then using them to obtain unjust or undeserved favors, i.e., cheating as a way of life)? Students cheating on tests, students engaging in plagiarism, students manufacturing fake diplomas and credentials, and school administrators’ falsification of students’ records are rampant practices throughout China’s universities and colleges, both public and private. Of this there is neither doubt nor dispute. The question is: Why? We will explore the various types of cheating and their historical justification or excuse, the extent of current cheating and the underlying reasons that cheating continues to be acceptable even though officially deplored. Finally, we will make a recommendation that may surprise many who labor to read through this entire article. It surprised us!

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE From the Chin Dynasty until this century, Confucianism was the leading force in shaping social ethics in China (Chen Ying). Confucius taught that a peaceful and prosperous society was possible if everyone from pauper to prince adhered to the same virtues of honesty, courtesy and loyalty (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 6/02). However, from the Han period through to the Qing dynasty, the Imperial examinations for civil servants proved the breeding grounds for “guanxi”. The zeal to succeed and become a civil servant caused many a person to resort to cheating on the Imperial examinations, which required rote memorization for honest success (Crozier, 6/02). The Imperial examinations were the key to a person’s life success or perceived failure, i.e., fail the examinations and fail in life. A great deal of pressure was placed upon the individual to pass the examinations by any means available. Cheating became endemic. Confucianism ended when Mao Tse-Tung unified China and verbalized a new concept of morality: “Morality begins at the point of a gun” (Mao Tse-Tung, 20th-century revolutionary founder of modern China). When the Communist Party came into power in China, it brought with it the socialist philosophy of Hegel and Marx, which is completely devoid of any concept of social morality (Katsiaficus, 4/79). Marxism holds that economic structure determines everything in human society, including morality, ethics, and the right to private property; the only thing shaping society is the material forces of productivity (Caldwell, 2003). The concept of personal integrity and social responsibility was transformed into a socialist collective mentality in whereby the work unit shouldered the moral responsibility rather than the individual within any particular unit. “Guanxi” survived the unification of China under Mao. The social morality of Confucius, tempered by “guanxi,” was replaced with “amoral” politics and law tempered by “guanxi.” Moral education was replaced with political education (Chen Ying), described by John Zane (pseudonym, Universidat Oldenberg): “Communism here is seen as a sort of morality which sets norms for behavior. To be a Communist or Marxist is the same as to be a good person. Based on Communist ideas, the Chinese government tries to educate people to be collectivistic. During the whole process of political education, individualism and ‘capitalist liberalization’ are severely criticized. The model of a good person is the one who is loyal to the party, is ready to sacrifice himself for the party and

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the people, and dedicates himself to the cause of ‘socialist construction.’ ” Then the “campaign against the four oldies” denied all morality (Chen Ying, op. cit.). In 1980, with the founding of the Society for the Studies of Ethics at Wuxi, Jiangsu, China entered a period of socialist market morality, which is still developing today (Chen Ying). This market morality is just an extension of what is considered to be Marxism. Today, China is classified as a developing country, which normally refers to its economic status in the world community. However, China is also developing its social society (Qiang/Wolff, 4/03) and in this social development context is searching for the moral compass by which it will chart its future course for the development of a society with “high ideals and morality” (Chen Ying op. cit.).

CURRENT POLITICAL POLICY PERSPECTIVE A review of the Chinese government’s official documents and press releases leaves one with a clear impression that China strives for a moral society, where cheating and corruption, at all levels of society, are the subject of zero tolerance. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China expresses the current political attitude toward morality and ethics in China:

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Article 24. The state strengthens the building of socialist spiritual civilization through spreading education in high ideals and morality, general education and education in discipline and the legal system, and through promoting the formulation and observance of rules of conduct and common pledges by different sections of the people in urban and rural areas. The state advocates the civic virtues of love for the motherland, for the people, for labor, for science and for socialism; it educates the people in patriotism, collectivism, internationalism and communism and in dialectical and historical materialism; it combats the decadent ideas of capitalism and feudalism and other decadent ideas.

In a White Paper entitled “China’s Population and Development in the 21st Century” published by The Information Office of the State Council on 12/19/2000, the government stated a strong stance on the need to “raise” and “strengthen” the people’s moral standards. 19. In order to raise the people's ideological and moral standards; it is necessary to enhance the people's sense of law and their concept of the rule of law. Outmoded regulations and bad habits as well as backward ideology should be changed and superstitions discarded. At the same time, healthy values, moral standards and good public opinions on cultural and social practices are to be encouraged. Great importance should be attached to the healthy development of youngsters by providing them with colorful and meaningful cultural and educational activities. Young people's understanding of morality should be strengthened so that their improper behavior is avoided.

Zhong Binglin, Director of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education announced that “Morality and Psychology education will be given equal footing with regular programs” (China Daily, 6/28/00). In a speech to the Ideological and Work Conference of the CPC Central Committee on 6/28/00, President Jiang Zemin “stressed the importance of spreading socialist ethics and

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raising the moral standards of China as the nation is developing the socialist market economy as this would benefit China’s economic development (China Daily, 6/29/00). The Government of China is reported to be aggressively pursuing prosecution of corruption cases, which includes school administrators and teachers, with 3,126 dereliction of duties cases handled in the first half of 2000 compared with a total of 3,075 during the combined years of 1998 and 1999 (China Daily, 7/22/00). One of the most important documents ever concerning morality and ethics was published by the CPC on 10/10/01 titled “Resolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Certain Important Questions on Promoting Socialist Ethical and Cultural Progress” adopted by the Sixth Plenum of the 14th CPC Central Committee. This critically important document lays the foundation for China’s development of market economy moral and ethical standards. The Resolution is segregated into seven major parts: Contained within a 1999 Ministry of Education Progress Report on the implementation of the Ministry's May 14, 1998 “Educational Reform Action Program” there is scant reference to any moral or ethical inclusion in school curriculum. There is a vague reference to “Concentrating on the 10 basic learning capabilities and skills…” (Ch. 9b). And a reference to it being the teacher's responsibility “To promote the concept that every teacher is responsible for counseling students” (Ch. 11). The 15th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee approved the keynote report by Jiang Zemin on behalf of the 14th CPC Central Committee at the opening session on September 12, 2001. The resolution, amongst other things, urges the enhancement of ethical progress and places priority on a development strategy for science and technology as well as education and actively promotes the development of various social causes (Xinhua News Agency, 9/18/01). 1. Promoting socialist ethical and cultural progress is a task of great strategical importance. 2. The guidelines and objectives for socialist ethical and cultural progress. 3. Striving to improve the ideological and ethical quality of a whole nation. 4. Vigorously develop the cause of socialist culture. 5. Carrying out mass activities to promote ethical and cultural progress in an in-depth and sustained way. 6. Taking effective measures to increase input in the promotion of ethical and cultural progress. 7. Strengthening and improving Party leadership over the promotion of ethical and cultural progress (Xinhua News Agency archives). A press release from Xinhua News Agency summarizes the “Implementation Outline on Ethic Building for Citizens” in the following way: The outline says that socialist ethic building should make serving people as its core with the basic demand of loving the motherland, people, labor, science and socialism. … socialist ethic system, which is in accordance with the socialist market economy, is very important for establishing normal social order, ensuring healthy development of the socialist market economy, improving the overall quality of the country’s citizens pushing forward construction of socialist endeavors with Chinese characteristics (China Daily, 10/24/01).

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Outgoing Chinese President Jiang Zemin made an impressive and inclusive swan song speech at the 16th Communist Party Conference in November 2002 in which he reiterated the Government's quest for enhanced ethical standards. III. Objectives of Building a Well-off Society in an All-Round Way — The ideological and ethical standards, the scientific and cultural qualities, and the health of the whole people will be enhanced notably. VI. 2. National spirit is the moral kingpin on which a nation relies for survival and development. VI. 3. Promote ideological and ethical progress. VI. 4. … train socialist builders … in morality….

At the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People’s Congress on March 6, 2002, the Congress was presented with a report on the “Implementation of the 2001 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and on the Draft 2002 Plan for National Economic and Social Development,” by Zeng Peiyan, Minister in Charge of the State Development Planning Commission. The report contains a single reference to “morality.”

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Greater efforts will be made to develop spiritual civilization and promote all-round development of undertakings in culture, health, sports, radio, film, TV, the press and publishing. The Program for Establishing Civic Morality will be carefully instituted along with vigorous efforts to develop activities for the participation of the masses to build spiritual civilization.

President Jiang Zemin has given his complete and unqualified support to a program called “The Chinese Little Citizen’s Moral Building Program” that is concerned with strengthening the moral building for children. This is a joint program between the Ministry of Education and the All-China Federation of Women (People’s Daily, 6/5/02). The Ministry of Education has taken a strong stand against exam cheating by announcing that anyone caught cheating on college entrance exams would have their names published for public humiliating purposes, i.e., loss of face (China Daily, 7/8/02). Government officials are coming under closer scrutiny as their personnel records are searched for faked or forged degrees. Those found to have faked or forged credentials to obtain their employment would not only be dismissed but also prosecuted (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 9/5/02). In a summary of the accomplishments of the CCP, we find the most coherent statement of the moral philosophy of China to date. The party has created a “favorable social environment for upholding the good and eliminating the bad, and promoting the good and punishing the evil. …Cultivating citizens having high ideals, moral integrity, a good education and a strong sense of discipline is the fundamental objective of developing advanced culture and building a civilization with high cultural and ethical levels. …moral education with patriotism …combining legal construction with moral construction…high cultural and ethical levels … courtesy and honesty… (People’s Daily, 10/17/02). The Chinese Government's position on copyright infringement, a form of plagiarism, is also clearly stated:

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff It is the Chinese government’s view that the intellectual property protection system plays a significant role in promoting progress in science and technology, enriching culture and developing the economy (Government White Paper, 1994). .

The white paper lists China's reforms, legal enactments and membership in international organizations, all of which are designed to implement protection of intellectual property rights. But as recently as 12/02, American businesses were expressing continued concern over China's need to strengthen and enforce intellectual property rights on a uniform basis (sanjose.bizjournals). There is no doubt that China places a very heavy priority on developing a society with high moral and ethical standards and is resolute in prosecuting those who stray over the acceptable moral/ethical line. Problematically, the moral/ethical standard China seeks to adopt, implement and enforce is one based upon the economics of market economy rather than a social morality more commonly associated with Western developed nations.

RECENT EXAMPLES OF CHEATING

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Introduction School cheating is so widespread in China that at a recent NPC and CPPCC Forum held in March of 2002 it was suggested that “Campus cheating is a problem related not only to academic work, but also to intellectual’s moral qualities.” It was suggested that there should be a “crack down on campus cheating. A nationwide committee to promote academic ethics needs to be set up. It should follow up on some serious cases of such cheating and suggest suitable punishment after investigation and verification. To combat academic cheating a compulsory system of controls and counter-measures is needed” (China Daily, 3/18/02). In the following sections we will catalogue recent events as reported chronologically in the press or as they occurred.

Administrative Cheating The Government has accused a Vice-Director of the Education Bureau of Jiahe County in Hunan Province of dereliction of duty in allowing two hundred and three students to cheat on the college entrance examination (China Daily, 7/22/00). It was reported that in Jiangxi Province Government job applicants were using copies, pagers and mobile phones to cheat on exams (China Daily, 8/18/00). In January of 2001 seven of 33 students were caught cheating on a final examination. Due to administrative interference, the seven students were not required to retake the examination but were allowed to continue with their studies as if nothing had happened (Uriel in China, 1/6/01). During the summer of 2002 at a private business institute in joint venture with a secondtier public university in Hebei Province (Qiang/Wolff, 6/03), there were two instances of administrative altering of academic records. In one instance a male student attending the private oral English course completely failed to meet the minimum criteria for passing the

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class and was given an “F” by the teacher. However, when the grades were posted, this student received a “D” or passing grade. In the second instance, seven male students in the public university oral English class completely failed to meet the minimum criteria for passing the class and were given an “F” by the teacher. However, when the grades were posted, these students received a “D” or passing grade. (source: author's personal experience) The rationale for the administrative grade changes was that if students attending the private courses, (which are the profit center or “cash cow” of the joint venture operation) fail a course, they drop out of the program and future revenue is lost; and if students attending the public university courses, (which are the bread and butter revenues which pay all of the joint venture operation) fail a course, the lucrative joint venture agreement is jeopardized with termination and hence loss of essential revenue and facilities. During final oral examinations at a College in Henan Province just prior to the 2003 Spring Festival vacation, a tongue-tied female student, with extremely poor pronunciation, was given a “B”; while one male student, who could not even speak one word of English, and had been referred just the prior week for special phonetics tutoring received “D”. This was justified because the students were admitted to the College because of their parents' political positions and these were people upon whom the College relied for continuing community support (source: author's personal experience). A prominent Shanghai university became embroiled in a cheating scandal when it reportedly published an Internet list of important students and their “official supporters” in an apparent attempt to influence professors’ grading actions relative to those students (Matuszak, 9/01). A Vice President of a prestigious Shanghai university was recently detained by the prosecutor of Ningbo City for investigation into allegations that he “was suspected of having taken a large sum of bribes during his tenure” as deputy president of Hangzhou University, Zhejiang Province from 1992 to 1998 (People’s Daily, 1/22/02). Another form of administrative cheating is explored by the BBC. It involves school administrators utilizing school children (child labor) to engage in business enterprise for personal economic gain. This resulted in a school fireworks manufacturing accident (news.bbc.co.uk). On March 7, 2002, 40 children died in a school explosion while manufacturing fireworks due to a “shortfall in school funding.” After initial denials, use of the school for such business activities was admitted and an attempt was made to justify it as a form of a training “work to study” program (http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/ east/03/07/china.school.blast.03/; http://www.asia.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/15/ china.premier.blast.01/). The authors are also aware that certain university admissions officers have been swayed in their admission decisions through guanxi or outright gifts. In one Henan Province college between the years 2001 and 2004 a mentally retarded student failed every course but was allowed to receive his graduation certificate because his parents had faithfully paid the tuition and were “important Party members.”

Cheating on Examinations Sascha Matuszak, a Foreign Expert from Minnesota, U.S.A. reports that “Cheating Is a Way of Life in China, Guanxi Rules in China’s Schools.” Sacha reports that his Chinese

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university students engaged in widespread cheating on tests, i.e., only six essays were produced by 60 students due to sharing information during the test process. It is also claimed that the students not only used texts verbatim, but also were impervious to corrective remarks about the evils of plagiarism (Matuszak, 9/11/01). On 12/26/02, a foreign English teacher ([email protected]) published a letter at www.eslcafe.com complaining of widespread cheating on tests and tolerance by public university administrators in China. In Guangzhou, secret videotapes caught students using various methods to cheat on an exam while the exam proctors or monitors intentionally looked the other way or gave the students extra time to complete the exam. Students were observed passing notes, making gestures to each other, discussing the test in hushed voices, and even exchanging answer sheets (People’s Daily, 7/11/00, “College Exam Cheating Operations Uncovered”). And in another cheating scandal from the same Province, 39 students and five teachers were accused of a scheme where the teachers took the test first and then sold the correct answers to students (People’s Daily, 7/15/00). It was reported that in Shanxi one student held up her exam paper for the person behind to copy and the teacher looked the other way. In another incident involving student cheaters in a music department, the school administration was furious with the teachers who exposed the cheating rather than with the cheating students (www.china.org.cn, 6/3/02). In Henan Province in the fall of 2002, a professional test-taking surrogate complained that he has been required by social expectancy and political pressure “guanxi” to take the Band 4 and Band 6 English tests more than several times for friends and allies who knew that they would fail the examination if they were required to sit for it themselves. The test monitor not only cooperated in this fraud, but also often was the one making all of the arrangements for its success (source: author’s personal experience). In November 2002, as soon as a teacher left an examination room, the students started sharing test answers (21st Century, 11/4/02). The U.S. based Educational Testing Service canceled its GRE Computer Science test in China in August 2002 after an earlier decision to suspend the text due to widespread cheating (International Herald Tribune, 10/15/02).

Plagiarism It was recently discovered that a professor of the Department of Sociology at Peking University had “committed serious plagiarism” in a 1998 book he wrote. Another professor of the College of Computer and Information Engineering at Hefei University of Technology was also found to have “serious cheating” in six of his thesis published in professional journals (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 1/24/02). During the Fall of 2002, at a private business institute in joint venture (Qiang/Wolff, 9/03), with a second-tier public university in Shanghai, in a group of 60 third-year students there were six confirmed instances of flagrant plagiarism. The administration required the students to write a letter of apology and repeat the assignment as the totality of punishment. It was explained that this is the normal method for handling such matters in Chinese middle schools and to impose any harsher punishment might jeopardize the joint ventures continuing viability (source: author’s personal experience). A second teacher at the same institution also

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experienced plagiarism from two students. The teacher simply required the students to rewrite their papers. In a second incident during the Fall of 2002 at a private joint venture with another second-tier public university in Shanghai (Qiang/Wolff, 6/03), in a group of 56 first year students there were eight confirmed instances of flagrant plagiarism. The administration required the students to write a letter of apology and repeat the assignment as the totality of punishment (source: author’s personal experience). On 11/24/02 a letter was published by a foreign teacher at www.eslcafe.com complaining of widespread plagiarism in a public university in China. On 14/03 Richard of Va., U.S.A. ([email protected]) filed a report at www.eslcafe.com about his experience with plagiarism while teaching in China, commiserating with another teacher who also had a similar complaint about rampant plagiarism in China.

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Fake Diplomas and Credentials Government officials often obtain their high-ranking positions through falsification of degrees rather than go through the educational process of self-improvement (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 9/5/02). A Chinese student attempting to enter the University of California at Los Angeles was caught utilizing falsified academic records. UCLA now joins several other U.S. academic institutions giving closer scrutiny to applications from foreign students (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 9/19/02). Japan issued “student visas” to a group of Chinese students who, after entering Japan, never appeared at their educational institution. Apparently these “students” lied to the Japanese Government to obtain student visas only to enter the Country to illegally obtain high paying jobs (21st Century, 12/26/02). The Internet is proving to be a modern source of professionally prepared term papers and even doctoral dissertations in China (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 3/6/03). Foreign Experts are asked to prepare term papers or assist in locating them on the Internet (Matuszak, 9/11/01). Term papers, design work, entire essays and articles are copied off the Internet and students mark “copied” on them to warn other students that they have already been used (www.china.org.cn, 6/3/02).

Why the Prevalence of Ethical Misconduct by Students and Administrators? The very simplistic short answer is that cheating pays, it is rewarded. The mid-range answer is that it is endemic (“Guanxi”), both historical and cultural. One need only look at modern China's attitude and aptitude in manufacturing “knock off” or “fake” designer watches and clothes and the speed with which it can bring to market pirated copies of music and movie DVDs. Sometimes it appears that the pirated version of a CD or DVD is available in China before the original is released in the U.S. (China Daily, 11/26/01). There is a joke from Hong Kong that attests to the Chinese ability to copy what others have created: It claims that a westerner brought a magazine picture of a designer wedding

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dress to a tailor shop for a custom reproduction. When the customer came to pick up the dress she was aghast! There was a cigarette burn hole right in the front of the dress. When she brought this to the tailor’s attention, he showed her the magazine picture she had provided to him. Right there on the picture was a cigarette burn hole exactly in the same place as on the dress. A Foreign Expert teaching English in China attempts to shed some light on the question with the following comments: “…Because the foreign language education in China is so poor and the tests so difficult that most students have no choice but to cheat or fail. …The idea of the national standard exam (Imperial examinations) is ingrained deep enough that it survives today. And people cheat today as much as they did back then.” It is also suggested that teacher’s pay is so low that they are willing paid participants in the cheating process. “Guanxi (the art of cultivating friendships) is so pervasive in China that corruption is a given” (Matuszak, 9/11/01). “According to one student at a university in Shanxi, practicing fraud has become a trend, with only a few students living on their own labor. Most other students cope with the strain of exams by cheating. …As the competition for good job requiring special certificates and university diplomas increases, so does the market for forged documents. … Some educators say a bad social environment is not the only cause of cheating. They put the blame on a bad academic atmosphere. …Many professors regard outdated university management as a chief cause of increased cheating. They point out that management rules are becoming a bottleneck for much needed changes. According to regulations, students have to score their professor’s performance at the end of the school term. Professors who score poorly may have their bonus withheld. This system not only encourages students who cheat, but professors who are reluctant to offend them” (www.china.org.cn, 6/3/02). He Weifang, professor of the Law Institute of Peking University suggests that the practice of faking academic diplomas in the job application process is the result of the “fierce talent competition” (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 9/5/02). In attempting to explain what drove a 17-year-old boy to kill his mother, the China Daily boldly states, “The core reason is that the entire society is holding on to outdated educational concepts. …Traditionally, children’s ability is determined by examination scores. High marks are still the only way to ensure that one is admitted to better schools, better universities and many are convinced is a sure path to better jobs, better income and a better life. Test-oriented education has forced schools to put overwhelming emphasis on textbooks and neglected such aspects as morality and ethics, which are essential for the cultivation of healthy personality” (China Daily, 2/16/00).

We are aware that senior middle school students preparing for the college entrance exams work 12 to 15 hours each day, seven days a week over a two-year period. These students have little concept of free time or recreation as they are under tremendous pressure to succeed and get into a major university. The environment is far too stressful and indeed can generate a desire to “win at any price” approach, even if cheating is required.; After all, one’s entire future will be determined by the results of the college entrance examinations. The long-term and fatalistic answer is that “Guanxi” is so engrained in Chinese culture and society as to make it impossible to root it out and be done with, it once and for all.

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Another explanation may be found in a China Daily News Forum: http://bbs.chinadaily. com.cn/forumpost.shtml?toppid=169642 TOPICS Chinese Unis Teach Disrespect for Rule of Law

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For many years now the political leadership of China has preached adherence to the Rule of Law. The leadership has adopted new laws to protect intellectual property rights and to reduce counterfeit goods. The political leadership has extolled enforcement efforts throughout China. Assurances of progress are repeatedly given to foreign governments, business associations and business groups. But how can we expect anyone to believe that we are serious or expect Chinese society to accept these changes when our Universities are teaching disrespect for the Rule of Law? Every Chinese university library provides students with photocopies, at cost, of any copywrited book in its collection, page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter, or the entire book. Different departments within the universities also reproduce entire foreign texts for their students, rather than order legetimate copies and pay for them. Even a law school, which is training future lawyers and legislators, when confronted with an expensive foreign text book, simply made 60 photocopies at Chinese cost. A clear disregard for the Rule of Law. So long as our university administrators and teachers disregard the Rule of Law, what lesson do you think our students are learning? Our students, who are our future, are also learning to disregard the Rule of Law. We have wholesale and unabated intellectual property rights violations occuring on our university campuses every day. Until this illegal practice is brought to a screatching halt, no one can possibly be expected to take China seriously when it claims to be protecting such rights? 2004-09-01 11:07 Maggie Mei, Student I’m a Chinese student studying in Shanghai University. I have to admit that this issue is around us everyday. Our teachers who are teaching in Shanghai University or in then other Chinese universities aware of that these behaviors are violating the copyright law, patents and intellectual property. Unfortunately, if they want to make every students carry the textbook to the class, they cannot help but copying the pages, chapters or entire books. I know that, even though we have any excuse, we still couldn’t break the laws. I also not agree with the point of view of somebody that the copy right laws could be more lenient when it exit in schools and not piracy for profit Nowadays, China has joined in the WTO which giving us quite a lot of opportunities to improve economic situation. Instead of that the Chinese government and all the Chinese people should doing every things according with the regulations of WTO. Furthermore, if the regulations are written into a law, everyone must obey. I expect that there will be more less copywrited text books existed in China when we have a high income level just like America or other developed countries. I’m sure there would be less issues like violating the copyright law if Chinese people can earn as much as the people earn abroad.

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (Continued) Because the main reason I think in this issue is the extremely high price of the original foreign textbooks. For example, the textbook of Global Marketing, which I must use and take it to the class everyday. If I pay $800 to buy an original published one, my parents and all my friends would call me maniac. Because it is equal to the cost of my living for one year. Obviously, there is almost no people in my university could buy the original published textbook. On account of that we must use this textbook to accomplish this course and there is none of the Chinese publishers got the copyright of this one, the only thing we can do is to copy the entire textbook. In addition, almost all of the original foreign textbooks are colorful printed, I don’t think it is necessary just increase the cost of the textbooks. They are textbook for people to study and acquire knowledge, not like a story book. I suggest that Chinese government could encourage more and more local publishers trying to got more and more publishing rights form foreign publishers. So that all the students could buy their textbooks published by the Chinese publishers legally but inexpensive. Maggie Mei, 2004-10-07 15:45

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Time, Give Us Time Counterfeit goods can be found easily around us in China. My university provides students photocopies of books regularly. I think there are three reasons of this problem: 1. The income of Chinese people. In my opinion, income level of Chinese people is not very high. A large part of our wage is be used in things which we need to live. Not every student can spend enough money on foreign books. Sometimes, a foreign text book may even cost the income of one Chinese family. Would you like to buy a book while your parents may be do not have enough money to buy food? It’s not a joke, it really happened in some students’ daily life. 2. The culture of China. Chinese people always like to “sharing”. Most of think “when we have a good product, each one will share its benefits if we can share it with others.” In study, we usually be taught to collect good articles and copy it to notebook. Then, we can use it in our paragraphs. People is used to copying. 3. The ignorer of intellectual property rights. Protect intellectual property rights is a new conception to Chinese people. Most of people have never heard it or someone do not care it while they know the law. It will cost lots of time to make people realize the law and obey the law. Please give China a bit more time. More and more Chinese people can accept Western civilization. I think Chinese people will quickly wake up to intellectual property rights and protect it. By the way, as a university student, I will try my best to buy legitimate foreign books. Michaela, 2004-10-06 22:57 Several Reasons in My Mind Firstly, after suffering the “pure communist society” Chinese people are used to living ina society that they can share many things. They are used to share the individual opinion as public treasure.”

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Secondly, population probloem. as we know china has too many people, once you discover something, people will not notice it, they just consider it is the public treasure. Just because toomany people in china, people do not care about what you say, if it is useful to them, they will see and Copy it, if Not, they will even pay no attention. thirdly, the main point. we still do not have a good Law system,our country is still in a developing situation, much should been done In a word, it still a long way for us to go. 2004-10-05 21:08

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Josephine here . . . I think it’s true that only when such pervasive situations like illegal coping practice in Chinese universities stop, will the world really believe that the Chinese government mean it when they claim to protect intellectual property rights. I am afraid to say but the fact is that nothing to expect. Such situations in China will continue and not gonna turn better. From a cultural perspective, there is really something about the different judgments and definitions on common senses between Western countries and China when we tell what is right thing to do and what is not. Let me explain it further, in China, people think that only the things that a thief does such like grabbing someone’s purse in public or getting into someone’s house and taking the cash away is called stealing but taking someone’s ideas, coping, imitating, plagiarism without giving credits to this person.no big deal. No one really cares. Whatever you are doing such things or not in China, someone else is doing it anyway. He might be a law student or even a lawyer. What can you say about it? He might have already been very successful by doing such illegal things that a foreigner might thinks so but at least he is successful and Chinese people don’t care at all how he become successful. People care about the results here. Let alone photocopying foreign textbooks. Everyone get benefits from doing it. Students can learn up to date knowledge from these books without paying a lot of money and the school also reduce teaching cost. Everyone is happy and just like I have said no one ever regard such copying as a stealing behavior in China so why bother? Such things largely due to Chinese education throughout history as well. Even now, China has already changed in many ways but I don’t think the education has any fundamental difference compared with feudal times where evaluating students is just by looking at how many books he can memorize and imitate from. The more he imitated, the more possibility he would become government officers and earn big money. Now the entrance exam to college is actually the same thing. It’s the number one big thing to every Chinese high school student. Who get the best grade that get into the best university but what the entrance exam is really about? It’s all about memorizing! No creativity, originality involved! If every child is not encouraged to be creative and to think, what can you expect when he is 20 something. He lost such ability and he is not aware at all of respecting originality. Even he becomes a so-called excellent student in the top Chinese university, he will still disrespect the rule of law. Yeah, in my opinion, there is no doubt that photocopying foreign textbooks are stealing. It’s wrong. I think the reasons why such things are happening in China are more than just the poverty.

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff (Continued) The norms here, how people think, how they are taught and what the whole society value the most really account more. China now is integrating into the world in so many different aspects including the law. China do need to find out a way to adjust itself better on this point if the country want to perform more effectively in this world. Josephine, 2004-10-05 21:24

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Intellectual Property Rights in China Using photocopies to reproduce entire foreign books instead of buying legetimate ones means violating intellectual property right, according to the law. Not only books, many other commodities,such as DVD, clothes are counterfeited and even sold in the daytime in the shops. “Intellectual property rights in China” is a heated topic among Chinese and foreign people. It is and also will be discussed and urged nowadays as well as in the next decade. Why university teach disrespect rule of law? why so many counterfeit goods full of Chinese market? The first reason, I think, the awareness of intellectual property right in China is very low. For the generation of my father's and people now living in the rural areas of China, the concept of intellectual property right is extremely strange.They have very little understanding about intellectual property right. When they watch piratical DVD or books, they don't realize that their behaviors have offended the law,and such situation also happens to some people who, though, live in modern city and have high level of education, just like university students and their teachers who are mentioned in the article. They are unconsciousness of doing things that have been against law. "Protecting intellectual property right" is a new concept brought into China along with entering WTO. It's on the stage of introduction. People in China need time to understand, digest, and then protect it. There is a long way to go from introduction to growth and mature. It needs education popularation as well as experience accumulated from lessons. I believe, someday in the future, Chinese people will have a clear understanding: the behavior of violating intellectual property right is as serious as stealing money from others’ pocket. Some people say the Chinese government can put more serious punishment on those who creat,distribute and sell counterfeit goods. They urge that spending large amount of time, effort, and money on banning piracy acitivites will make things better.In fact, the Chinese government is in a dilemma. If he doesn't take immediate action, many foreign business companies will not do business in china and China will have tough days in the WTO family; whereas, if he agrees to take action on a large scale, it can lead to the worse situation. Go back to the article, the major reason for using copied foreign books is that it is much cheaper than legetimate ones. Students cannot afford buying books imported from aboroad which at least cost three or four hundred yuan. If another way—using copied books—can better solve your problem, no one is willing to spend so much money on buying a legetimate foreign book unless he is a fool. Same as people will spend 5 yuan on buying a piratical DVD rather than go to the cinema or buy a legetimate copy. One film ticket costs you 50-60 yuan—10 times more than the pirate DVD. China is a developing country. Living

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standards here cannot be compared with those in Western Europe and the United States. People have not so much money on luxury commodities and service. If counterfeit goods can neet their needs, why don't they try? I once visited a manager of Lianhe Cinema Line,which is the biggest cinema line in Shanghai.He is very depressed about piratical DVD which largely reduce their revenue. He asked help from the bureau that exclusively is resposible for banning DVD piracy.The officals there told him they also had no choice. In fact, selling piratical DVD, more or less, relieve NO.1 headache of the government— unemployment. Those who own shops and sell piratical DVD even hand on tax to government every year! Martin Wolff, my law teacher, once told us that in business world, law must be associated with marketing. Sometimes submit a lawsuit is not a wise decision if put marketing into considersation. I think, law also should be connected to the real situation of the society. 2004-10-06 15:29

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OFFICIAL REACTION TO RAMPANT CHEATING Official reaction to the call of the Ministry of Education to crack down on rampant cheating in universities has been limited, but very positive. Beijing University will not only punish exam cheats who hire a surrogate test taker but will also punish the surrogate who takes an exam for another. Electronic instruments such as personal data assistors, calculators with higher memory function and communications equipment like mobile phones will be excluded from exams. The new rules will also punish students who attempt to plead with, threaten or bribe a professor (China Daily, 6/28/02). Peking University has adopted new rules to curb plagiarism on essays and thesis. The punishment can result in failing a course and even loss of the opportunity to complete the requirements for a degree (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 7/5/02). Li Ki’an, the head of the Academic Affairs Office, says that the new rules “are meant to curb the rampant problem of cheating.” Fujian Normal University has expelled a PhD candidate and three master’s degree candidates because they sat for a college English test for other students. The Chinese University of Science and Technology punished eight students for either hiring test takers or for sitting an examination for someone else (China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 1/16/03). China Agricultural University has recently expelled three students who were found cheating in the final exams and two students of Information and Electronics School who sat an exam for other students were also expelled (China Daily, 10/8/03). Possibly the limited application of the new disciplinary rules indicates a reduction in cheating subsequent to the call of the Ministry of Education, rather than a failure to adopt and enforce appropriate disciplinary rules.

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STUDENT ATTITUDE TOWARD MORALITY AND ETHICS Some students have publicly voiced their concern about cheating. Ma Jing of Shaanxi is highly critical of a cash bonus program instituted to curb cheating (Zero Cheating Award). Ma says the program intended to reduce cheating actually “degrades honesty as a commodity that can be sold. Students ought to consider honesty a duty in their academic pursuit, rather than an unusual way to get money.” Ma goes on to state that it is better to “develop a sense of honesty and responsibility as the only way to stop cheating” (21st Century, 9/26/02). An unidentified student writes in the 11/4/02 issue of 21st Century “Cheating in School Is Cheating in Life” that “the only true way to succeed is to work honestly and to honestly earn what you receive.” This clearly is a rejection of “guanxi.” In an attempt to obtain a preliminary answer to the question, “Why?”, a questionnaire was submitted to 211 first- and second-year college students attending Xinyang Agricultural College (XAC), Henan Province; seven students attending Changchun AUST (from Australia) Foreign Languages Academy (CAFLA) in Jilin; and 43 students attending Shanghai’s Tong ji University (STU) (Appendix A) in an attempt to take their moral pulse. As we ponder the student’s responses, we must be cognizant of the source of their moral education. Forty-nine percent of the responding students from XAC stated that they learned the difference between right and wrong from their parents, while 14% attributed their moral education to primary school teachers and 12% to their middle school teachers. Twenty-five percent, or one quarter of the students, attributed their moral education to television or friends, TV (4%) Friends (21%). Forty-seven percent of the STU students claimed to have been influenced by TV and friends in their moral development (see Appendix A). This would indicate that schools have not played any more important a role in social moral education than television and friends. This should be a wake-up call to educators (Question #15). There are some striking anomalies in the student’s attitude toward current social issues. For instance, when XAC students were asked if they were concerned about North Korea developing nuclear weapons, only 60% said they were, while 71% expressed concern over a possible nuclear war between Pakistan and India. CAFLA students responded that 86% were concerned about North Korea and only 57% were concerned about Pakistan and India. 84% of the STU students were concerned about nuclear weapons in Korea and only 77% were concerned about Pakistan and India. This anomaly may be a prime example of the product of the sheltered lives led by university English majors (Questions #8 and #12). Sixty-six percent of the XAC students felt that expulsion for cheating on an exam was harsh or unreasonable and 75% felt that non-registered and non-paying informal “students” should be allowed to sit in on university classes at famous universities. Seventy-one percent of the CAFLA students believed that expulsion for cheating on an exam was fair while 86% felt that informal students should be allowed to attend famous university classes without registering or paying any fees. Forty-nine percent of the STU students felt that expulsion for cheating was harsh and 63% felt informal students should be allowed to remain in class. When the XAC students were further queried about whether they believed failing to pay a taxi was also justified, the students admitted that it was not. They just did not understand the analogy of stealing from the university. Under further discussion, the XAC students admitted that their parents, who were financing the higher education, might not agree with them that the non-paying students should be allowed to remain in the class. (Questions #1 and 9)

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Twenty-two percent of the XAC students believed that it was acceptable to lie to a Government to gain entry to the country for the purpose of working illegally, while 14% of the CAFLA students and 16% of the STU found this conduct acceptable. The fact that any students felt justified in lying to any Governmental agency for purposes of personal gain is contrary to the high ethical and moral standard espoused by the CPC and should be a major concern for educational administrators (Question #5). None of the three schools have an English Department computer lab. All of the students evinced a mixed comprehension of the Internet and the dangers it posed. This result tends to confirm our opinion that the absence of an English computer lab is a major disadvantage to English majors because they are not regularly exposed to a broader worldview (Question #13 a-e). The XAC students were almost equally divided on whether China has too many universities, with 48% saying there were too many and 52% saying there were not. CAFLA students split 43% for too may universities to 57% against, while 21% of the STU students felt there were too many universities in China. However, those XAC students saying there were too many were not in favor of their college being one of the ones to be closed in corrective action. Closing universities was appropriate only to obtain personal advantage but not if it meant personal sacrifice (Question #10). On the issue of capital punishment, only 9% of the XAC students felt execution was a fair punishment for a mentally retarded man convicted of murder; 75% responded that a man convicted of killing and eating his mother should be executed while only 16% felt that his sentence of 30 years in jail was fair; and 35% believed that a man kidnapped as a boy and raised by an abusive convicted murderer should be forgiving and not seek the false father’s incarceration. (On further questioning those XAC students favoring forgiveness admitted that they could probably not be forgiving under similar circumstances.) Twenty-nine percent of the CAFLA students (65% STU) responded that capitol punishment for the mentally retarded murderer was fair; 71% of the CAFLA students (51% STU) felt that the man who killed and ate his mother should be executed instead of jailed for 30 years; and 14% of the CAFLA students (12% STU) believed that the kidnapped boy should forgive the man who raised him (Questions #2, #3, and 4). We believe that the most telling results of the poll are found in the responses to question number 14. The XAC students were almost evenly divided on whether the university was within its rights to prohibit students from smoking on campus with a vote of 52% in agreement and 48% opposed. The CAFLA students voted 86% in agreement and 14% opposed. However, when asked if the university policy that disallowed students smoking was compared to the same university allowing faculty and staff to smoke on campus, the XAC students found the double standard to be hypocritical by a margin of 92% yes and 8% no. The CAFLA students found the policy hypocritical by a margin of 86% yes and 14% no. The STU students felt by only 51% that the university was within its rights to restrict student smoking on campus while 70% found the policy to be hypocritical when staff and faculty are exempted from the smoking prohibition. At XAC this double standard was compared to a father advising his son of the vices of drinking alcohol and smoking while holding a half empty beer bottle in one hand and a burning cigarette in the other. (Do as I say, not as I do.) Many XAC students admitted to smoking on campus notwithstanding the administrative prohibition. This leads us to the conclusion that teachers and others in positions of authority must set the proper

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example because they are “teaching” or “instructing” by their actions more than by their words. In January, 2004 120 college seniors in Henan Province were given a reading comprehension final exam that asked them to first read “Universities Put a Lid on Cheating” (China Daily, 1/16/03) and “Survey: Many Students Say Cheating’s OK” (CNN, 4/5/02). They were then asked to answer the following questions: 1. Should cheaters be punished? Why? 2. Who gets hurt when you cheat? Eighteen percent of the students wrote that cheating was necessary to get good grades and good grades are necessary to get good jobs, so cheaters should not be punished. The same students wrote that no one gets hurt when you cheat in college. On the other hand, 63% of the students felt that cheating was a sign of lack of personal integrity and that cheating should be punished. These students also identified that when someone cheats, they hurt themselves, their parents, their school, their eventual employer, and most importantly, the society will not be able to develop properly. These students blamed cheating on the attitude of society, which places such a high value on grades and does not teach morality in school. It is our overall impression that the polled students suffer from a general lack of exposure to national and international issues; a lack of exposure to a standardized moral or ethical standard; and have not previously been required to formulate their own independent ideas. They appear to suffer from an educational policy of rote memorization and regurgitation for exam purposes. There is a marked lack of creative and independent thought process based upon being well informed about current affairs. Most of the students had never previously confronted either the subject issues or their consequences. We are of the opinion that these English majors lead sheltered lives and are not regularly exposed to the appropriate teaching materials necessary to obtain the levels of English proficiency identified by Professor Qixin (He Qixin, 7/00): Listening Comprehension: Students should be able to understand radio or television programs of English-speaking countries (for instance, CNN) concerning political, economic, cultural, educational and scientific issues, special reports or lectures on similar subjects. Speaking Ability: Students are required to exchange ideas with people from Englishspeaking countries on major international or domestic issues, to be engaged in lengthy and indepth discussions on similar subjects, and to express themselves clearly, assertively and coherently. Reading Comprehension: Students must be able to read editorials and critical essays on political issues from British and American major newspapers and magazines (for instance, Times, New York Times), to understand literature published in English-speaking countries, and to be able to analyze the thesis, the structure, the language and the style of the above writings. Writing Ability: Students are required to write descriptive, narrative, expository and argumentative essays, expressing themselves effectively, smoothly and correctly. The required writing speed is 300 to 400 words within half an hour. A thesis is part of the requirement for a bachelor’s degree, 3,000 to 5,000 words in length (12–20 double-spaced pages).

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RECOMMENDATIONS At this point it may be expected that we would formulate a comprehensive proposal for changing the moral standard of students; altering the academic curriculum to include the study of social morality; instituting continuing education programs for teachers in the area of social morals, requiring teachers, professors, and administrators to receive periodic updated moral training; propose enhanced security programs to prevent cheating, and catch cheaters; and to propose a new “moral standard.” In this regard we will seriously disappoint because we are of the opinion that the Government is already engaged in these activities to various degrees and that the advice of experts in those specific areas is assisting in this pursuit. We are also convinced of the Government’s serious commitment to the required educational reforms. During our research we learned, rather convincingly, that all Nations are struggling with issues of social morality and educational corruption, even the United States (Waite, 11/01). We are also convinced, due to a lack of evidence to the contrary, that comparatively speaking, modern China has no lesser nor greater problem with educational cheating than any other Country in the modern world. We believe that on a per capita basis, China has a proportionate number of academic cheating scandals with the other Countries of the modern world. It must be emphasized that China has more students (16 million college students alone, without counting kindergarten, primary, middle or high school students) (21st Century, 3/13/02) more teachers, more educational institutions and correspondingly, more cheaters than any other Country. These facts appear to be lost in the sensationalization of the “cheating scandals” themselves. It is our recommendation that China engage in a serious public relations campaign extolling the virtues of China’s educational progress and always portraying cheating scandals in their proportionate relationship to total population and other factors which put the matter into proper perspective and in a positive International light. The world simply has a wrong perception and China does little to alter it. China’s propaganda machine should be mandated not only to provide information upon which the Chinese people may think properly, it must expand its scope of activities to change world perceptions as well. There is a difference between writing for local consumption and writing to affect world opinion. Possibly China could study and learn from the Israel/Palestinian conflict. It is not that the Palestinian plight is less just than that of Israel; it is that Israel knows how to use the international media to its advantage, while the Palestinians do not.

CONCLUSION China readily admits, through its official news organs, that it has a continuing need to develop moral and ethical citizens, while openly admitting rampant existing problems of dishonesty within its educational system (www.china.org.cn/english/2002/jun/33700.htm). Recently-elected (March 2003) CPC Premier Wen Jiabao made a critical early pledge to crack down on corruption throughout the ranks of government officials (China Daily, 3/28/03, “Wen calls for more efforts to combat corruption”).

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Based upon our research, it is our conclusion that China does not suffer from a failed moral or ethical development program or a failed educational system, but rather is experiencing normal growing pains. What China suffers from is a failed information program. While continuing with moral development and educational reforms, China must use the international media to portray itself in a more positive light to affect world opinion in its favor. Only when the international community is better informed will China’s university degree receive the respect it deserves, assuming that other factors that may tend to disparage its reputation receive the appropriate corrective attention.

APPENDIX A: UNIVERSITY STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE* 1. Forty-five Japanese students used the instant messaging function on their mobile phones to cheat on a university final exam. They were expelled from the university (21st Century Shanghai, 12/12/02, “The Email Was Right but the Answers Weren’t”). Do you think this punishment was fair harsh ___ completely unreasonable ___?

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2. A 40-year-old man with the brain of a six-year-old child was sentenced to death for killing a 20-year-old man. (Associated Press, 1/9/03, “Lawyers Appeal Death Sentence”). Do you think this punishment was fair ___ harsh ___ completely unreasonable ___ the man should be put in a mental hospital ___? 3. A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his 79-year-old mother and then eating her heart and other internal organs (AP News Service, 1/1/03, “Texas Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Killing and Cannibalizing His Mom”). Do you think this punishment was fair ___ harsh ___ completely unreasonable ___ ? (Students responded that he should be executed.) 4. An escaped murdered kidnapped a young boy and raised him as his own child for 20 years but was cruel to the boy every day. The man was recaptured and is now in jail. The boy is angry and bitter and wants his fake father to stay in jail (ABC News, 2/2/03, “A Childhood of Lies”). Do you think the kidnapper should stay in jail ___ or should the boy forgive him ___ ? 5. Chinese students who entered Japan on a student visa have disappeared and are believed to be working illegally in Japan (21st Century Shanghai, 12/26/02, “ Strange Case of Missing Students”). Do you think it is all right to enter Japan illegally as a student to obtain a job? yes ___ no ___

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6. A divorced man wanted to find a wife so he erected a large sign next to a busy highway saying “wife wanted” (ABC News, 1/3/03, “Wife Wanted”). Do you think this is an acceptable method for finding a spouse? yes ___ no ___ 7. After college graduation, which is more important? (21st Century Shanghai, 1/1/03, “Oh! Pity the Poor Young Rich Things”) career___ love ___ 8. North Korea is preparing to make nuclear bombs (Washington Post, 1/6/03, “U. N. Warns North Korea to Comply with Nuclear Accords”). Do you think this is something to be concerned about? yes ___ no ___ 9. Some young people who failed the college entrance examinations are attending famous university classes without registering or paying the required tuition fees (21st Century Shanghai, 12/26/02, “Keeping a Low Profile in Class”). Should the professors allow these students to listen to the lectures ___ or kick them out of the class ___?

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10. 700,000 Chinese college graduate from 2002 have still not found jobs as of March 2003. In 2004, college enrollment will increase by one third (Xinhua News Agency, 12/31/02, “More College Students Put Strain on Job Market”). Do you think there are too many universities and colleges in China? yes ___ no ___ 11. One year after the terrorist attack on New York City on 9/11, a young couple put a fake bomb in their suitcase and tried to board an airplane. They were caught and explained that it was just a joke on the police (CNN, 1/03, “Luggage Hoax Lands Couple in Jail”). Do you think this was a good joke? yes ___ no ___ 12. India and Pakistan are southern neighbors of China and both have nuclear bombs. Are you concerned about India and Pakistan dropping nuclear bombs on each other? (Associated Press, 12/30/02, “Musharraf Says Pakistan Was Ready to Wage Nuclear War”). yes ___ no ___ 13. A 13-year-old girl met a pedophile on the Internet and agreed to meet him for sex. When the pedophile arrived for the meeting he was met by the police and arrested (ABC News, 1/3/03, “Caught by Christine”) Do you think the Internet is a dangerous place to meet someone? yes ___ no ___ Should you give someone on the Internet your real name? yes ___ no ___ Should you give someone on the Internet your phone number? yes ___ no ___ Should you give someone on the Internet your address? yes ___ no ___ Should you give someone on the Internet your school name? yes ___ no ___ Should you give someone on the Internet your work address ? yes ___ no ___

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14. Many universities and colleges prohibit students smoking on campus but allow faculty and staff to smoke on campus (21st Century Shanghai, 12/26/02, “Restricting Campus Smoking”). Do you think the school has the right to restrict student smoking? yes ___ no ___ Do you think the school policy is hypocritical? yes ___ no ___ 15. Where did you learn the difference between what is right and what is wrong? parents___ primary school teachers ___ middle school teachers ___ TV ___ friends ___ *Survey of 211 Freshman and Sophomore business English major students at Xinyang Agricultural College in Henan Province, a rural school of approximately 5,000 students. The students are predominantly 19 or 20 years old, come from peasant or farm families and are the only hope for the family's future economic prosperity. Each question was based upon a timely and relevant news paper article used for oral English conversation class. The poll was taken after the students presented the issues from the articles and conducted class discussions about the articles. (It should be noted that four students complained they did not like the Questionnaire because the Questionnaire forced them to think.) *The seven 19- to 20-year-old students attending Changchun AUST (from Australia) Foreign Languages Academy in Jilin were asked the following questions (except for #15) during English corner. The students did not have any opportunity to read the corresponding articles but were able to discuss the questions with the school principal, Emanuel Sundra, before the poll was taken.

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*Survey of forty-three 20- to 22-year-old Junior English major students at Shanghai’s Tong ji University during a class but without any group discussion of the questions or underlying articles.

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REFERENCES Caldwell, Joseph George (2003). www.foundation.bw, “On Marxism, Synarchy, Plato’s Republic, and The Omega Project”. Chen Ying, Hong Kong Baptist University, “Recent Developments of Ethics Studies in China”. http//cae.hkbu.edu.hk/html/vol6-pro.chen-ying.html China Daily (2/16/00), “Need for Education Reform Clear after Tragedies”. China Daily (6/28/00), “Future Education Spotlights Texts, Teaching and Technology”. China Daily (6/29/00), “Jiang: Party Should Promote Ideology, Ethics and Education”. China Daily (7/22/00), “Nation to Fight Misuse of Power”. China Daily (8/18/00), “Public Servants Cheat Way to Top”. China Daily (10/24/01), “Implementation Outline on Ethic Building Issued”. China Daily (11/26/01), “Cracking Down on Piracy of DVDs”.

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China Daily (11/28/01), “Chinese Universities Enroll 2.6 Million Freshmen”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (1/24/02), “Plagiarism Brews Academic Storm”. China Daily (3/18/02), “NPC and CPPCC Forum”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (6/02) “Confucian Revival in Classrooms”. China Daily (6/28/02), “Beijing University Enforces Stricter AntiCheating Rules”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (7/5/02), “Exam Cheats Could Get Kicked Out of College”. China Daily (7/8/02), “Exam Time Again for Students, Parents”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (9/5/02), “Officials Faking Diplomas Face Legal Action”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (9/19/02), “Forging Leads to Tougher Scrutiny”. China Daily.com (10/30/02), “Learning Lessons on Education”. China Daily, Hong Kong Edition (1/16/03), “Universities Put a Lid on Cheating”. China Daily (3/28/03), “Wen Calls for More Efforts to Combat Corruption”. China Daily (10/8/03), “Cheating in exams leads to expulsion”. Crozier, Justin (6/02), “A Unique Experiment”, China in Focus, Issue 12 He Qixin, (7/00), “English Language Education in China”, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press http://news.xinhuanet.com/employment, 1994 Government White Paper http://sanjose.bizjournals.com http://docserver.bis.uni-oldenburg.de/publikationen/bisverlag/rusrec93/kap21.pdfInternation International Herald Tribune (10/15/02), “In China, Flood of Fake Diplomas” Katsiaficus, George (4/79), “Toward a Critical Marxism”, Red Feather Institute. Matuszak (9/01), http://www.antiwar.com/matuszak, news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asiapacific People’s Daily (7/11/00), “College Exam Cheating Operations Uncovered”. People’s Daily (7/15/00), “Exam Students, Teachers Accused of Cheating”. People’s Daily (1/22/02), “Vice President of Tong ji University Detained for Bribe-Taking” People’s Daily (6/5/02), “Jiang Supports Moral Enhancement Program”. People’s Daily (10/17/02), “Powerful Ideological and Opinion Support”. Qiang/Wolff (4/03), “China and Chinese, or Chingland and Chinglish”, English Today Vol. 19 No. 2. Qiang/Wolff (9/03), “China ESL: An Industry Run Amuck?”, Progress in Education Vol. 12 Chapter 4. Qiang/Wolff, “EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions – Questions – Questions”, Progress in Education, in press. Qiang/Wolff/Teng/Gregory (9/04), “Can You Get a First Class Education at a Third-Tier College in China?”, Progress in Education Vol. 13 Ch. 2. The Information Office of the State Council, 12/19/00, “China’s Population and Development in the 21st Century”. Uriel in China (1/6/01), www.urielw.com, “Cheating”. Waite, D. (2001, November). “Corruption and abuse of power in educational administration.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the University Council for Educational Administration, Cincinnati, Ohio. www.asia.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east. www.china.org.cn/english/2002/jun www.china.org.cn (6/3/02), “Cheating at Colleges Causes Concern”. www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/03/07/china.school.blast www.umich.edu

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www.eslcafe.com www.umich.edu/~iinet/chinadata/stat/ChinaStatistics/Education Xinhua News Agency (9/18/01), “Keynote Address”. Xinhua News Agency (3/27/02), “China’s College Graduates to Exceed Two Million in 2003”. Xinhua News Agency archives, “CPC Resolution Urging Increased Efforts on Promoting Ethical, Cultural Progress”. 21st Century (3/13/02), “Bulletin Board”. 21st Century (9/26/02), “Zero Cheating No Way to Stop Cheats”. 21st Century (11/4/02), “Cheating in School is Cheating in Life”. 21st Century (12/26/02), “Strange Case of Missing Students”.

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Chapter 8

CAN YOU GET A FIRST-CLASS EDUCATION AT A THIRD-TIER COLLEGE IN CHINA? ∗

Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff, Teng Hai and Anne-Marie Gregory

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ABSTRACT Few students in Chinese third-tier colleges are currently receiving a first-class education. Unfortunately, this means that they do not develop their full potential and consequently do not contribute fully to China’s society. A paradigm shift in teaching methodologies is needed to ensure that students are taught effectively. More appropriate texts should be adopted. Active participation needs to be emphasized, making students responsible for their own learning. Students need to be introduced to computers, and while at college become fully computer literate. It will be difficult to move away from traditional teaching and assessment methodologies, but change is essential for third-tier college students to receive a first-class education and be competitive in the limited job market1.

INTRODUCTION It is our experience in China that second-tier2 and third-tier3 public college and university English program administrators and faculty assume a condescending approach to curriculum ∗

NOTE: Awarded first prize in Henan Province competition Certificate No. CG0536, 2003. 5; Presented at the March 2004 International EFL Teaching Conference, Shanghai; Published in Progress in Education Vol. 13 Ch. 2 (2004) Nova Science Publications, New York 1 In the summer of 2003 China will graduate 10 million students who will enter a job market where 700,000 university graduates from the 2002 graduating class are still unemployed (China Daily, 4/24,03, “Minister: Tough Year for Job Seekers”; China Daily, Hong Kong Edition, 02/12/03, “Millions of People Need to Find Jobs”). 2 2nd tier colleges are usually, but not always under the direct administrative management of a provincial government, and are primarily funded at the provincial level. These institutions grant two or three year certificates, four-year diplomas and bachelor degrees, masters and doctorates. Professional training colleges grant three-year certificates. Some second-tier colleges are under the direct administrative management of a Central Government Ministry. 3 Third-tier colleges are usually, but not always, under the direct administrative management authority of a municipal government, and grant three-year special technical certificates or four-year bachelor degrees. These colleges are primarily funded at the municipal level but they also receive some financial support from the

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development, academic standards and school administration. (See Appendix A for comprehensive explanation of the hierarchy of China’s colleges and universities.) Students attend these institutions of higher learning primarily because their aggregate college entrance exam scores were not high enough for them to win one of the prized entrance slots at a top-tier4 (National or Provincial comprehensive) university. We believe from our experience that some of these students (possibly the top 10%) would have been quite capable of performing well in a top-tier university, but their lackluster performance during a three-day college entrance examination5 denied them that opportunity. These students have simply demonstrated that they are not good at taking tests, but this sole criterion relegates them to a second- or third-tier institution where they have less opportunity to obtain a first-class education. The college English program should support these above-average students in fulfilling their potential. The vast majority of these second- and third-tier students (possibly the middle 70%) are either disadvantaged in their college preparation or in their personal ability. These students are typically from rural areas, where they have had fewer opportunities to develop their English, compared with the privileged students of wealthier areas who may have had a foreign teacher at their middle school or even received help from university professors to prepare for the college entrance exam. Then there is the bottom 20% of the second- and third-tier students who should have been diverted to a vocational educational training program rather than directed into even a thirdtier theoretically-based higher education institution. These lower-end students just do not belong in a ‘theoretical’ higher education college setting. Many of these students were admitted to college due to guanxi, i.e., parental influence, position or even ‘gifts’, but are so deficient in their basic knowledge and capabilities that they have the appearance of a fish out of water. It appears to us that the academic standards of the second-tier university and the third-tier college accommodate or even favor the graduation of the lower 20% of the students, to the detriment of the truly capable students who are necessarily held back from reaching their individual potential. There may be several reasons for this, which we will explore separately. We also outline a proposed curriculum for the recently-approved bachelor of arts degree in Business English at Xinyang Agricultural College, a third-tier public college, which

4

5

provincial government and sometimes from the Central Government. Third-tier universities are recently created under institutions under the direct administrative management authority of a municipal government but are required to have 1,000 mu of land area minimum and 10,000 students minimum. Top-tier university refers to those institutions of higher education that are under the direct administrative management of the Central Government Ministry of Education or other Central Government Ministries, and that have the authority to grant master and doctorate degrees and whose entering freshman scored within the top 10% on the national college entrance examinations. Top tier colleges are those colleges with direct administrative management at the provincial level that have the authority to grant doctorates. “University admission is operated on a centralized enrolment system, in which admissions committees at the provincial level are under the Ministry of Education. Admission is granted on the basis of academic, physical and moral qualifications. Special allowances are made for minority nationality and overseas Chinese candidates. The nationwide examinations are held in the first ten days of July. Candidate can take the examination in either one of the two categories, humanities or sciences/engineering. They apply for the institutions and departments they wish to enter in order of preference. Enrolment is determined by the examination results. Brief investigation into their social behavior and moral character is conducted before students are admitted. In some faculties, specific physical requirements must be met” (www.indexChina.com).

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incorporates our ideas about a progressive college education and makes appropriate use of information technology. (See Appendix B.)

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STUDENT INFLUENCE ON COLLEGE EDUCATION Unlike most Western institutions of higher education where students are, by definition, there to learn, in China, college students are treated as “experts” in what makes a good teacher and in what curriculum and teaching methodology will best suit their needs. It has even been suggested that expatriate English teachers “would do well to let themselves be taught by their students...what learners consider most important, or what learners prize—or despise. ...What expatriate teachers consider to be important may not be considered so by Chinese learners” (Ming-sheng Li, 1999). This attitude is not limited to expatriate teachers alone, but threads throughout higher education in China. As yet we have failed to discover how senior middle school graduates become so expert in teaching methodology and style within the mere months between senior middle school graduation and college admission. It is likewise unknown by what process they lose this “expertise” if they embark upon their own teaching careers, which requires a two-year apprenticeship. We ask, how can one judge what they themselves are not able to do? Students play a major role in the evaluation of teacher competence and methodology. Students collectively, through the weekly class monitor reports, and individually through teacher evaluations at term end, give their “expert” opinion on how well the teacher taught the material and whether or not the teacher met their expectations. These evaluations are critical in administrative decisions to retain, terminate or promote teachers. The student’s evaluations are also pivotal in administrative decisions whether, or in what amount, to give the teacher a term-end bonus payment. Quite literally, students may hold a teacher’s professional life or death in their hands, as well as their economic prosperity. This student influence compels teachers to forgo a difficult and challenging curriculum, to reduce academic standards, and to engage in little more than a popularity contest to ensure their very survival as a teacher. Teachers thus forgo discipline, challenging homework, and challenging testing. “According to regulations, students have to score their professor’s performance at the end of the school term. Professors who score poorly may have their bonus withheld. This system not only encourages students who cheat, but professors who are reluctant to offend them” (www.china.org.cn, 6/3/02). Student influence has also forced teachers to adopt a grading system of “A”, “B” and “C” with only an occasional “D” and almost never an “F.” Situations where administrators have administratively changed an “F” grade to a passing “D” grade, over the opposition of the teacher, are not uncommon. Once admitted to college, a student will receive their graduation diploma, so long as they are still breathing at graduation time (Skolnick, 1966, “Goldfish Out of Water: Teaching Science Writing at a Shanghai University”; ScienceWriters: The Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers; Qiang/Wolff, 3/03, in peer review, “Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved?”). Students may go so far as to choose to boycott a particular class because the teacher gives too much homework, or requires too much class participation, (which from a student perspective may mean loss of face by articulating their answers in poor English), or gave low

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grades on the mid-term examination. The administration, faced with such a class boycott, may simply replace the teacher in mid-term without even consulting the teacher. The errant students are not disciplined while the teacher is penalized for actually attempting to provide a quality education. Teaching is reduced to a popularity contest. The popular survive while the unpopular may not. Beijing University, a top-tier university, has adopted new disciplinary rules in recognition that students use their influence to plead with, threaten or even bribe a professor to obtain preferential treatment (China Daily, (6/28/02). However, as these phenomena remain so common in Chinese higher education, it is not a reason why the academic, moral, or administrative standards of a third-tier college should be any lower than those elsewhere. A third-tier college should not use these as reasons for delivering anything less than a first class education to its students. The current student evaluation system amounts to little less than spying and encourages vindictiveness. Student feedback in China is reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution thinking about checking on educated people6. While student evaluations are valuable and constitute a necessary part of improving teaching quality; there has to be verification of student comments, by an independent faculty member, before students’ opinions are used for promotion, retention, or bonuses. Students have a disproportionate influence and reduction of the emphasis and credibility attached to the student’s evaluations would, we believe, benefit all universities and colleges in China by providing an environment conducive to increasing the level of scholarship.

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TEACHERS’ INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS’ SUCCESS AT COLLEGE The most prevalent problem with teaching English in China is that students are taught exclusively by teachers who have never set foot in an English-speaking country, who were themselves taught by teachers who never set foot in an English-speaking country, and therefore teaching is, at best going to be in a form of Chinglish or dictionary definition English. Top-tier institutions are not exempt from this phenomenon, with their Chinese English majors with Ph.D.s who have neither set foot in an English-speaking country. 6

The attack on the Three Family Village quickly moved from the papers to the schools. Students were encouraged to pen their own excoriations of the traitors, as one newspaper put it, opening “Fire at the Anti-Party Black Line!” Pupils made posters vilifying the scoundrels’ names and plastered them over every available wall. Thus they carried out their duty to “hold high the great banner of Mao Tse-tung thought!” The banner of Mao’s thought soon wrapped itself around the necks of more than just the Three Family Village. Schoolchildren were encouraged to find other literary works rotting with revisionism and antirevolutionary notions. The children leapt avidly to their homework assignment. But they became even more enthusiastic a few months later when a new directive came from above: ferret out bourgeois tendencies and reactionary revisionism among your teachers. The new task was one to which any youngster could apply himself with gusto. That teacher who gave you a poor mark on your last paper? He’s a bourgeois revisionist! Humiliate him. The pedagogue who bawled you out for being late for class? A capitalist rotter! Make her feel your wrath. Revenge had nothing to do with it. This was simply an issue of ideological purity. Students examined everything their teachers had ever written. In the subtlest turns of innocent phrasing, they uncovered the signs of reactionary villainy. At first, they simply tacked up posters reviling the teachers as monsters and demons. Then all classes were suspended so that pupils could work on sniffing out traitors full-time. Instructors who had fought faithfully with Mao’s revolutionary forces were suddenly reviled. Others who considered themselves zealots of Maoist thought were pilloried as loathsome rightists (Howard Bloom, “The Chinese Cultural Revolution”, a chapter from The Lucifer Principle).

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An additional problem is that too many teachers at second-tier universities and third-tier colleges seem to approach their teaching responsibilities cavalierly and with the attitude that their students will never amount to very much, so why invest too much effort in teaching them? After all, it is not usually the diploma that secures the post-graduation job, but rather the “guanxi” (influence through relationships) of the student’s parents that usually provides the employment opportunity for the new graduate. Another problem is that the salary disparity between top-tier universities and third-tier colleges in China is tremendous. A top-tier university professor in Shanghai may earn a monthly salary of 3,000 RMB plus bonus, while a professor in a third-tier college earns only a mere 1,600 RMB salary and no bonus. The third-tier college pays a maximum 4,600 RMB per month for a “Foreign Expert” (FE) with a Ph.D., while a provincial top-tier university, like Shenzhen Polytechnic University or Guangxi University, pays an FE with Ph.D. a monthly salary of 9,200 RMB. FEs with only a bachelor of arts degree can earn an average monthly salary of 7,500 RMB in Shanghai (www.chinatefl.com). Since many second- and third-tier college professors, pay is so low (Hayhoe, 1998), it is no wonder that they are tempted to cash in on their students’ desire for a smooth passage through college. “Guanxi is so pervasive in China that corruption is a given” (Matuszak, 9/11/01). For instance, in Guangzhou 39 students and five teachers were accused of a scheme where the teachers took the test first and then sold the correct answers to students (People’s Daily, 7/15/00). Because third-tier college teachers receive such low compensation, particularly in the rural poorer areas of the country, they have a serious disadvantage in recruiting qualified teachers. There is such a paucity of teacher applicants at third-tier colleges that the normal two-year apprenticeship required of recent college graduates is often waived and full teaching assignments commence simultaneously with their employment. In some desperate cases, a high school graduate, with some valuable life experience, may be hired to teach at a third-tier college—the life experience substituting for the lack of any formal higher education. For this and other reasons, China’s higher education system suffers from inadequately trained teachers, many of whom have relatively low language proficiency levels themselves. The issue is compounded by the problem of a very traditional teaching methodology, which has been superseded in other countries by more faciliatory methodologies. The current methodology employed is reliant on ‘talk and chalk’, i.e., the teacher stands at the front of the class copying sections from the text onto the board, while the students passively sit absorbing the teacher’s ‘words of wisdom.’ Some students will raise their hand and stand to answer questions, but beyond this, students do not actively participate in the lesson. Students are not responsible for their own learning. The teacher tells them exactly what they should know. Students are only responsible for completing exercises and re-writing words and phrases outside class so that they can pass the next exam. Little emphasis is placed on teaching students how to critically appraise information and situations or to think creatively (outside the box). This is the very differentiation between western educational philosophy and eastern educational philosophy cultural difference as Ming-shen Li suggests, it is in reality a difference between the modern progressive trends in higher education in the west versus the time honored traditional educational model of the east. Under China’s “modernization”

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through three represents7, it is time to speak out in alluded to by Ming-sheng Li (1999). We suggest that rather than being a favor of modernizing China’s educational philosophy. In the existing traditional teaching methodology, the teacher is primarily concerned with the performance of the top students answering the questions. Most students are left behind, (but will nonetheless graduate) so they either skip class, entertain themselves in class or simply sleep until the end of the lesson. We are left with the distinct impression that many teachers feel they are not sufficiently well compensated to attempt to engage with these students. Conscientious Chinese students seem to harbor the belief that by attending all the right classes or completing all the exercises in the ‘perfect’ text, they will speak fluent English. Third-tier college students do not have the luxury that wealthier students in the large cities have, of hopping from one supplementary English program to a rival scheme, or of buying every English text on the market. Despite these problems, some students seem to thrive in the atmosphere of the typical Chinese college. They are however, in the minority. Many Chinese students are extremely conscientious but they do not fulfill their potential. Chinese students are deemed lifetime failures if they did not obtain a sufficiently high score to enter a top-tier university and consequently not boosting their middle school’s position in the league tables. This is a great source of anguish for the middle school teachers and of course, the students themselves (observation from interviews with middle school teachers). One author gave a freshman class a homework assignment of writing about the worst holiday they had ever experienced, expecting to read tales of travel woes. Instead, half of the class wrote about the sleepless nights they had suffered after receiving their college entrance exam scores during the previous summer vacation, how disappointed their parents were, and of the students’ resulting depression. The current testing system sets high hurdles in the strangest places and mocks those who do not clear them the first time. The future of new students arriving at the college gate is largely dependent on the opportunities for personal development provided by college teachers, either directly in class, or through the moral and academic environment they create. It is our duty to equip our graduates with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the global marketplace. A complete on-going revision of teaching methodologies is required in order to provide a first class education. The Ministry of Education has recognized the need to improve teaching quality and has promulgated the following policies for teachers: As part of the effort to emphasize quality education, the MOE has begun to raise teacher qualification standards, provide appropriate rewards as an incentive for improved teaching, and eliminate the iron rice bowl that prevented incompetent teachers from being fired. The MOE noted that the existing academic promotion system was based on seniority and did not accurately assess the academic performance of teachers or grant them material rewards commensurate with their contributions. This was said to dampen teachers’ enthusiasm. The MOE therefore announced in November 1999 that China would allocate considerable funds to 7

Three Represents is the operational phrase coined by President Jiang Zemin at the 16th National Communist Party Congress held in March 2003. The “Three Represents” theory, created by Jiang, calls on the CPC to always represent the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.

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raise salaries in accordance with workloads and efficiency. By 2005, instructors at higherlearning institutions would be better paid than most professions. The MOE also prioritized the improvement of teachers’ working and housing conditions. In recognition of the increasing complexity of teaching in the information age, the MOE in late 1998 stipulated that all college professors under age 50 had to become computer literate immediately, and that primary and middle school teachers had five years to learn computer skills. Moreover, in September 1999, the MOE launched a five-year program to upgrade the professional skills and teaching methods of primary and middle school teachers. It also announced that it would require teachers to upgrade their techniques and knowledge every five years via special training courses. Those who did not pass the courses would be dismissed. The ministry further decreed that beginning in October 1999, teachers would have to pass government-set standards before assuming their posts, and that an employment contract system would be implemented to create a fair, competitive environment for teachers. The MOE began encouraging universities to find non-academic employment posts, such as at school-run enterprises, for those teachers who failed to meet academic requirements, and to introduce forced and early retirement. The MOE introduced a post-rotating system between urban and rural areas to reduce disparities in teaching quality. It also encouraged regional educational administrations to adopt policies and financial incentives to encourage normal university graduates and urban educators to go to rural, underdeveloped and minority areas. In early 2000, the MOE started a program to train 1,000 primary and secondary school teachers in small western towns. In recent years, the MOE has tried to lure outstanding Chinese scholars working overseas to return to China to assume key teaching and academic research posts with programs such as the “Spring Sunshine Project” and the Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Scholarship Plan (http://www.chinaonline.com/refer/ministry_profiles/MOE.asp, 6/22/00).

We support every one of these comments. Additionally we suggest that the same continuing education training required of primary and middle school teachers be applied uniformly, across the board, to include all university and college lecturers and professors. We also suggest that college oral English be taught exclusively by qualified Foreign Experts, or by people who have extensive experience functioning in an English-speaking environment. People who have management experience in a western commercial environment should teach business courses. Please see Appendix B for details of course recommendations. This will facilitate the ‘modernization’ of China’s educational philosophy through pro-active engagement with those already immersed in the application of such modern approaches to higher education.

INADEQUATE TEXTS Many currently utilized Business English texts are written by Chinese English speakers who have had little or no English cultural immersion and are printed in Chinese. The Ministry of Education issued a directive back in October 2001, which provided that English courses should be taught in English using English texts (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200110/22) but it is our experience that this directive has not been widely implemented.

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People who apparently have never worked in an English-speaking environment wrote many of the current texts. It is difficult to produce competent English speakers when the textbook gives the following as exemplary English copywriting: Give me Longyan Peanuts Or let me go nuts. Longyan Salted Crisp Peanuts Savour the Epicurean Flavour Oh-so-good-to-be-alive (Business Writing, Higher Education Publishers [2000] p. 325)

Most students, like the writers of their texts, are unable to distinguish between very informal English, formal legalese English and purple prose.

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CURRENT CURRICULUM DEFICIENCIES AND PROPOSED REMEDY The historical and present Chinese education system is test-driven.8 Students, both in the middle schools and colleges, devote years of their lives to passing exams. One need only stroll around any Chinese town in the evening and they will observe rows of middle school students concentrating on a teacher reading from a supplementary text in the belief that this might boost their college entrance exam mark. Walk into a college or university late in the evening on any day of the week and you will see classroom lights on and students rocking back and forth in their seats repeatedly reciting each word in extensive vocabulary lists. Young Chinese have few goals other than getting a good score on their exams. English is one of three compulsory subjects on the college entrance exam. All college and university students should pass CET4 (College English Test Band 4) in order to graduate, whatever their chosen career. In order to achieve these, Chinese children and young adults spend their evenings studying, their weekends studying and their national holidays studying. It has been noted that this emphasis on test preparation leaves far too little time for the student to engage in extracurricular activities and to develop social skills (China Daily, (2/17/00). In January 2000 the Central Government recognized this problem by issuing a directive to reduce the “overburden” of to much work that damages the social development of school children (China Daily, 3/27/00). However, the same article indicates the refusal of many teachers to implement the directive due to a perception that it will result in reduced standards. During the First Session of the 10th National People’s Congress in March 2003, Qian Honglong, one of Jiangsu Province’s deputies to the Congress and an experienced middle school teacher, questioned why students are still under so much academic workload that they are unable to engage in any activities outside of school, particularly in light of the prior Government directive (21st Century, 3/12/03). Chinese parents spend much of their income on ensuring that their child has had the best educational opportunities possible. Until they enter the work force, young Chinese have had most of their lives structured by regular classes, extra classes and supplementary courses. All these have one focus; passing examinations.

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The college entrance examinations stress recognition of complex grammatical structures and difficult vocabulary. They put little emphasis on writing and listening ability (20% of the total score of CET4 and CET6, the exam for English majors) and do not include any speaking. These exams unfortunately underlie English teaching in China. Consequently students can recognize that a given grammatical structure is wrong and correct it, but they cannot themselves correctly use this structure in their own writing. For example, when reviewing college English homework, if a phrase such as “In the past people had no much money” is written on the board, the class can, in unison, correct it. Most of the students shouting this correction would not themselves have been able to correctly use that structure. Students memorize rhetorical essays on improving society, for example, but many are unable to spell ‘business’ or write about themselves. Chinese education at present is so focused on memorizing words and structures that sometimes even the best students forget that there might be a purpose to their efforts beyond passing the next test. One author asked a class of college students to learn a list of household items for a test next class. Next class, the author held up a picture of one of these items to begin the test. The class monitor, an outstanding student with an exemplary work ethic, raised his hand to object that the test was not fair, as everyone had learnt how to spell the words but not what they meant! As a result of the huge length of time students spend in directed activities; they have very poor study skills. Most believe that they will ‘master English’ if they put in enough hours reading texts. Few, if any, students with this educational background can write an appropriate business letter, after memorizing the examples in their texts. Weaker students have little understanding of what is being taught to them, as their English level does not support the texts used. For example, instructing a class of final year diploma students to ‘look at the example on page 85 in book number #2’ produced a class all intently reading. Unfortunately, many of them were reading the wrong book or the wrong page! All too often teachers are happy that their class of ‘low achievers’ is quietly reading and less concerned about the learning outcome. From our experience we believe that the average third-tier college student has very weak spoken English proficiency and a poorly developed listening ability, which are directly attributable to the middle school curriculum (Appendix C). Many do not even recognize the question ‘what is your name?’ in context, for example from a new foreign teacher. This can erroneously give foreigners the impression that these students have not studied English. In a face-to-face business setting though, such individuals effectively have no English production ability. The college English testing system relies heavily on multiple-choice exams. Multiple guess is a more appropriate description of how weaker students answer them. This, coupled with the easier re-take of a failed class examination, ensures that students, once admitted to the college, graduate. At this juncture we identify and sympathize with the remarks of Michael Moore, President of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Blackpool, England, made at the annual association meeting, “[Students] are being railroaded into a testing culture that 8

The philosophy behind the Imperial Examinations, commencing with the Chin Dynasty, still provides the current day foundation for the test driven educational system, which places a person’s entire future within the sphere of test taking success. (Crozier, 6/02, “A Unique Experiment”, China in Focus Issue 12).

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squeezes the joy of learning and turns schools into factories. …Too many [students] are turned off learning because they are fed up with what they see as a boring curriculum diet that has little choice and less relevance to their lives.…” He stated that “straightjacket education” was “being doled out by robotic teachers day in and day out” (Woodward, 4/16/03). Upon first blush, this article, re-published in the China Daily, was thought and perceived to be about higher education in China, but was in fact about primary school education in Great Britain. While the philosophy that ‘no student shall be left behind’ is admirable, and one that we hope continues, this is an inappropriate way of ensuring everyone graduates. It perpetuates the concept that higher education has been reduced to a form of assembly line production that is lacking in any systematic quality control. These problems are increasingly recognized by educators, employers and graduates who are required to speak English in their work. “The incompetence of many graduates from high schools or even colleges and universities to communicate effectively in spoken and written English is related to the teaching methods in China. Students are usually spoon-fed, listening and taking notes with teachers standing at the front and doing most of the talking” (He Mei, 9/28/00). “Most of us begin studying English at 12 or even younger. By the time we graduate from the university, we have studied English for over 10 years. However, the result is awful. Many students can say nothing but some simple phrases. Even for some English majors, writing an article in English also means nothing other than making countless mistakes” (Deng Di, 6/9/00). A student in a third-tier college asked the following question: “What use is a degree from this college when I can only get a job as a laborer?” It is generally accepted that the premium jobs go to graduates from the most famous universities. This also holds true in the West. So long as students can graduate with a diploma in Business English but with little usable English, then employers will rightly view all third-tier college graduates with suspicion. But are graduates of China’s top-tier universities any better at producing English? The established universities in China essentially train academics. Their English curriculum is based on studying literature. Few businesspeople from English speaking countries have immersed themselves in the works of Dickens or Shakespeare so it is wholly inappropriate, in a course aimed at producing competent EFL/ESL speakers, to give classic literature anything more than a cursory glance. The majority of college English students are intent on pursuing a career in business9, not academia. Therefore, in a third-tier college setting we suggest that the focus should be on producing graduates equipped with the skills needed to succeed in business. So we are designing a syllabus around this educational philosophy, see Appendix B. Our proposed curriculum approach emphasizes the ability to effectively communicate in English with native English speakers and those L2 speakers with whom they will most likely have daily contact in their region of the world (Kirkpatrick, 11/00). This approach also prioritizes enabling students to produce the vocabulary and grammar that they have already learned. We need to move away from the unnecessarily complex, outdated vocabulary and expressions that still permeates most current texts, as they are simply inappropriate for effective present day communications, for business or otherwise.

9

Most of the English certificate and degree programs are entitled “Business English.”

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The government policy for improving universities and colleges places emphasis on practical experience, of sorts:

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As part of the above-mentioned policy, the MOE is urging universities to research and develop high and new technologies and commercialize them through cooperation with enterprises. In July 1999, the government announced that in 2000, it would initiate “university-based high-tech projects” whereby schools would help develop key technologies to upgrade traditional industries and speed up rural economic development. The MOE supported this by allowing students to suspend their studies for two years to start high-tech businesses, and encouraged the participation of teachers as well. Unfortunately, these students lack market experience and have limited access to venture capital, which could limit the development of these start-ups. In January 2000, the MOE and the Ministry of Science and Technology decided to jointly set up high-tech scientific parks on 15 campuses, similar to Zhongguancun (China’s Silicon Valley, located near Peking and Tsinghua universities). If successful, the two ministries planned to set up 100 similar parks over the next five years (http://www.chinaonline.com/ refer/ministry_profiles/MOE.asp, 6/22/00).

The above-stated policy appears to foster the idea that learning theory alone is insufficient and must be supplemented with practical application ability. Extrapolation of this basic concept results in the formulation of a new Business English curriculum (see Appendix B) that places greater emphasis on practical speech production and creative problem solving, both qualities, which are necessary in the modern business sector. We also recommend a program limited to 20 hours of classroom study per week, a significant reduction from the current 28 hours required in Chinese colleges. We are of the opinion that reducing the current classroom commitment to be more in line with the 12 to 18 hours per week, considered to be full time study in the U.S., will result in enhanced learning performance. Quality of teaching is far more important than quantity. We do not agree that the more time spent in the classroom equates with more learning. The widespread acceptance of the burgeoning distance learning industry bears witness to the validity of our position in this regard. It may result in more rote memorization but leaves little time for gestation and creative thought process and production. It is a waste of time and resources for a teacher to stand in front of a class reading from a text. Students do not mature under the current system, which treats them like primary school children, who need more guidance and structure in their lives. We encourage departing from the educational philosophy of memorizing as much content as possible and favor teaching when, where, and how to access information as needed. There is simply too much information available in any given field to expect a single person to memorize and retain everything available or needed at any given moment. It is far better to know when to seek additional information as well as where and how. Thus, it is essential that students learn how to find information themselves. To this end, research skills need to be taught and coursework should be used in assessment. The comments of Yam San Chee (1997), that intellectual growth occurs through creative thinking and problem solving, not rote memorization, support our contention that departure from the traditional rote memorization and regurgitation educational system is necessary for

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what would constitute true “modernization” of China’s educational system, particularly in the EFL/ESL context. We agree with Kirkpatrick (2000) that “the best option for regional governments is to promote local varieties of English. Instead of spending large sums of money on importing native speaking teachers and externally developed materials, funding should be set aside for the professional development of local teachers and for the development of developing regionally appropriate ELT curricula.…The curriculum of a new variety of (regional) English should reflect the lives, cultures and values of the learners.…” We also agree when Kirkpatrick (2000) states that “funding should be set aside for the professional development of local teachers and for developing regionally appropriate ELT curricula.” College teachers with business experience know the needs of their students better than anyone else. The standard college business English curriculum, although amply supported by locally produced texts, fails miserably in producing diploma students with usable business English. College English texts should be less expansive in their scope, but teachers should expect their students to be able to competently use all the material they have been taught. This is certainly untrue at present. The continuing professional development of Chinese college teachers (lecturers, associate professors and professors) should be encouraged. Teaching excellence should be appropriately rewarded, for example through teacher training mentors and fast track promotion. Pouring money into the FE program alone is inappropriate, as it does not build up the capability of Chinese staff. After all, most FEs move on after only one year, and this has the potential to create a division between Chinese and expatriate faculty who have different philosophies, methodologies and objectives.

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USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES At present, English majors at Xinyang Agricultural College, and many other second- and third-tier universities and colleges, do not have access to a campus computer lab, despite the requirement that they pass a basic computing exam in order to graduate. Their teachers are also effectively English computer illiterate, despite the requirement that they must learn the use of computers by the end of 2003 (see “Teachers’ Influence on Students’ Success at College” earlier in this chapter). Students at Xinyang Agricultural College who wish to use a computer at present must go off campus and pay 2 RMB per hour. It should be stressed that these students are primarily from peasant and farm families and many have a normal daily food budget of 3 RMB. To spend two-thirds of their daily food budget on one hour of computer access creates an unacceptable economic hardship for these students. We are indisputably in the Computer Age of Information Technology but the students of Xinyang Agricultural College are excluded from participating on an equal footing with the students in the richer coastal schools, which have computer labs. By far, this is the most obvious shortcoming in a Business English course designed to prepare students to work in a modern business setting. This is an unacceptable disparity, which must be rectified. The Internet has numerous sites dedicated to augmenting EFL/ESL courses, providing free supplemental teaching materials for teachers and supplemental exercises for students.

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Certain textbook publishers also offer auxiliary or support Web sites to enhance the student’s learning experience. It is unfortunate that these free resources cannot be accessed by the most underprivileged and needy faculty and students within the entire higher education system. Most of the students have little experience with life outside Henan Province, as few are financially able to travel. Internet access would enable students to explore other ways of thinking and acting, and contribute to their intellectual development, thinking outside the box. We wish to emphasize our commitment to the proposition that no English department (particularly one emphasizing business English) can be considered complete or adequate without a computer lab. We are not alone in placing such importance on computer utilization in higher education. Biola University of California has a policy statement worthy of replication:

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Biola University believes that the computer is an increasingly valuable tool and that one of our educational goals should be to prepare students for a world in which the computer will continue to play a significant role. Accordingly, it is our desire to integrate computer use into the university curriculum. Thus, the University provides access to computers for every student and requires their use in freshman English. It is the intent of the University, over time, to require the use of these computers over a wide spectrum of the curriculum (www.biola.edu).

We argue that an appropriate computer lab should be designed for 40 students to attain maximum efficiency, taking into account budget limitations for public universities. The computer system must be English language based and loaded with English only programming. Strict rules must be promulgated and enforced restricting access to English Web sites only and denial of access to pornographic and arcade game sites. In an English department with 600 students, a computer lab with only forty computers must necessarily be restricted to use by English majors exclusively. This will require a staff monitor of the lab during free use or unstructured use periods to insure that only appropriate students utilize the limited resource. English majors who lend their password to non-English majors must suffer an access denial punishment period to deter such future misconduct by themselves and others.

CLASS SIZE Quite possibly the large classes (50 to 60 students per class) should not be our concern in light of the fact that many Chinese classes have up to 150 students (Zhichang Xu, 2001). We are mindful that in the U.S. some lecture classes are held in halls with a seating capacity of 1,000 and closed-circuit TV broadcasts the lecture to another 1,500 students in other classrooms. It is undeniable that many lectures are well suited to this class size. We also agree that even a computer lab class can have 150 students if the computer lab has enough computers. However, for reasons that will become imminently clear, we recommend that computer lab classes and classes with computer lab components have no more than 40 students. An oral English class is the place where English students practice the vocabulary, pronunciation and speech production that they have learned in their reading comprehension, listening comprehension and phonetics classes. Now, consider an ESL conversation class

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designed for three consecutive 45-minute periods, twice a week (such as that of the SinoCanadian Joint Program at Shanghai University of International Exchange). The actual class time is effectively 135 minutes each day; 270 minutes per week. Or, consider an ESL conversation class designed for two consecutive 45-minute periods, once a week (Xinyang Agricultural College, Henan Province), for a total of 90 minutes per week. Now further consider that this is the class where all of the learned grammatical rules, vocabulary and intensive reading are to be applied through oral practice where correction may be applied by the teacher to inappropriate pronunciation, phraseology, word choice or syntax. In the public universities these conversation classes have an enrollment of up to 60 students. Now let us do the math. At Xinyang Agriculture College, assuming that each student needs absolutely no correction from the teacher, each student can pick-up and continue the conversation from the prior student without any lapse of time in between; then each student has exactly 1.5 minutes per week to practice what has been learned and to become proficient in the oral use of English as a second language. IMPOSSIBLE! Common sense tells us that 1.5 minutes per week is not enough time to practice anything to a point of accomplishment, particularly English as a second language. Private business institutes in China, such as Delter Business Institute, Telfort Business Institute and Mount Royal Business Institute, limit their oral conversation classes to between 10 to 15 students, for durations of two hours per day, five days per week, and these programs are producing very capable English speakers (source: author’s personal experience). Due to budget restraints in public universities, class sizes must of necessity be larger than the private school. However, they cannot be allowed to be so large that they do not have any appreciable chance of meeting their objective. The ideal class size for a public university may be approached in this manner; if a computer lab is designed and equipped with 40 computers, then all lecture classes utilizing the computer lab should be limited to 40 students. For conversational classes, the 40 students should be divided into two groups of 20 students each. This may be accomplished administratively or the teacher can simply assign half of the class to the computer lab while preceding with the other half of the class in the speech lab. Since all conversation classes should have a proposed computer lab component, this allows the natural division of the class into two workable groups of 20 students each, assuming the computer lab scheduling is handled efficiently.

ENGLISH CORNER When and where English corner began in China is difficult to ascertain.10 However, it is fairly certain that it started when one Chinese English speaker met another on a street corner and started to talk to each other in English, an accidental meeting. As they spoke in this “strange language” others gathered to listen. Occasionally another English speaker would happen upon the group. As these chance meetings grew more in intensity, they became regularly scheduled meetings on street corners, primarily where there were large parks such as circular intersections with their adjoining parks.

10

The phrase “English Corner” originated in the 1980s, and from that time people called the place for an English salon English Corner (Feng Yikun 04/02/2001, China Internet Information Center).

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The purpose of English corner was for Chinese English speakers to identify with each other and to have a forum to practice their English speaking skills. As time passed, people started using English corner to make speeches. Then as the popularity of English corner grew and became institutionalized, it was transformed into just another lecture format for Friday or Saturday evening and the original purpose was lost. Now, most universities treat English corner as just another lecture forum. A recent CCTV Channel 9 (Chinese English television channel) series featured a program about the Northwest Minorities College’s English Department. Of special interest was the Saturday afternoon English corner held outdoors, in an open gazebo, in a park-like area. All of the Foreign Experts and Chinese English teachers were required to spend one hour making themselves available for the students to engage in idle chitchat or whatever the students wanted to discuss, in English of course. This college has recaptured the original spirit of English corner with a foundation of spontaneity, a little frivolity, and is a great opportunity to practice English in a friendly environment with people of a like mind. At Xinyang Agricultural College there have been recent experiments with an English Corner format limited to questions and answers, with no introductory lecture. The increase in student participation was phenomenal and encouraging. Languages must to be used to be learned and retained. The most effective way to do this is by integrating English speaking into the students’ daily lives so that it is not something they do only once a week in conversation classes. “Of all the language arts, listening and speaking are those most often used on a daily basis at home, school and work or in the community. Skill in speaking is universally recognized as a primary indicator of a person's knowledge, skill and credibility. In person, by phone or through video, good listening and speaking skills are essential to sending, receiving and understanding messages. To understand messages spoken by others, students must be able to listen carefully, using specific techniques to clarify what they have heard. For speaking properly and making messages understood, grammar, sentence structure, tone, expression and emphasis must be part of students' repertoires.” Illinois State Board of Education, (http://www.isbe.net) It is unfortunate that many Chinese colleges fail to emphasize the need for conversational English. Colleges could deliver more confident and articulate graduates if their students were immersed in an English-speaking college environment. Language immersion is the teaching methodology utilized by many private language schools that produce much more competent English speakers than government colleges seem to produce. Students should be encouraged to think and speak in English by an appropriate example set by their faculty and staff, constantly speaking in English with their friends, by relaxing watching the CCTV9 English channel and by viewing English movies on DVD or CD.

HYPOCRISY It is almost universal throughout Chinese universities that students are not allowed to smoke on campus while faculty and staff are not so restricted. A recent poll of students11 11

Survey of 211 Freshman and Sophomore Business English students at Xinyang Agricultural College in Henan Province, a rural school of approximately 5,000 students. The students are predominantly 19 or 20 years old; it should be noted that four students complained they did not like the questions because it forced them to think

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revealed that Xinyang Agricultural College students were almost evenly divided on whether the university was within its rights to prohibit students from smoking on campus with a vote of 52% in agreement and 48% opposed. However, when asked if the university policy that disallowed students smoking was compatible with the same college allowing faculty and staff to smoke on campus, the students said that having two different rules was hypocritical by a margin of 92% saying it was hypocritical and only 8% disagreeing. A poll of students at Shanghai’s Tong ji University12 produced similar results. 51% said that the university was within its rights to restrict student smoking on campus while 70% found the policy to be hypocritical when staff and faculty are exempted from the smoking prohibition. As smoking is so widespread among Chinese men this leads to situations such as college lecturers smoking while talking to their students outside class; very much a case of “do as I say, not as I do.” At XAC this double standard was compared to a father advising his son of the vices of drinking alcohol and smoking while holding a half-empty beer bottle in one hand and a burning cigarette in the other. (Do as I say, not as I do.) Many XAC students admitted to smoking on campus notwithstanding the administrative prohibition. This double standard is an important issue when contemplating the overall integrity and effectiveness of any educational process. In conversation classes FEs stress the student’s need to practice oral English at all available opportunities, including class breaks, meal times, etc. All English teachers are encouraged not to respond to student questions until they are framed in English and then to respond only in English, unless a Mandarin explanation is absolutely essential. But time and again Chinese English speaking faculty and staff ignore this suggestion. The English department staff meetings are held in Mandarin (students passing by the open door observe this); the faculty and staff usually communicate with each other, in front of the students, in Mandarin; and even the Foreign Affairs Office English speaking staff regularly utilize Mandarin in front of the students. This is by no means unusual in Chinese higher education; it is the result of poorly trained English teachers who have not sufficiently embraced the English thought process and speech production to routinely use their L2 within their employment context. As educators we cannot insist that students conduct themselves according to rules or suggestions that we ourselves are unwilling or unable to observe, or have no belief in (Orton, 1996). We lose our credibility as teachers. Hypocrites are neither admired nor considered authoritative.

RECOMMENDATIONS Student evaluations should be advisory only with peer review and administrative review being determinative. Students who boycott a teacher’s class should be warned to return to class or suffer a failing grade. Teachers should receive administrative support and defense.

12

(Qiang/Wolff, 12/04, “Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved?” Progress in Education, Vol. 14). Survey of forty-three 20- to 22-year-old English students at Shanghai’s Tong ji University (Qiang/Wolff, 12/04, “Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image Be Improved?” Progress in Education, Vol. 14).

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Third-tier salaries must be brought into parity with the top tier universities so that the third-tier college can attract the best available talent and improve its academic level. Each professor and associate professor employed by a top tier university should be required, every four years, to take a one semester teaching sabbatical to teach at a third-tier college away from a major city. This requirement is consistent with the authority, mandate and objectives stated in the announcement posted by the Ministry of Education on its Web site on 6/22/00, as cited above. Every Ph.D. candidate at a top tier university should be required to serve a one-semester teaching internship at a third-tier college as a requirement of the doctoral program. This requirement is consistent with the authority, mandate and objectives stated in the announcement posted by the Ministry of Education on its Web site on 6/22/00, as cited above. A continuing education program should be designed and implemented to ensure that all college teachers are trained in state-of-the-art teaching methodologies and are aware of teaching materials available for their use, both on and off line. This will ensure that college teaching is continually updated so that it meets the needs of college students. Course syllabuses should be based on the likely needs of students when they enter the workforce. It is essential that the current system of prioritizing a smooth passage through college for every student, regardless of whether or not they have any understanding of the course material, be changed. Course syllabuses should be truly designed for college students, not the watered-down theoretical university courses taught at present. Assessment methodologies should be realistic and relevant. This will ensure that employers can be confident that new college graduates have a solid grasp of English and a practical understanding of business. We endorse the casual or informal conversation format for English corner and suggest that the lecture format be abandoned, even if a few token questions are allowed at the end of the lecture. Students must be encouraged to think and speak in English, and not confine practicing oral English to the limited time available in structured oral English classes. We are convinced that any modern business English curriculum must include computer training and Internet access. There is an urgent need to improve the computer literacy of college students, through incorporation of Information Technology, in every aspect of the college curriculum. It is essential that students have continuous access to computer facilities. The computer lab must be for the exclusive use of the English department and every class, where practical, should include a computer lab component. Today’s local and global business is conducted in a computer environment with correspondence, reports, market research and even marketing sales and distribution being conducted on-line. A business English program without including computer training is simply not credible. We strongly suggest that class size is appropriate to the class format. For example, in computer classes each student must have their own computer. In conversation classes, the maximum group size should be 20, so that each student can interact with the teacher. Many more students can attend a lecture, as student-teacher interaction is minimal. Textbooks and teaching materials must be current, relevant, interesting and challenging to the target student consumers. The English department faculty and staff must set the proper example by creating an environment of language immersion which implements the constant utilization of English as the primary language of daily usage.

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CONCLUSION Based upon our preliminary research and combined experiences, we conclude that it is entirely possible to obtain a first-class education at a third-tier college, within current budget constraints, if the third-tier college adopts the educational philosophy that each student is entitled to an educational experience that allows for maximum development of each individual student’s particular ability. The unstated undertone that third-tier students are a necessary but undesirable drain on society’s educational resources must be transformed into a positive educational approach to maximizing each student’s personal potential so that they may each contribute to society as much as they are capable. Unless we can produce skilled graduates equipped with the business tools they need to succeed in a highly competitive job market, our graduates will join the ranks of the 20% of Chinese top-tier graduates from the 2002 group of graduates who were still unemployed 10 months subsequent to graduation (CCTV Ch 9, April 15, 2003, “College Graduates’ Employment Prospects”). With China producing 2.5 million university and college graduates each year (with increasing numbers every year [Qiang/Wolff, 2003]), it is our conclusion that the third-tier college students must get a first-class education or continue to be relegated to the ranks of mere day laborers, as observed by the Xinyang Agricultural College student who inquired: “What use is a degree from this college when I can only get a job as a laborer?”

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APPENDIX A Due to the nature of the historical development of education in modern China, defining a top tier, second-tier and third-tier institution of higher education in China is a convoluted matter, capable of supporting a separate journal article. We are not dealing with a rule subject to exceptions but rather exceptions, which overtake any rule. Simply stated, there are no universal criteria. The recognized criterion includes the level of government administration, the level of government financing, the level of students admitted, the level of faculty employed, as well as the history and reputation of the school. Top tier colleges and universities cater to the elite top 10% of the potential freshman class. While there are some general determinative guidelines, the final determination is left to the court of public opinion. In China there are separate classifications for colleges, technical colleges, training colleges, vocational colleges, universities, TV universities, institutes and academies. Rankings are based upon the level of government supervision or management authority over the institution; the primary governmental source of funding; the quality of students accepted for enrollment; the geographical areas from which students may be accepted; the certificate or degree granting authority; the authority or law establishing the institution; its history and reputation; the quality of the faculty; the size of its campus, its total student enrollment; the ratio of Ph.D. faculty and full professors; and the extent and quality of its labs and other facilities. Top-tier universities are usually located in the cosmopolitan cities of Beijing or Shanghai. All comprehensive universities under the direct administrative authority of the Central Government, Ministry of Education, are top tier; while only some colleges and institutes

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under that direct authority are top tier, based upon their long history, community reputation, the quality of students, and quality of faculty. All of these top tier colleges and universities have the authority to grant doctorates and masters degrees. Comprehensive universities under the administration of provincial governments are second tier. Comprehensive universities under local municipal administration are third tier. Comprehensive universities at all levels are required to have an area of 1,000 mu, 10,000 students, and a specific ratio of professors, associate professors, lecturers and Ph.D.s or they remain colleges. Provincial colleges are under the administrative authority of a provincial government and provide technical training. They may grant a two or three-year certificate, four-year diplomas, four-year bachelor’s degrees, seven year master’s degrees, and some may grant nine-year doctorates. Professional training colleges grant three-year diplomas. A top-tier provincial college has the authority to grant a doctorate degree and is usually located in a provincial capital city. All others are second tier. These colleges are primarily funded at the provincial level but they also receive some financial support from the provincial government and sometimes from the Central Government. Municipal colleges (as distinguished from municipal universities) are under the administrative authority of a local municipal government and grant three-year special technical certificates or four-year bachelor degrees. These colleges are primarily funded at the municipal level but they also receive some financial support from the provincial government and sometimes from the Central Government. Vocational colleges are professional training institutions administered at both the provincial and municipal levels, with corresponding funding, but primarily they are municipal. These colleges grant three-year diplomas and four-year bachelor degrees. Ministry of Education, are top tier; while only some colleges and institutes under that direct authority are top tier, based upon their long history, community reputation, the quality of students, and quality of faculty. All of these top tier universities have the authority to grant doctorates and masters degrees. Some comprehensive universities or colleges under the administrative authority of other Central Government Ministries may be top tier depending upon their long history, community reputation, quality of students and quality of faculty. Those that are top tier may grant doctorate and masters degrees. The other ministry institutions that are second tier may also grant doctorate or masters degrees. Professional training colleges grant three-year diplomas. A top tier provincial college has the authority to grant a doctorate degree. All others are second tier. These colleges are primarily funded at the provincial level but they also receive some financial support from the provincial government and sometimes from the Central Government. Institutes are highly specialized colleges or universities granting bachelor and masters degrees and doctorate in agriculture, medicine, science, law, technical subjects, music, language, and physical training. These institutes are administered at the national (top-tier), provincial (second-tier), and municipal (second-tier and third-tier) levels with corresponding financial support. However, provincial institutes may be top tier based upon long history, community reputation, quality of students, and quality of faculty. TV University is a unique higher educational system financed by the Central Government and can issue certificates, diplomas and bachelors. They have schools administered at provincial (second-tier), municipal (third-tier) and branch (fourth-tier) levels.

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Academies are military schools with Central Government financing from the army and may be first tier, second tier and third tier based upon the type of training offered and the types of degrees granted.

APPENDIX B Proposed Curriculum (New) Bachelor of Arts in Business English First Year 1. * Introduction to Business 2 hrs. (lecture) 2. Reading Comprehension 2 hrs. 3. Listening Comprehension 2 hrs. lab 4. Introduction to Computers 2 hrs lab 5. * Oral Communication lab (National/International Issues) 4 hrs. 6. Core courses 8 hours 20 hours total per week

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Second Year 1. Business Written Communications 2 hrs. classroom plus 1 hr. computer lab 2.* Business oral communication lab (local issues, i.e., tourism etc.) 4 hrs. 3.* Research, writing and study skills (Computer lab) 3 hrs. 4. Reading Comprehension 2 hrs. 5. Listening Comprehension 2 hrs. lab 6. Core and elective courses 6 hours 20 hours total per week

Third Year 1. Basics of Accounting 2 hrs. classroom plus 1 hr. computer lab 2. * Business law/International negotiating (Lecture) 2 hrs. classroom 3. * Oral communication lab (International Business Issues) 4 hrs. 4. Computer lab 5 hrs. (Word, Excel, Power Point) 5. * International Business 2 hrs. plus 1 hr. computer lab 6. Core courses and electives 4 hours 20 hours total per week

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Fourth Year 1. * Marketing (lecture) 2 hrs. classroom plus 2 hr. computer lab 2. * Human Resource Management (lecture) 2 hrs. classroom plus 2 hr. computer lab 3. * E Commerce 3 hrs. computer lab 4. * Debating/Public Speaking 4 hrs. classroom plus 1 hr. computer lab 5. Core courses and electives 4 hours Externship Program one semester 20 hours total per week * Denotes courses that should be taught by Foreign Experts.

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REFERENCES Bloom, Howard. “The Chinese Cultural Revolution”, a chapter from The Lucifer Principle. CCTV Ch 9 (April 15, 2003). “College Graduates’ Employment Prospects”. China Daily (2/17/00). “What They Are Saying”. China Daily (3/27/00). “Give Us a Break – Schoolchildren”. China Daily (6/28/02). “Beijing University Enforces Stricter AntiCheating Rules”. Crozier, Justin (6/02). “A Unique Experiment”, China in Focus, Issue 12. Deng Di (6/9/00). “Language Education Should Be Reformed”, China Daily. Feng Yikun (4/01). China Internet Information Center. Hayhoe, R. (1998). “Teacher Education in the U.S. and China”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development. He Mei (9/28/00). “English Teaching Method Faces Challenge”, ChinaDaily. Kirkpatrick (11/00). “English as an Asian Language,” The Guardian Weekly. Ming-sheng Li (1999). Conflicts in Teacher-Student Role Beliefs and Expectations: A Study of Expatriate Teachers Teaching English in China, The Weaver. Matuszak (9/11/01). www.antiwar.com/matuszak Orton, Robert E. (1996). “Teacher Beliefs and Student Learning”, Philosophy of Education. People’s Daily (7/15/00). “Exam students, teachers accused of cheating”. Qiang/Wolff (2003). “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok?” Progress in Education, Vol. 12, Ch. 4. Skolnick, Andrew A. (1966). “Goldfish Out of Water: Teaching Science Writing at a Shanghai University”, ScienceWriters: The Newsletter of the National Association of Science Writers Woodward, Will (4/16/03). “Culture of Tests Stifling Joy of Learning”, Guardian Unlimited. www.chinaonline.com/refer/ministry_profiles/MOE.asp (6/22/00). www.chinatefl.com www.china.org.cn, (6/3/02), “Cheating at Colleges Causes Concern” www.biola.edu www.english.peopledaily.com.cn/200110/22 www.index-china.com www.isbe.net, The Illinois Learning Standards, Illinois State Board of Education.

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Yan Sam Chee (97). “Toward Social Constructivism: Changing the Culture of Learning in Schools”, International Conference on Computers in Education Kuching, Malaysia, pp. 81-88, Charlotsville, VA., Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. Zhichang Xu (2001). “Problems and Strategies of Teaching English in Large Classes in the People’s Republic of China”, Teaching and Learning Forum 2001. 21st Century (3/12/03). “Teacher Calls for Less Homework”.

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Chapter 9

USE AND ABUSE OF TEACHING WITH MOVIES

∗

Niu Qiang, Teng Hai and Martin Wolff

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ABSTRACT With an appreciable increase in the use of movies or captioned films to teach English as a foreign language in China, the authors embarked upon a four-year experiment to determine the efficacy of using English language movies to teach business to Chinese students. It became clear that a cavalier use of movies is an abuse of the use of movies, since the appropriate use of movies requires many elements: 1) Typical movies that are educational, informative and entertaining is the first condition in successful movie teaching; 2) A functional workbook to the movies for the students to prepare before watching the movies is the second condition for effective teaching through movies. 3) Various classroom activities to induce/elicit timely and optimal output from students is the last but most important condition in creating an acquisition environment for communication. Activities such as dubbing, story retelling, acting, discussing, debating, role playing, etc. are but a few proven and very effective techniques that the teacher can employ to engage students.

Keywords: EFL, movies, teach, China, business

OBSERVATION Partial movie scripts are currently used throughout mainland China to teach comprehensive reading. We observed two such recently-published books at the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press retail outlet at Shanghai International Studies University. These partial movie scripts are mainly taken from the classics. Partial movie sound tracks are also currently used throughout mainland China to teach listening comprehension. We observed six such recently-produced CDs and cassette tapes at ∗

English Today (4/07), Volume 23 No. 02, Cambridge University Press

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the Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press retail outlet at Shanghai International Studies University. Professor Dai Jin of Tong ji University, Shanghai, has completed a project utilizing captioned Discovery Channel documentary movies20 to teach listening comprehension, spoken English, sight interpretation, mock simultaneous interpretation and speed-reading. He states that captioned films can shorten the gap between students’ reading comprehension ability and listening comprehension ability or performance. Captioned movies can also help to improve students’ reading speed by learning the skill of scanning in a very effective and entertaining way. Numerous Chinese and foreign university-level English teachers make extensive use of full-length feature films in their classrooms. Often the teacher can be observed resting in the back of the classroom or completely absent from the classroom while many students are also sleeping, playing cell phone games or chatting.

INQUIRY Our inquiry of approximately 500 students in various Shanghai universities established that the students found real value in using partial movie scripts for comprehensive reading (particularly scripts of the “classics”21), and partial movie soundtracks (again particularly ones taken from the “classics”), and Tong ji University Professor Dai Jin’s students were able to articulate particular benefits from his use of the short documentaries. Dr. Dai’s approach is rooted in 20 years of experience and history that began with Prof. Zhu of Beijing Foreign Studies University22 who asked her students to repeat after the actor and watch it repeatedly

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20

The Lost Bombs, The Aurora, Cyber Warfare, The Land Warrior, U.S. Navy’s Dolphins, Doomsday Plans, Mystery Map, Art of Forgery, Scare Me, Crime Lab, Human Brain, Lightning, U.S. Presidency, Industrial War, George Bush’s 9.11 Address, Wolf at Our Door, Opening Trade: China and the U.S., A U.S. Presidential Inaugural Address, Youth Violence, Casablanca (1942), An American in Paris (1951), Citizen Kane (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), It Happened One Night (1934), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), The Lady Eve (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Ninotchka (1939), North by Northwest (1959), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Roman Holiday (1953), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Top Hat (1935), Wuthering Heights (1939), My Fair Lady (1964), The Thin Man (1934), My Fair Lady (1964), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Dinner at Eight (1933), Inherit the Wind (1960), Key Largo (1948), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 21 Casablanca (1942), An American in Paris (1951), Citizen Kane (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), Gone with the Wind (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), His Girl Friday (1940), It Happened One Night (1934), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), The Lady Eve (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Ninotchka (1939), North by Northwest (1959), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Roman Holiday (1953), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Top Hat (1935), Wuthering Heights (1939), My Fair Lady (1964), The Thin Man (1934), My Fair Lady (1964), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Dinner at Eight (1933), Inherit the Wind (1960), Key Largo (1948), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), Miracle on 34th Street (1947) 22 Prof. Zhu ‘s current movie list: Book One: Unit One Responsibility—The Lion King Unit Two Over the Rainbow—The Wizard of Oz Unit Three True love—The Princess Pride Unit Four Culture Clash—The Nightmare before Christmas Unit Five Nightmare—Halloween Unit Six Reflection—Being There Unit Seven Contact—E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial Unit 8 Essence of Life Unit 9 Identity—My Fair Lady

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until they could dub the actor or actress. Rather than steal Dr. Dai’s thunder, we suggest reading his published article, “Captioned Films and Videos in Foreign Language Teaching” (2005), Computer Assisted Foreign Language Education, 3rd issue, Vol. 103. We made personal inquiry of more than 60 Chinese and foreign English teachers regarding their use of full-length commercial movies in the classroom. These personal interviews were followed up with a written questionnaire submitted to foreign English teachers on various Web sites and email lists. We received approximately 35 additional responses via the Internet inquiry. This is not a large sample compared to the reported 150,000 foreign English teachers in China23 and the reported one million Chinese English teachers.24 Of the teachers surveyed, approximately 12% used DVD English movies in the classroom. We quickly discovered that the responses easily fell within two distinct general categories. (We are reporting the general trend and not the exceptions.) First there are the mature (35 yrs. to 60 yrs.), experienced teachers (minimum three years’ experience in China) who use the movies primarily to supplement existing curriculum. The movies are pre-screened and excluded if they contain too much foul language, too much violence or sex. The movies are selected for the English content more than their entertainment value and little attention is paid to the value of the actual subject matter presented by the movie. There are pre-viewing activities to prepare the students for the movie, such as preteaching vocabulary from the movie so the movie will be comprehensible. There are exercises during the movie and post-viewing discussions. There is a very professional approach utilized when showing movies in the classroom. There is real value for the students and an Internet search reveals many articles supporting this proper use of movies in the classroom.25 The second grouping involves the younger teachers with little or no experience teaching, usually referred to as “backpackers.”26 They show movies in the classroom more as a babysitting device because their employer has failed to provide teaching materials or the teacher failed to make a lesson plan due to negligence or hangover from the consumption of alcohol the previous night. Some of these teachers (sic) even showed the English movies with

Book 2: 1. Changing the World—Gone with the Wind 2 Choices—Casablanca 3. Small Hero—It’s a Wonderful Life 4. Big Hero—Citizen Kane 5. Democracy—Mr.Smith Goes to Washington 6. Marrow of Life—Dead Poets Society 7.Generation Gap—The Graduate 8. Magic—Sleepless in Seattle 9. Family and Love—The Bridges of Madison County 23 Qiang/Wolff (2003) “China ESL: An Industry Run Amok,” Progress in Education Vol. 12 Ch. 4 24 MacArthur, Tom (2004) English Today Vol.20 No. 3 pg 37 25 http://www.davekees.com/content/view/81/26/ http://www.teflasia.com/articles/classroom/using_movies_in_the_classroom.html http://reading.indiana.edu/ieo/digests/d36.html http://www.wiu.edu/UCOSO/ptf_greg.htm 26 People vacationing in China who interrupt their vacation for the necessity of a little work; Qiang/Wolff (2005) “China EFL/ESL: The Unqualified, Teaching [sic] the Unmotivated, in a Hostile Environment,” http://www.usingenglish.com/esl-in-china/

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Chinese subtitles, being completely unschooled in MacWhinney’s27 theory of prompting the mental lexicon, i.e. English prompt activates the English mental lexicon while Chinese prompt activates the Mandarin mental lexicon. Many of the movies are filled with profanity28 (44 profanities in the first scene), sex29, alternate lifestyle30 and violence31, three subjects that are disfavored by the Chinese Government. In 2005 the movie The People vs. Larry Flynt was shown to a freshman class in Dalian. This movie contains 28 vulgarities uttered 91 times and contains excessive heterosexual and homosexual sex scenes with full nudity. We believe that this abuse of movies requires no further elaboration.

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EXPERIMENT Our inquiry led us to ask: If movies can be beneficial in teaching English, why not utilize them to teach business English, business, culture, history, etc.? We embarked upon an experiment to obtain a preliminary answer to our question. We pre-screened the movie Working Girl for its value in teaching about intellectual property, copyright, trademark, patent, integrity, and trade secrets. During the pre-screening we compiled a vocabulary list with words and phrases we believed might not be readily understood by our students. Next we showed the movie to a third-year class of 50 business majors. We gave a small introduction to the movie but did not pre-teach any movie vocabulary. During the students’ viewing of the movie, more than half of the students dozed off, started chatting or playing games on their cell phones. The post-viewing discussion was bland and involved a small handful of students. Next we showed the movie (Working Girl) to another group of 50 third-year business majors. We also gave them the same introduction to the movie but did not pre-teach the movie vocabulary. We did inform this group that one of their final exam questions would come directly from the movie as an additional motivator. Again, knowing the importance of the movie, during the students’ viewing of the movie, more than half of the students dozed off, started chatting or playing games on their cell phones. The post-viewing discussion was bland and involved a small handful of students. Then we showed the movie (Working Girl) to a third group of 50 third-year business majors but in addition to the introduction to the movie, we pre-taught our list of movie words and phrases. Much to our surprise, during the student’s viewing of the movie, more than half of the students dozed off, started chatting or playing games on their cell phones. The postviewing discussion was bland and involved a small handful of students.

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MacWhinney, B. (2002) “The Competition Model: The input, the context, and the brain” Cambridge University Press MacWhinney, B. J., Leinbach, J., Taraban, R., & McDonald, J. L. (1989). Language learning: Cues or rules? 28 Glen Garry, Glenn Ross (shown to a freshman class at a Shanghai university in 2004). 29 The People vs. Larry Flynt shown to a freshmen classi at Liaoning Normal University in 2006 30 Wedding Banquet (A Chinese man living with his boyfriend in New York is pressured by his parents to marry a nice girl. He deceives his parents by hiding his homosexuality and then the movie really goes down hill.) 31 A History of Violence—Apart from five or six gunfights, which have no shortage of blood and gore, the movie contains two graphic sex scenes, an isolated case of full frontal nudity, and more swearing than I could keep track of (shown at Shanghai Normal in 2004).

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We next showed the movie (Working Girl) to approximately 500 first-, second-, thirdand fourth-year business majors. We introduced the movie but did not pre-teach from our movie words and phrases list. Instead, we asked the students to make their own lists of words and phrases that were new to them. We collected these lists and compiled a single list of words and phrases that were common on at least 65% of all of the lists. When subsequently comparing the students’ combined list with our list, we found less than 5% of our words and phrases on the students’ combined list. In post-viewing discussion with the students, we discovered that they were so busy compiling their lists; they were unable to grasp the theme of the movie. This speaks against activities during viewing and supports Krashen’s theories 32 of “comprehensible input in a friendly environment” and “free selection.” Next we took the students’ combined list of movie words and phrases and found contextually correct definitions for each. When we showed the movie (Working Girl) to another group of 50 third-year business majors, we gave them the students’ combined list with definitions, one week in advance of viewing the movie. When this group viewed the movie, no one fell asleep, no one chatted and no one played cell phone games. The postviewing discussion was lively, invigorating, and exciting, participated in by moiré than 90% of the students. They expressed a new appreciation for the need for IP protection in China, which was the main moral of the movie. When we repeated this experiment with post-graduate English majors, those whose career paths are limited to translation, interpretation or teaching, the final results were not as encouraging due to their lack of any appreciable grounding in business. We initiated postviewing reading and Internet research assignments to draw the students’ attention to the relevance of the movie’s theme to current events in China. This appeared to increase the students’ interest and facilitated even more lively post-viewing discussions. We repeated our experiment with the movies Wall Street for its value in teaching about insider trading, integrity, ethics, morality, virtue, reliability, loyalty, honesty, corporate culture, corporate responsibility, confidentiality agreement, tough love, stock market manipulation, revenge, labor union, greed, and corporate espionage; and the movie The Insider for its value in teaching about confidentiality agreements, whistle-blowing, integrity, ethics, morality, virtue, reliability, loyalty, honesty, corporate culture, and corporate responsibility. The results were similar.

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Krashen, Stephen D. (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. English Language Teaching series. London: Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd “Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition”, Stephen Krashen, 1982. “What theory implies, quite simply, is that language acquisition, first or second, occurs when comprehension of real messages occurs, and when the acquirer is not ‘on the defensive’... Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill. It does not occur overnight, however. Real language acquisition develops slowly, and speaking skills emerge significantly later than listening skills, even when conditions are perfect. The best methods are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.”

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STUDENT RESPONSES (IN THEIR OWN WORDS) Student #1 The special course of learning English by watching movie really helped my English skills, the major advantage of this method is that watching movie is interesting rather than others which is boring and difficult to keep. I think the specific improvement by this course include these aspects following. First, it improves my reading as well as listening. The first time when I came to the course, I was almost puzzled by the fast spoken English with the fast going English subtitles. But after a couple of courses, I can understand the major content of the movie. Now it becomes much easier and more comfortable for me to catch onto the movie. Second, during the discussion, I also improved my oral English. Actually during the day of discussion, we talk about anything we like not only the movie. During the discussion, we learned from each other. Many mistakes was found and then corrected during the talking. The last and the most important is that the course built in me the English thinking. Before taking this course, the way I used English is thinking in Chinese then translate it into English, after all that process, it came out of my mouth but still with a lot of mistakes. But now it only has one process that is saying what I am thinking. Now English is no more that bad for me, and I owe all my confidence to this special course of learning English with fun.

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Student #2 I like your new method of teaching English. Through your class my English has improved a lot. And the most important point is that my oral English is much more fluent than ever. Here is my opinion about the advantages of your book: First, I learn through watching movies, which makes me more interested and concentrated. And I can remember longer than reading ordinary textbooks. Second, after watching the movie, I have works related to it to do which will make me more impressive. And we will discuss the movie. This is the most important part because it makes me think and express ourselves and my oral English has practiced. Third, there is a lot of information in the movie. I can learn many professional words and expressions and the use of them. After reading your book we can have a better understanding.

Student #3 Thank you for helping me with my oral English. I do not dare to say that after joining your special English class I have improved my speaking English very much, but I did learn a lot from it. And also, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your fantastic movies. They shared a lot of funny things and also professional subjects to us. At the same time, watching and

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learning. For the movie’s part, I have something to say and must to say about what it brought to me. Meanwhile, I do hope that my experience and point of view would give you and the forthcoming students a few suggestions: 1. Scanning materials Before you watch the movie, it’s necessary to read the materials that you have. It can help you know the background of the movie, and you also can go on the Internet to find the data or information that helps you to get in deeper with that movie. 2. Words and phrases In the movie, there are so many “American” phrases and slangs that you can’t understand. After watching the movie you will know their meaning, how they are used, in what circumstance you can use it naturally. Of cause, most of them were listed in your workbook; so, it really saves you a block of time. 3. Movie discussion I like the movies, not because the movie itself brings satisfaction, but because it also helps me to improve my listening and speaking. But actually, it’s more than that. You will find it’s a quiet different thing between speaking out and just watching. During the discussion, you will find there are a lot of ideas and feelings that you got from the movie. When you open your mouth and speak out to express your own opinion and try to convince somebody, you will have absorption of other people’s viewpoints, which you didn't realize. And finally agree to disagree.

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4. Think actively I think it’s a great help for me that I took the special English class. Seize the chance to express your unique opinion; it will bring you an unexpected surprise. So you think actively and act quickly! 5. Nervous and scary? —NO! As the class continues, you will find you are not afraid of speaking in public anymore, not afraid to make mistakes, not afraid to lose your valueless face, because you have grown up!

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS Professional teachers who teach specific subjects simultaneously with teaching English can successfully utilize movies in the classroom. A great deal of preparation is required, including student participation, to properly prepare a movie for use in the classroom. In addition to Krashen’s four conditions for optimal input, we have added several more features of optimal input to make acquisition possible. The features are summarized as follows: 1) informative, 2) cultural, 3) interesting, 4) clear and succinct, 5) interactive, 6) authentic, and 7) in great quantity. In addition, we believe that the learner’s memory works most actively and effectively when either his or her auditory and visual stores are stimulated

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by something that can engage his or her full attention. Movies make the learner’s articulatory organs work even when the learner is merely watching the movies silently. This is evidenced by their silent (covert) imitation of the speakers’ pronunciation and utterances without uttering a sound. This is the most effective way for improving their pronunciation and intonation. In China, where the social medium for communication is Putonghua, where the strong mother tongue interference is the major obstacle to English learning, where the oriental culture influenced by Confusion’s thoughts are rooted and drastically different from western culture, teaching English through movies is undoubtedly one of the most effective and easiest tools we can utilize because movies meet all the features listed above for optimal input. In China where a hugh population dwarfs the small number of natives English speakers, whose influence is like spraying perfume on the ocean, the significance of teaching English through movies is multifold: it can help students to improve their pronunciation and intonation; to pick up idiomatic use of words and phrases, to assimilate English sentence structure, to be acquainted with the target culture which will prepare them for studying and living abroad or international communication at home. The significance of teaching business through movies is also multifold: firstly, Chinese students do not have a world-view but rather, a tunnel view. They are ill informed of what has happened in the business world, or what problems may arise along with industrial development. To know the famous cases which had been made into movies can not only enlarge their business vocabulary, but also broaden their horizons and make western business management acceptable and possible when more graduates know about western management. This weakness of education that cannot be made available to Chinese students for lack of western professionals can only be made up for through English movies with business content, with history content, with culture content. Western culture is well expressed in the English language, business management and values and habits that are all perfectly shown and manifested in the English movies. Change means challenge. Chinese students are more used to being taught through a blackboard with a talk and chalk method, being spooned-fed in class what they are supposed to actively explore by themselves, before and after class, through reading in the library or surfing online. To implement such a movie course, three things are important. Typical movies that are educational, informative and entertaining is the first condition for successful teaching with movies; 2) A functional workbook to the movies for the students to prepare before watching the movies is the second condition for effective teaching through movies. 3) Various classroom activities to induce/elicit timely and optimal output from students are the last but most important condition to create an acquisition environment for communication. Activities such as dubbing, story retelling, acting, discussing, debating, role playing, etc are but a few proved very effective techniques the teacher can employ to engage the students. To summarize and comment on the movies is a necessary part of the movie review, and students can learn a lot from the summaries because they lack the ability to speak their mind even if they know the story, they simply cannot generalize when the words are not available in their minds or cannot be retrieved from their memory. So the summaries of the movies provide a great source of words which will enable the students to notice the gap between “what they want to say” and “what they can say” (Swain, 1985), thus the timely input will

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immediately help the students to modify their own output, thus to turn their passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. In this way, listening and speaking, reading and writing are not separated, but integrated in one course. Students should also be encouraged to pay attention to the collocations or chunks of language while watching the movies, to repeat in their minds the expressions in current use and to parrot the words that they can understand but cannot use. With the help of the context cues in the movies, those receptive words can easily be turned into productive words, thus the lag between comprehension and production is intentionally shortened. We remain extremely concerned about the misuse of movies in the classroom and strongly suggest implementation of an administrative procedure for review and approval of teaching materials before they make their way into the classroom.

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Chapter 10

CHINA EFL: PROGRAMMING HUMAN ROBOTS Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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INTRODUCTION Throughout China, the teaching of set phrases or speech patterns begins in middle school. Students lacking in a general English foundation are provided texts containing set phrases or speech patterns for memorization, often without meaningful context. Their Chinese English teacher of English teaches in Chinese because the teacher lacks adequate grounding in general English, and their English is so poor that they are incapable of teaching in English. Foreign experts employed in colleges are routinely asked to give English classes to middle school teachers and students. One such experience in 2003 is representative of this experience. A foreign expert was introducing himself to individual students in a middle school class and the dialogue went like this: FE: Hello. My name is Bob. What is your name? Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: My Chinese name is xxx. My English name is Bill. FE: How are you, Bill? Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: I am fine. How are you? FE: I am fine thank you. Nice to meet you Bill. Chinese English teacher: Prompts the student with something in Chinese. Student: Nice to meet you, too.

After this exchange occurred with six or seven students, always with the prompting of the Chinese English teacher, the foreign expert changed the dialogue ending. The following occurred: Student: I am fine. How are you? FE: I am really very tired and I wish I were not here teaching this class. Student: Stares at FE with frightened “deer in headlights” look.

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Are the middle schools merely programming robots? May it never be! A foreign expert wrote a tongue twister on a middle school blackboard: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

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The foreign expert asked a middle school student to stand and read what had been written on the blackboard. The student stood only after several classmates said something to him in Chinese. Instead of reading, the student remained silent and appeared to have difficulty seeing the blackboard from the back of the classroom. The foreign expert asked the student to come forward. The student did not move until some classmates said something to him in Chinese. When the student arrived at the front of the room and stood facing the blackboard, the following dialogue occurred: FE: Please read what I have written on the board. Student: Please read what I have written on the board. FE: Yes. I want you to read what I have written on the board. Student: Yes. I want you to read what I have written on the board. FE: Can you read? Student: Can you read? FE: OK. Please take your seat. Student: OK. Please take your seat. FE: Go and sit down. Student: Go and sit down. FE: I want you to go and sit down in your seat now. (Pointing to the student’s seat at the back of the room.) Student: I want you to go and sit down in your seat now. (Pointing to the student’s seat at the back of the room.)

YES, we are merely training robots! Middle school teachers use the “talk and chalk” teaching methodology and the robots err students repeat after the teacher who reads what they have written on the board. Vocabulary is taught in the same manner, with emphasis on memorization, but completely lacking in definitional meaning or contextual usability. In Chinese colleges and universities, English is taught in four separate and disjointed classes: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. There is no link or common subject matter among the classes. The foreign teacher is retained, primarily, to handle the oral class to force33 speech production by chatting with the students. (Yes, there are exceptions, but we are speaking to the overall national situation at all levels of higher education throughout China.

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Forced output raises the affective filter and actually prevents language acquisition. Krashen (2004) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions.

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At the collegiate level, where four out of 41 teachers are capable of teaching English using English,34 the “talk and chalk” teaching methodology is also used to teach set phrases or speech patterns. The goal of colleges and universities throughout China is to have students pass national English competency examinations such as TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6. Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that these national English competency examinations bear little or no relationship to comprehensible output, the pass rates have become the exclusive focus of administrative attention and false pride. Teaching set phrases and speech patterns prepares the students for these national examinations, or at least that is the theory.

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CLASS OF ’07 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS A total of 120 students were admitted to a new International program designed to generate much needed income for the college by admitting academically unqualified students whose parents could afford to purchase the diploma. The students were split into three classes of 40 students each. Classes #1 and #2 were assigned to a Chinese teacher of English who taught them set phrases and speech patters during the Fall ’07 semester while Class #3 was assigned to the foreign expert who taught them Holistic English Freshmen I.35 During the spring ’08 semester, all three classes were assigned to the foreign expert who taught them Holistic English Freshmen II. Those International classes that had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I program were at a distinct disadvantage. They had not had the basic instruction in proper listening skills, proper homework skills, proper writing skills, or Internet research skills. They had not heard the orientation lecture and did not know of their obligation to read more English, write more English, listen to more English and speak more English outside the classroom. Plus the Freshmen II movies were too advanced in subject matter and language difficulty. In week 9 of the spring 2008 term, the students who had participated in Holistic English Freshmen I were able to make an extemporaneous, comprehensible three-minute oral presentation. The students who had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I class during the fall 2007 term were unable to produce more than ten English words when asked to make a three-minute presentation and a super majority of students could not utter a single English word other than “sorry.” Learning set phrases and speech patterns failed to prepare the students for comprehensible extemporaneous English output. When final grades were submitted at the end of the spring ’08 semester, Class #1 had a grade point average (GPA) of 69; Class #2 had a GPA of 63.9; and Class #3 had a GPA of 80. At the end of the spring ’08 semester all three classes were asked to fill out a questionnaire to self-evaluate the various benefits they believed they had received from the Holistic English Program. The following charts reflect the students’ self-evaluation. 34 35

Qiang/Teng/Wolff (2008) (in press) China EFL: Holistic English, Nova Science Publishers, New York Qiang, Wolff, Teng, (2008) “China EFL: A New Paradigm,” Chapter 11, Education in China: 21st Century Issues and Challenges, Nova Science Publishers, New York

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SPRING ’08 HOLISTIC ENGLISH FRESHMEN II Vocabulary – Reading – Listening – Writing – Conversation

# of students

International TE-7 Vocabulary

10 8 6 4 2 0

Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 1.

The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II. GPA 80. International #2 computer and gardening Vocabulary

# of students

15

Reading

10

Oral

5

Writing Listening

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Chart 2.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9. International #3 Accounting 14 # of students

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10 = GREATEST HELP

12 10

Vocabulary Reading

8 6

Oral Writing

4 2

Listening

0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 3.

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China EFL: Programming Human Robots

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The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69.

SPRING ’08 HOLISTIC ENGLISH FRESHMEN II Confidence – Motivation – Discipline

# of students

International TE - 7 10 8 6 4 2 0

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 4.

The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II GPA 80. International 2 computer and gardening # of students

15 CONFIDENCE

10

MOTIVATION 5

DISCIPLINE 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 5.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9. International # 3 Accounting 12 10 # of students

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0

8

CONFIDENCE

6

MOTIVATION

4

DISCIPLINE

2 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 6.

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69.

SPRING ’08 HOLISTIC ENGLISH FRESHMEN II World View – Business Knowledge

Chart 7.

The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II. GPA 80.

# of students

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International 2 Computing and gardening

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 8.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9. The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69. Teaching set phrases does not produce speakers of comprehensible English and there are no scientific studies that prove it does. The Holistic English program requires that students begin with Freshmen I and then progress through Freshmen II, Business I and then Business II. When the Holistic English program is utilized as designed, it produces students who can produce extemporaneous, comprehensible oral English output.

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International #3 Accounting

# of students

10 8 World View

6 4

Business Knowledge

2 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

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Chart 9.

It was a very ill-advised move to teach set phrases or speech patterns to two of the international student groups and then throw them into Holistic English II and the administration did not consult with the Holistic English Program staff prior to making this decision. Both groups of international students who had set phrase teaching in their first freshmen semester should have failed Holistic English freshmen II and would have were it not for the grading policy that will not allow anyone to fail. Chinese college and university administrators are starting to question the efficacy of the National English proficiency examinations. "While my specialty is using artificial intelligence to make human-like robots, my worry as a university president is that we are turning our graduates into ‘robots'," said Wang Shuguo, President of Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT)36 While President Wang and other scholars criticize the shortcomings of a test driven educational system that begins at the pre-school level and continues on through higher education; they fail to address the more serious core issues of 1,000,000 Chinese teachers of English who cannot teach English using English because their English is so poor they resort to teaching set phrases and speech patterns from textbooks37.

CONCLUSION We can teach a parrot to say “Polly wants a cracker.” The parrot has no idea who Polly is, does not know what a cracker is, and has no way of knowing if Polly really wants a cracker. The proud owner of this magnificent bird claims that it can talk. Chinese college and university graduates can also talk [English] if we use the parrot standard. They can repeat set phrases or speech patterns without any understanding of their 36

Beijing Review, Education Feared to Raise Robots http://www.bjreview.com.cn/special/txt/200708/31/content_74644.htm (accessed July 10, 2008) 37 This problem is further perpetuated by Chinese educational publishers who provide the set phrase and speech pattern textbooks and little else.

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meaning or appropriate use context. They are devoid of any ability to use English creatively or to engage in effective communication. They also never learn creative thinking. President Wang’s fear that we are creating graduates who are mere robots is well founded.

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Chapter 11

CHINA EFL: WHAT IS HOLISTIC ENGLISH?

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Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff Throughout China, English is taught in four separate and disjointed classes: Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. There is no link or common subject matter among the classes. The foreign teacher is retained, primarily, to handle the oral class to force38 speech production by chatting with the students. (Yes, there are exceptions, but we are speaking to the overall national situation at all levels of higher education throughout China. Yes, some foreigners do teach other than oral English. Yes, some foreigners are given teaching materials for oral English. But those are the exceptions and they are few.) The Holistic English Program replaces oral English learning with English conversation experience; replaces teachers with facilitators; replaces set phrase or speech pattern memorization with language acquisition; develops self-confidence, intrinsic motivation and develops autonomous learners and creative thinkers; replaces graduates who are unable to produce comprehensible English with those who can. There are Chinese beliefs that you learn English just like you learn any other subject; if you can speak English you can teach English; foreigners can just chat with Chinese students to improve the Chinese' spoken English; English can be taught by Chinese speaking Chinese; and Chinese students will improve their oral English if forced to speak with a foreigner.39 Holistic English is simply taking one subject matter and using it for reading, listening, writing and voluntary40 speaking in one single class. It emphasizes comprehensible input through very entertaining movies, in a friendly English speaking environment. It is all about language acquisition rather than language learning. It emphasizes input rather than output. Watching dictioned movies is different from the audio-lingual method because the subtitles enable the students to read and comprehend the movie and the story of the movie makes learning a pleasurable entertainment which makes implicit learning or incidental learning of the vocabulary possible. This is a combination of both explicit learning and implicit learning 38

Forced output raises the affective filter and actually prevents language acquisition. Krashen (2004) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions 39 The Comprehension Hypothesis claims that we acquire language by input, not by output, a claim is supported by studies showing no increase in acquisition with more output (Krashen, 2002b). Studies show, however, consistent increases in acquisition with more input.

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or intentional learning and incidental learning, or conscious learning and unconscious learning. It also provides free choice reading material and English TV for leisure time activities in the evening. Every attempt is made to prompt the English mental lexicon within a dominant Chinese environment. Everything possible is done to create a non-academic, non-performance based, non-test oriented atmosphere within in the classroom setting. Students speak when they are ready, not on command. Forced output is actually very harmful.41 One way to relax the classroom atmosphere is to have plants; carpet, curtains, wall pictures, as opposed to Chinese proverbs in Chinese, which prompt the Chinese mental lexicon rather than the target English mental lexicon; water machine, anything that takes the edge off and makes the room feel more like home. There is no lectern as that is a major barrier to a friendly environment.42 It has been scientifically proven that the above formula works and students do acquire English with output capabilities.43 25 years of recent Chinese educational history proves that language learning does not produce students with output capabilities. That is why so many Chinese try to go abroad to improve their English. The Holistic English Program is a comprehensive, but remedial, “Holistic” approach to English acquisition44 including observation, listening, reading, writing, debate, conversation and Internet research, all in one course. Each semester the course revolves around eight full feature commercial Hollywood entertainment movies. The freshmen course movies are

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40

Comprehensible input-based methods encourage speaking but do not force it. Students are not called on; rather, participation is voluntary. 41 Forced output raises the affective filter and actually prevents language acquisition. Krashen (2004) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions. “There are five types of output namely reading out aloud, pattern drills, memorized matters, story retelling, and free production or communicative output. If students are forced to produce output which they are not linguistically ready for, it will only encourage them to produce deviant English or Chinglish which fossilizes if they cannot receive timely corrective feedback, which usually is the case. They stopped learning as soon as their pidgin English can manage a conversation. They use communicative strategies like avoidance, simplification, overgeneralization to express their ideas both in oral as well as written production. Therefore, same as giving students the optimal input is crucial for acquisition to take place, eliciting optimal output is also essential to guarantee acquisition. This does not mean to exclude free production altogether. It only means that at the initial stage of learning, students should learn to observe how words and phrases they learned from textbook are idiomatically used in all their complexity and contexts in the movies before or while applying them freely to their own free output. This is like building a three-floor house. You do not build the third floor without building the first two. Free production is like building the third floor. Learning the vocabulary from a dictionary and textbook is preparing students for understanding movies and reading materials. Only when the learner encounters a word frequently in different contexts, can he or she convert the declarative knowledge of a term into procedural knowledge and then later on into automatic ability. Thereafter, pattern drills like making up sentences with words and phrases is a necessary step to drill the students in how to use the words properly.” Niu Qiang (2001) “Types of Output and the Elicitation of Optimal Output”, Teaching English in China, Vol.24 No.1. 42 Suggestopedia, one of the eight teaching methodologies, is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist educator Georgi Lozanov who describes it as a science … concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or nonconscious influences, that human beings are constantly responding to. Suggestopedia optimizes learning. The most conspicuous characteristics of Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the classroom, the use of music, and the authoritative behavior of the teacher. Memorization in learning by the suggestopedic method seems to be accelerated 25 times over that in traditional methods. (Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T.S., 1986:142). Richards, J.C and Rodgers, T.S. (1986) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. 43 Krashen, Stephen (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Pergamon Press, Inc. 44 The emphasis is on language acquisition not language learning

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primarily cross-cultural in nature while the sophomore course is exclusively composed of movies with business content, theme or moral.45 The underlying educational philosophy is that the best way to truly improve a student’s second language acquisition is through the student’s reading, listening, writing and speaking more English, in a holistic manner. There is no shortcut. This course is also intended to provide timeless business conversation issues with current application in China. There are computer assisted reading and vocabulary activities for the students to complete before watching the movie. The primary purpose of the exercises before watching the movie is to increase the student’s comprehension of the movie, i.e. Krashen’s “comprehensible input” theory. There are no academic exercises while watching the movie, thus creating Krashen’s “friendly environment” through the absence of academic rigors. Students are encouraged to bring drinks and snacks, relax, and enjoy the movie. The movies are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly, educational. They may be played in any order as one does not build upon another. To enhance the educational value of the movies and hence improve English acquisition and business knowledge, the movies must be presented within a friendly entertainment atmosphere instead of within the institutional strictures of a rigorous academic assignment. The movies should be shown in a downtown movie theater atmosphere. Stopping the movie for discussion, analysis, or to memorize chunks of language, is totally inappropriate, as is showing the movie in segments. Such activities are techniques of English teaching, not English acquisition. After watching the movie there are writing assignments; Internet research assignments that will draw the student’s attention to current issues in China related to the moral of the movie; and suggested topics for conversation or debate. The exercises after watching the movie are intended to involve the student in an in-depth analysis of the moral of the movie and its current relevance in China, and thus prepare the student for the subsequent conversation or debate regarding the movie. This will facilitate language acquisition and output. The main objective of this course is to take the students out of the language-learning realm and place them into a language acquisition mode and increase language output.46 This course is a departure from the "talk and chalk" teaching methodology where the students are required to "memorize and regurgitate" for a test oriented course. There is simply nothing to memorize. At the same time, the course will expand the students’ worldview and business knowledge as well as help them develop a personal moral base. Again, it bears repeating, this is not a film appreciation class. The movies are not the subject of any study, they are simply comprehensible input. The idea of “Holistic Approach” is borrowed from psychology and has been applied to many fields other than linguistics. Holistic approach in language teaching means to treat what is to be learned as a whole. This course is holistic on three levels: First, along with the movies, the five skills of language are not presented in isolation, but are integrated in one 45

There was opposition to the Freshmen II workbook due to the inclusion of medical drawings of a breast and ovaries, in conjunction with the advance vocabulary taken from the movie Supersize Me. The drawings were deemed inappropriate material for college students. There was opposition to the Business I and Business II Workbooks due to inclusion of the movies Disclosure and North Country. Sexual harassment and sexual discrimination were deemed inappropriate subjects for college students. 46 Subconscious acquisition, not conscious learning.

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course; Second, due to the nature of movies, English is not broken down into small units, rather the input is presented in all its complexity, which enables the learner to acquire the real meaning and use of the words learned in isolation Third, the most important innovation of this course is the idea of introducing international business culture by way of movies. The content of the movies provides both a global view of the business world and the underlying culture differences between the east and the west. In addition, moral and personality essentials towards success and failures, gains and loss are an indispensable part of each movie, which will help to build up the university students’ character and prepare them for possible challenges in their future life. It achieves what we call “quality education” in the real sense. Last but not least, this course is a very example of the famous Chinese saying “combine education with recreation”. The movies will not only strongly motivate the students so as to develop a positive attitude towards classroom learning, but also effectively teach them how to learn on their own outside the classroom, which we believe is the solution of English learning in the end. The movies replace traditional “oral” or “conversation” textbooks that contain old, boring and irrelevant stories or “set phrases” to be memorized through role playing and game playing; resources that evoke constant criticism from students and foreign teachers alike. The movies constitute comprehensible input that is delivered in a low-anxiety situation. They are real messages of real interest. Watching English movies helps the learner to convert their receptive knowledge into productive ability by drawing their attention to how words, expressions are actually used in real context of situation instead of context of text. While watching, unconscious memory is also working, same as listening to the same melody repeatedly enables one to hum the tune without effort. The Chinese students are poor at acquiring the English pronunciation, especially the intonation. Owing to the fact that Chinese belongs to a different language family, namely, the Sino-Tibetan language family. But by exposing to English in great quantity by various native speakers of English, the students imitated and acquired the English accent quite naturally and easily. Good pronunciation is conducive to both good comprehension and production in the English language for Chinese students. Idiomatic conversational English, academic English, business English, conference English, English for special purposes like legal English, zoological English, astronautic English, etc. can all be learned through watching TV series on various subjects, depending on the learner's own interest and choice of profession. Both visual and audio channels are brought into full play cognitively, motivation and interact are increased to the highest level psychologically; modules for both listening and reading are activated neurologically or biologically, and by dubbing, even the pathway of speaking is smoothed which helps greatly to prepare students for later or future free production. Various ways to express the same meaning become possible, and the same word or phrase can be encountered in all its complexity in various situations. Therefore, if proper learning strategies on how to watch English movies are communicated to the student, for instance, by telling them to give intentional attention to the target term, then not only the different meanings of the same term can be picked up, but also, repeated encounters of the same term enhances the memory and shortens the incubation period from comprehension to production. In this way, the three factors influencing memory (frequency effect, recency effect, saliency effect) will guarantee the student to learn English expressions so well that

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they can pass from controlled forced output to automatic natural production without too much effort. It would be beneficial to provide the students with access to computer lab or sound lab facilities where the movies can be watched repeatedly. A theory that is widely accepted and is true in both L1 and L2 acquisition is that incidental vocabulary learning is a gradual process in which gains are made in small increments with repeated encounters needed to gain full knowledge of a word. It was found that vocabulary gains increased as the number of times learners met words in context increased. Learners who met words 10 times produced superior scores to those who met words only twice. However, no significant results were found between two and six encounters and six and ten encounters. The correlation between the number of times each word occurred in the book and the relative learning gains was found to be 0.34, which confirms that repetition affected learning (Stuart Webb, 2007). It is safe to say that six to ten encounters are more likely to promote receptive knowledge of known words to productive knowledge of words than two or three encounters. While watching movies makes many encounters possible within a short time which enables the recency effect, frequency effect and saliency effect to take place in terms of the functions of memory. The effect of repeated watching with intervals is exponential.47 Availability of the movies on the university intranet is essential. This course should not be confused with a “film appreciation” class that studies the film for creation, composition and value. This new paradigm is completely different from the academic pursuit of studying films. The workbooks cannot be adapted to a film appreciation class. Nor is this a CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) course. The computer is only one tool in the integrated use of modern technology. This is truly a Holistic English course. The movies should be played in one sitting. They should not be stopped for analysis, discussion or memorization of chunks of language; nor showed in segments. This course will promote learner autonomy, creative thinking, enhanced reading skills, enhanced listening skills, enhanced writing skills and increased voluntary oral communications. Wang Shugua, President of Harbin Institute of Technology is quoted as saying “…university education has robbed students of their originality. The education system, particularly the higher education system, badly needs reform.” A famous Chinese proverb provides: If you give a person a fish, he can eat for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, he can feed himself all of his life. Tao Xingzhi, the famous modern educationist, once said: The best education is to make teachers less needed. This statement concisely generalized the purpose of education is to train learners to study and work independently. In other words, the end-product of education is an independent learner (McDevitt 1997); therefore the ultimate goal of the teacher should be to convert students from passive language learners into independent and autonomous learners and acquirers. The future society will be a world of “survival of the fittest”. People will be required to be independent, lifelong and selfdeveloped learners so as to meet the needs of the society. In education, we should attach great importance to teaching a person the skills and knowledge which will enable him to survive independently throughout his life. English teaching, likewise, is no exception to this general proposition. 47

Stuart Webb, 2007. “The effects of repetition on vocabulary learning” in Applied Linguistics, Vol. 28, No 1.

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The task of English teaching is not merely to teach a foreign language, but to teach learners how to learn. Instead of making the student master foreign language skills, English teaching should help learners to obtain English learning strategies and make them become autonomous lifelong learners. English language teaching has its own special and unique features. It is somewhat different from other subjects such as mathematics, physics or geology. With several formulae, one can work out mathematic or physic problems, whereas mastering some grammar and vocabulary will not enable the learner to speak English like a native speaker. What’s more, if the learner does not continue his autonomous language learning after graduation, fossilization will occur. This means the learner will not maintain his acquired or learned level of English proficiency. Learner autonomy (LA) can be viewed from several aspects. From the macroscopic perspective, we should create an ideal learner autonomy environment. This concerns several aspects, such as school administration, teaching methodologies, teaching materials, etc. And from the microscopic perspective, we should focus on the learner. Teaching linguistic knowledge only, will not produce an autonomous and lifelong learner. To help the learner develop learning strategies paves their way to LA. If the learner masters effective learning strategies, the learner can get twofold results with half the effort. Learning strategy can help the learner improve learning efficiency, promote independent learning during the learning process, motivate the learner, and arouse interest in learning. After mastering learning strategies, the learner can continue self-education, even after graduation. This will prevent fossilization to occur after they leave university The kinds of learner autonomy mentioned above are not ideal autonomy. We must understand that no autonomous learning is actually purely or truly autonomous. The learning responsibility is largely on the learner’s shoulders, but its actualization requires the joint efforts of both the teacher and the society. To reach the objective of learner autonomy, society must create an ideal environment. Only under the efforts of proper school administration, teaching methodologies, teaching materials and the learner, can an ideal autonomous learning environment come into existence. Since the ultimate goal of English teaching is communication, English teaching should equip learners with a solid foundation of the language in order to communicate with native speakers freely and naturally, without great difficulty. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly convinced that learner autonomy and learning strategies are more important than ever in second language acquisition (SLA). Although there have recently been many encouraging findings discovered in domestic and overseas related fields, teachers should not apply them mechanically. Instead, teachers should combine these findings with the characteristics of Chinese students; help them to create an autonomous learning environment in accordance with present resources and integrate learning strategies into their teaching, and train the learner to be a life-long learner. It is generally agreed that the solution to English language teaching (ELT) in China is for learners to achieve learner autonomy, which means that the learner is taught the ways to get sufficient input outside the classroom. Modern technology makes that possible. Teaching with movies enables a native speaker to introduce a totally different genre or region of the English language to the Chinese students. The learner should have many questions in mind after watching the movie. They can bring these to the classroom and ask the teacher to explain and discuss among themselves. Therefore, the choice of movies is critical. They must be interesting, exciting and relevant.

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The only solution to come to terms with English globalization for China is to shorten the time for English formal education, which means we have to avail our students of the modern technology and information era to explore input outside the classroom. China is known for its long history in education and the idea of learner autonomy is nothing new as revealed in the old saying “If you give one a fish, he can have it for only one day; but if you teach him how to fish, he can have it for life”. This educational principle has not been incorporated into the process of English education due to various reasons. And now it is time to bring our teachers and trainers of English at various levels to the awareness of this teaching principle, that is, to teach the students how to teach themselves in addition to teach them grammar and vocabulary. What may be common sense to many may not be common sense to the students and even many teachers. Every teacher has his or her own ways of learning the English language, but their methods are not based on a systematic study of the psycholinguistic and SLA theories. Therefore, what the linguists should do now is to introduce the teaching and learning strategies which are a combination of both theory and practice, rather than a series of experience or intuitions. A summary of such strategies can help the Chinese teacher to be a much better learner of English so as to be a more effective and adequate teacher of English in class. How to optimize and maximize output from limited input is a question that will never have an ultimate answer because we can always add more to this field of inquiry with the new findings in the neurological and cognitive sciences. But this ever growing cross-disciplinary research makes the quest for answers in one field even more exhilarating because of the light it may throw on other science and social science disciplines. We may never find the answer to how our brain works, but the unknown nature of the subject makes the exploration for answers more satisfying than the answer itself. There are three objectives of Holistic English: 1. Build self-confidence to speak English 2. Develop intrinsic motivation 3. develop autonomous learning strategies

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Chapter 12

CHINA EFL: A NEW PARADIGM

∗

Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai ABSTRACT

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Chinese university graduates have studied English for 16 years, but graduate functionally illiterate, unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English. Chinese universities are under severe financial pressure to enroll more students, increase class size, increase teaching loads and improve the financial bottom line to service expansion debt. Through the new paradigm discussed herein, the university is able to deliver a higher quality educational product to its students/consumers at a greatly reduced cost and provide graduates who produce comprehensible oral and written English.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION Graduates of the Xinyang Agriculture College English Department suffer from the same pedagogy and methodology that has generally failed China for the past 25 years. The graduates are functionally illiterate in that they have studied English for 12 years, but are unable to speak or write coherently, at even a basic level. They are required to learn English through four independent and disconnected courses, i.e., intensive reading, comprehensive listening, extensive writing and oral English.. The teaching methodology is rote memorization of “set phrases” through “talk and chalk.” There is no English-speaking environment, no target language immersion or acquisition. Xinyang Agricultural College also suffers from the same heavy bank debt service obligations, as articulated in the 3/13/07 China Daily article, “Debt Warning for Universities.”1 This has resulted in a far-too-high student/teacher ratio of 150:1. An English class of 40 students in 2002 has ballooned to a class of 160 students in 2006. There is simply

∗ 1

(2008, 4th Quarter) Education in China: 21st Century Issues and Challenges, Nova Science Publishers, New York Mainland Chinese universities have borrowed heavily to finance construction of new building and campuses to house the ballooning student enrollment. The debt service is bankrupting the universities.

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not enough money to hire a sufficient number of teachers, and even if the funds were available, there is a distinct shortage of qualified and experienced teachers. Colleges and universities throughout mainland China must develop a new management strategy that increases economic efficiency while simultaneously improving the quality of the educational product being delivered to the student/consumer. To maintain the status quo not only cheats the students/consumers by providing them with less than what they are entitled to for their tuition fees, it also cheats Chinese society as a whole because these college graduates will not be properly prepared to make their maximum contribution to a better-off Chinese society.

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THE NEW PARADIGM Commencing with the spring semester, March 2007, the Xinyang Agricultural College curriculum committee approved two experimental EFL courses; Holistic English I for a class of 360 freshmen and Holistic Business English I for a class of 348 sophomores. There were many conceptual problems to obtaining approval of the new paradigm. First, the workbooks are not yet published because they are still in the formative stages. Usually a university will only authorize the use of published texts. Second, there was concern that the movies may contain vulgar language, sex or violence and that they had not appeared on the list of approved movies published by Beijing. (Each movie was pre-screened and did contain vulgar language, sex and violence, in amounts less than those found in normal daily life, but realistic in nature.) Third, there was reluctance to substitute movies for a live foreign expert. (Does learning occur only through direct teacher/student contact?) Fourth, there was reluctance to substitute one evening class for nine daytime classes. (Empty classrooms during regular class times seemed inappropriate.) Fifth, there was fear that students would not “catch the meaning” of the movies (as if they catch the meaning of all textbooks or lectures). Sixth, encouraging students to have fun watching movies just did not seem to be a very educational endeavor. (Must studying be a painful and time-consuming endurance event?)

1. COURSE DESCRIPTION, HOLISTIC BUSINESS ENGLISH I This one semester course is designed by Niu Qiang, PhD, Martin Wolff, J.D. and Teng Hai, MBA (cn) utilizing a holistic approach to language acquisition through comprehensible input in a friendly environment (Stephen Krashen’s second language acquisition model). The course is designed for sophomore English majors, non-English majors and business majors. The course is a comprehensive, but remedial, “holistic” approach to English acquisition including observation, listening, reading, writing, debate, conversation and Internet research. This course revolves around nine commercial Hollywood entertainment movies with business content, theme or moral. The underlying educational philosophy is that the best way to truly improve a student’s second language acquisition is through the student’s reading, listening, writing and speaking

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more English, in a holistic manner. There is no shortcut. This course is intended to provide timeless business conversation issues with current application in China. There are reading and vocabulary activities for the students to complete before watching the movie. The primary purpose of the exercises before watching the movie is to increase the student’s comprehension of the movie, i.e., Krashen’s “comprehensible input” theory. There are no academic exercises while watching the movie, thus creating Krashen’s “friendly environment” through the absence of academic rigors. Students are encouraged to bring drinks and snacks, relax, and enjoy the movie. The movies are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly, educational. They may be played in any order as one does not build upon another. To enhance the educational value of the movies and hence improve English acquisition and business knowledge, the movies must be presented within a friendly entertainment atmosphere instead of within the institutional strictures of a rigorous academic assignment. After watching the movie there are writing assignments; Internet research assignments that will draw the student’s attention to current issues in China related to the moral of the movie; and suggested topics for conversation or debate. The exercises after watching the movie are intended to involve the student in an in-depth analysis of the moral of the movie and its current relevance in China, and thus prepare the student for the subsequent conversation or debate regarding the movie. This will facilitate language acquisition and output. The main objective of this course is to take the students out of the language-learning realm and place them into a language acquisition mode and increase language output. The course builds self-confidence, intrinsic motivation and develops autonomous learning strategies. This course is a departure from the “talk and chalk” teaching methodology where the students are required to “memorize and regurgitate” for a test oriented course. There is simply nothing to memorize. At the same time, the course will expand the students’ worldview and business knowledge. The idea of “Holistic Approach” is borrowed from psychology and has been applied to many fields other than linguistics. Holistic approach in language teaching means to treat what is to be learned as a whole. This course is holistic on three levels: First, along with the movies, the five skills of language are not presented in isolation, but are integrated in one course; Second, due to the nature of movies, English is not broken down into small units, rather the input is presented in all its complexity, which enables the learner to acquire the real meaning and use of the words learned in isolation Third, the most important innovation of this course is the idea of introducing international business culture by way of movies. The content of the movies provides both a global view of the business world and the underlying culture differences between the east and the west. In addition, moral and personality essentials towards success and failures, gains and loss are an indispensable part of each movie, which will help to build up the university students’ character and prepare them for possible challenges in their future life. It achieves what we call “Quality Education” in the real sense. Last but not least, this course is a very example of the famous Chinese saying “combine education with recreation”. The movies will not only strongly motivate the students so as to develop a positive attitude towards classroom learning, but also effectively teach them how to learn on their own outside the classroom, which we believe is the solution of English learning in the end.

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The movies replace traditional textbooks that contain old, boring and irrelevant stories or “set phrases” to be memorized through role playing and game playing; resources that evoke constant criticism from students and foreign teachers alike. This course should not be confused with a “film appreciation” class that studies the film for creation, composition and value. This new paradigm is completely different from the academic pursuit of studying films. Nor is this a CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) course. The computer is only one tool in the integrated use of modern technology. This is truly a holistic English course.

2. COURSE DESCRIPTION, HOLISTIC FRESHMEN ENGLISH I This course differs from the sophomore’s Holistic Business English I in that the freshmen movies are a little easier to comprehend and the subject matter is more cross-cultural and does not concentrate on business issues.

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3. COURSE WORKBOOKS: HOLISTIC FRESHMEN ENGLISH WORKBOOK I AND HOLISTIC ENGLISH WORKBOOK, BUSINESS I The workbooks are not written in textbook format intending to impart the authors’ substantive knowledge to the students. Rather, it is designed as a workbook for implementation of the “Seven Factors of Optimal Input” put forth by Dr. Niu Qiang (9/2001) in Re-examine the Role of Input and the Features of Optimal Input, Part I (12/2001) and Part II, in Teaching English in China Vol. 24, Issue #3 and Vol. 24, Issue #4. The workbooks2 are the product of five years research, investigation and testing3 at 6 Mainland Chinese universities.4 They are workbooks designed to 1) facilitate the students’ self-study, 2) increase the students’ business vocabulary and knowledge, 3) assist the students in developing creative thinking, 3) to encourage the students to engage in critical analysis and problem solving, 4) to embolden the students in developing an ethical standard with which they will guide their personal and professional lives, and 5) increase confidence in oral communication. The workbooks allow each student to comprehend, produce and progress according to their own particular pace. Students of various skill levels and knowledge levels will be able to interact with each other since there are no right or wrong answers; just creative answers based upon the individuals’ level of comprehension, level of English acquisition, their state of academic accomplishment, and the extent of their classroom participation in conversations and debates.

2

Holistic English Workbook I (Freshman) movies: Iron and Silk, Gung Ho, Not without My Daughter, The War of the Roses, The Terminal, Tai Pan, The Joy Luck Club, Eat a Bowl of Tea. Holistic English Workbook I (Business) movies: Erin Brockovitch, Wall Street, Other People’s Money, Disclosure, Working Girl, Life and Debt, Rainmaker, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. 3 China EFL: use and abuse of teaching with movies (2006) Qiang, Teng, Wolff (in press). 4 Changchun University, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai University, Tong ji University and Xinyang Agricultural College.

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The depth of discussion and debate will depend upon the nature and mix of the student group, their grade level, the quality of the educational institution, and the ability of the teacher. The movies may be selected in any order and according to the students’ interests. At RMB 30.00 each, the workbooks are also affordable by even the poorest students and they eliminate the need for students to purchase additional notebooks.

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3. COURSE SCHEDULING Movies should be shown on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Students should have one week prior to watching the movie to do the required homework. After watching the movie, students should have one week to complete the required homework to prepare for the subsequent conversation class. During the first week of the semester, all 357 freshmen met on one evening in a large multi-media classroom for a course introduction and all 352 sophomore students met on another evening. The introduction included an explanation of the new pedagogy and methodology; a walk-through of the Workbook for the first movie assignment and first homework; and the students were shown the first 20% of the movie “The Paper Chase.” (The entire movie was available on the school Web site for those interested students who wanted to watch the entire movie.) During the second week the freshman met in nine discussion groups, in their regular classrooms, during their regular daytime schedules. These classrooms have movable desks and chairs so the students can face each other, as opposed to theatre style seating where the students talk to the back of each other’s heads.5 During the second week all 348 sophomores met one evening in the multi-media room to watch their first movie. The regular daytime classes were transferred to the single evening class because the movies require two and onehalf hours to view and will not fit into the 90-minute regular class schedule. During the third week of the semester the sophomores met in nine discussion groups, in their regular classrooms, during their regular daytime schedules. The freshmen met one evening in the multi-media room to watch their first movie. In this way, the foreign expert conducted discussion classes every week, alternating every other week with freshman and sophomores. While the sophomores were assigned to watch an evening movie, the freshman had daily discussion classes and the sophomores had daily discussion classes during the week when the freshmen were assigned to watch a movie. This alternating schedule was maintained throughout the 18-week semester. The foreign expert had a teaching load of nine classes every week. A Chinese co-teacher, using English subtitles when available, showed the evening movies. Chinese subtitles were never allowed, as they would be counterproductive to English acquisition. All of the movies were also available on the Xinyang Agricultural College Web site, in the school sound lab and the College computer lab. This eliminated any excuse for a student missing a movie. Two Chinese co-teachers were assigned to assist the foreign expert. One co-teacher showed the movies in the evening and both co-teachers, on occasion, would participate in the

5

The college does not have any classroom set up specifically for conversation English and one is required.

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discussion classes for the purpose of learning how to conduct the course in the future, without a foreign expert. Each class has a student monitor who was assigned to teach all classmates how to access the Web site movies, to assign classmates to be responsible for classroom cleanliness and govern movie admission in the multi-media classroom by checking workbooks at the door. (No class workbook, no entry.) This insured that the limited seating was available for the class students only and that those alien to the class, who had no motivation to follow the class decorum, were excluded.

Economic Efficiency

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The wage disparity between foreign experts and Chinese teachers is well documented elsewhere. Xinyang Agricultural College formerly required two foreign experts, one for the freshmen class and one for the sophomore class. Under the new paradigm only one foreign expert is required and the combined time commitment of the two Chinese co-teachers was 5 hours per week. This immediately reduced the College’s expenditure on foreign experts by 40%. When the Chinese co-teachers take full responsibility for the courses, in the near future, the College will realize a 90% budget reduction from the previous foreign expert budget. There is also another budgetary benefit from the new paradigm. Under the old paradigm students were exposed to the foreign expert assigned to their class. Their experience was limited to the regional English spoken by that foreign expert. While watching the English movies, the students were exposed to an average of 10 native English speakers (using many different regional Englishes) per hour and two L2 English speakers per hour. The students/consumers hear 360 native English speakers and 72 L2 English speakers during the 36-hour semester and hence receive much higher value for their tuition fees than exposure to one foreign expert for 36 hours.

Student Evaluation of the New Paradigm At the end of the semester, 87% of the 352 sophomore students and 93% of the 357 freshmen students, participating in the holistic English program, voluntarily provided answers to an anonymous questionnaire. The students were asked to rank (from 1–10 with 10 being the greatest help) how much the course helped them to improve in ten areas. (vocabulary, reading skills, listening skills, writing skills, conversation skills, (Charts 1 and 2 ) confidence, motivation, discipline, (Charts 3 and 4) worldview and business knowledge (Charts 5 and 6). The students’ responses are summarized in the attached charts.

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Chart 1. This chart reflects that the Sophomore Business English and Tourism English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in vocabulary, reading, conversation, writing and listening.Class-by-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

CHART #1 BE, TE, AE 2006 Cum ulative # of students out of 357

100

Vocabulary Reading

80 60

Oral Writing

40 20

Listening

0

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 2. This chart reflects that the Freshmen Business English, Tourism English and Applied English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in vocabulary, reading, conversation, writing and listening.Class-by-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

Chart 3. This chart reflects that the Sophomore Business English and Tourism English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in confidence, motivation and discipline. Class-by-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

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CHART #4 BE, TE, AE 2006 Cum ulative # of students out of 357

100 80 CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE

60 40 20 0 1

2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 5. This chart reflects that the Sophomore Business English and Tourism English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in expanded world view and business kbnowledge. Classby-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

CHART #6 BE, TE, AE Freshm en Cum ulative

# of students out of 357

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Chart 4. This chart reflects that the Freshmen Business English, Tourism English and Applied English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in confidence, motivation and discipline. Class-by-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

100 80 60 40 20 0

World View Business Know ledge

1

2

3

4

5 6

7

8

9 10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 6. This chart reflects that the Freshmen Business English, Tourism English and Applied English majors in the Holistic English Program experienced benefit in expanded world view and business kbnowledge. Class-by-class analysis establishes that those students receiving the most benefit are in classes of 40 students or less.

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The students claim to have comparatively benefited simultaneously in all ten categories, which confirms the value of the holistic approach using movies as the input base for oral English class. The holistic English course was conducted simultaneously with the traditional reading, listening and writing courses; yet, the students found significant benefit in reading, listening and writing within the holistic course. This suggests that the traditional courses are in need of review. The primary complaint of the students was that with classes containing as many as 51 students, there was insufficient time for each student to converse with the teacher. This correlates directly with the students’ evaluation that their conversation skills still lagged behind the development of their other skills, (See Charts 1 and 2) even utilizing the holistic paradigm. The students noted a particular benefit from the teacher assigning each student to conduct the discussion class for five minutes. Enhanced confidence, motivation, discipline, (Charts 3 and 4) worldview and business knowledge (Charts 5 and 6) also suffered in classes with more than 40 students and as high as 51 students. There is also a direct correlation between the degree of discipline, motivation and confidence, and the lack of enhancement of learning skills. Classes with 40 or more students experienced more disciplinary problems, less motivation, less confidence and fewer enhancements of skills. The anonymous questionnaire also asked each student to register the grade they believed they had earned in the course. When comparing the grades requested by the students with the actual grades given, there was a 2% discrepancy. The students had undervalued their accomplishments, which means there is also a probable 2% under evaluation in each of the Charts.

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UNANSWERED QUESTIONS 1. Why did the freshmen class generally benefit more from the Holistic English Program than the sophomores? 2. Why did the freshmen class benefit more in business knowledge than the sophomore class when the freshmen movies were more cross-cultural in content and the sophomore movies were all business content specific? Both the freshmen and sophomore classes were apparently admitted to the college based upon the identical college entrance examination scores and criteria. (Immediately prior to publication of this article is was discovered that a higher percentage of the sophomore class matriculated to college from the Vocational Middle School, as opposed to the regular middle school, and hence the sophomore class was less capable.)

CONCLUSION 1. Students benefited greatly from the new paradigm. 2. Classes with 40 or more students are anti-academic and a detriment to the students’ acquisition of English.

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3. Oral English classes should be conducted in classrooms specially designed to create a friendly conversation environment. 4. The new paradigm should be expanded into a two-semester program for further trial basis and evaluation. 5. The workbooks should be improved following the students’ responses to the anonymous questionnaire. 6. For the 2007–08 school year commencing in September 2007, Xinyang Agriculture College should offer Holistic Freshman English I and II6 and Holistic Business English I and II.7

6

Holistic English Workbook II (Freshman) movies: A Great Wall, Freedom Song, The Longest Yard, Supersize Me, Gandhi, Walk the Line, World Trade Center, Reversible Errors. 7 Holistic English Workbook II (Business) movies: Barbarians at the Gate, North Country, Runaway Jury, Class Action, The Constant Gardner, McLibel, An Inconvenient Truth, Life and Debt.

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Chapter 13

CHINA EFL: HOLISTIC ENGLISH— THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN, BUT THE LONG MARCH LIES AHEAD ∗

Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai Xinyang Agricultural College, Henan Province

Contributors: Julie Anderson Xinyang Technical and Vocational College

Kenneth Clarke Huarui College at Xinyang Normal University, Henan Province

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Yang En University, Fujian Province

Edwin Roessle CIB at Shenyang Normal University, Liaoning Province

Stacy Meeking Guangxi University, Guangxi Semi-autonomous region

David Cahill Beijing

Pan Youyi Student Assistant, Xinyang Agricultural College

∗

In May 2008 the Holistic English Program was approved and permitted by the Henan Province Educational Reform Commission for reform of teaching English and Business English. This article is supported by the Jilin Academy of Social Science Project, No. 2008BWX41. Title: The Localized Study of the Teaching and Learning Strategies of English. 2008BWX41 In August 2008, PetroChina, the world’s largest company by capitalization, implemented the Holistic English Program at its English Training facility in Guangzhou, China.

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ABSTRACT Throughout China, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is taught in four separate and disjointed classes: reading, listening, writing and speaking. There is no link or common subject matter among the classes; they are completely disconnected from each other. The foreign teacher is retained, primarily, to handle the oral class to force speech production by “chatting” with the students. The objective of English learning through this methodology is for the student to pass the National English proficiency examinations. (TEM 4, CET 4 and CET6) Holistic English is simply taking one subject matter and using it for reading, listening, writing and voluntary speaking merged into one single English conversation class. It emphasizes comprehensible input through very entertaining movies, in a friendly English-speaking environment. (This is not a film class.) It is all about language 1 2 acquisition rather than language learning . The Holistic English Program replaces the oral English learning classroom with an English conversation acquisition experience. It emphasizes comprehensible input rather than forced output.3 Holistic English not only prepares students for the National English proficiency examinations, it also produces graduates who are actually able to communicate effectively in comprehensible oral and written English, something the test-oriented English learning paradigm fails to do.

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1

Language acquisition refers to the process of natural assimilation, involving intuition and subconscious learning, which is the product of real interactions between people where the learner is an active participant. It is similar to the way children learn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in the spoken language without theoretical knowledge; develops familiarity with the phonetic characteristics of the language as well as its structure and vocabulary, is responsible for oral understanding, the capability for creative communication and for the identification of cultural values. Teaching and learning are viewed as activities that happen in a personal psychological plane. The acquisition approach praises the communicative act and develops selfconfidence in the learner. A classic example of language acquisition involves adolescents and young adults who live abroad for a year in an exchange program, attaining near native fluency, while knowing little about the language in the majority of cases. They have a good pronunciation without a notion of phonology, don't know what the perfect tense is, modal or phrasal verbs are, but they intuitively recognize and know how to use all the structures. (Krashen 2 The concept of language learning is linked to the traditional approach to the study of languages and today is still generally practiced in high schools worldwide. Attention is focused on the language in its written form and the objective is for the student to understand the structure and rules of the language through the application of intellect and logical deductive reasoning. The form is of greater importance than communication. Teaching and learning are technical and governed by a formal instructional plan with a predetermined syllabus. One studies the theory in the absence of the practical. One values the correct and represses the incorrect. There is little room for spontaneity. The teacher is an authority figure and the participation of the student is predominantly passive. In the teaching of English in Brazil, for example, the student will study the function of the interrogative and negative modes, irregular verbs, modals, etc. The student learns to construct sentences in the perfect tense, but only learns with difficulty when to use it. It's a progressive and cumulative process, normally tied to a preset syllabus that includes memorization of vocabulary. It seeks to transmit to the student knowledge about the language, its functioning and grammatical structure with its irregularities, its contrasts with the student's native language, knowledge that hopefully will produce the practical skills of understanding and speaking the language. This effort of accumulating knowledge becomes frustrating because of the lack of familiarity with the language. Innumerable graduates with arts degrees in English are classic examples of language learning. They often are trained and theoretically able to teach a language that they can communicate in only with extreme difficulty. (Krashen) 3 Krashen, Stephen (2004). Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions, presented at 13th International Symposium and Book Fair on Language Teaching (English Teachers Association of the Republic of China), Taipei, Taiwan.

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INTRODUCTION It is essential to remember that English is a tool for communication. College graduates who spend 16 years learning English and pass their national English competency examinations but are unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English, i.e., know all about English but cannot use it, have wasted 16 years of education and a great deal of their parents hard earned money. The revolution begins by changing the name “oral English” to “Conversation English” with the attendant change in connotation to a friendly tea house or coffee shop environment. The Holistic English Program replaces the oral English learning classroom with an English conversation acquisition experience. Higher education is BIG business. “There are an estimated 5.59 million students this year (2008) in China, compared to 3.38 million in 2005, 4.13 million in 2006 and 4.91 million last year.”4 Chinese universities are producing an assembly line product, i.e., graduates properly equipped to make their maximum contribution to creating a better off harmonious society, with Chinese characteristics. When we produce English major graduates who cannot produce comprehensible oral or written English, we are creating defective products. Imagine an automobile factory that produced cars that, when they come off the assembly line, cannot run. The automobile company would need to analyze the problem and institute proper corrections to produce a marketable automobile. The Holistic English program is the result of just such an analysis of why Chinese college graduates are unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English and it is the much needed correction to the FAILED current teaching pedagogy. Although “English Fever” is running rampant throughout China and is claimed to be “market driven”; the rush to institute English learning nationwide, with more than 1,000,000 Chinese teachers of English who are themselves unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English or teach in the target language, has miserably failed to meet market needs. The goal of universities and colleges throughout China is to have students pass national English competency examinations such as TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6. Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that these National English competency examinations bear little or no relationship to comprehensible output, the pass rates have become the exclusive focus of administrative attention and false pride. This is in part due to demands of Chinese employers who are misinformed that passing CET 6 is the evidence of an accomplished English speaker5. . Wang Shugua, President of Harbin Institute of Technology is quoted as saying ”I recognize CET as a good tool to promote English studies but I am against the practice of regarding a CET certificate as the prerequisite for graduation, which is totally misleading.” President Wang fears that China is producing human robots. The market need to have graduates who can produce comprehensible English output has been completely ignored. Consequently, foreign employers, Joint Venture employers and Chinese companies doing business abroad are hiring university graduates from India because

4

5

State-owned groups top students’ wish list, Liu Jie (China Daily), 2008-06-27 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ bizchina/2008-06/27/content_6800492.htm Yuankai, Tang, 9/6/07 Beijing Review, Education Feared to Raise Robots (2007年36期) http://www.cnki. com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-BJZB200736011.htm

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they are able to produce better comprehensible oral and written English.6 Imagine more than 5 million Chinese university graduates, who have learned English for 16 years, being passed over for Chinese jobs in China. This is simply unacceptable! English is one of “the 10 most popular disciplines that saw low rates of employment last year.” 7 Every university in China has a shadow administration to the public academic administration. Every academic administrator has an assigned CCP party secretary assigned to watch over them and approve their every decision. University curriculum and majors are Party driven, not market driven.

THE BACKGROUND Second language acquisition occurs when comprehensible input is delivered in a lowanxiety situation, when real messages of real interest are transmitted and understood. … we learn best only when the pressure is completely off, when anxiety is zero, when the acquirer's focus is entirely on communication; in short, when the interchange or input is so interesting 8 that the acquirer 'forgets" that it is in a second language (Krashen ).

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Academic journals are legion with articles postulating nuances in old teaching methodologies and brand new methodologies for teaching English as a foreign language. There are also legions of articles concerning second language acquisition theories. For the most part, these journal articles remain on the library shelf, unread by the more than 1,000,000 Chinese teachers of English as a foreign language, the more than 150,000 so called “foreign experts” teaching (sic.)9 EFL in China, or the administrators of China’s universities and colleges. Chinese university journals have long discussed the virtues of using movies to teach English as a foreign language but these have not provoked the needed wide-spread reforms.10 6

PROSPECTS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA AND INDIA, (2005-12-8) Pei Yuanying, Foreign Affairs Journal, No. 75, Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs http://www.cpifa.org/EN/Html/ 200512816260-1.html Indians’ good command of English is due to the following factors: First, the Indian government had accentuated the learning of English during two century-long British colonialist rule; second, India’s education system has introduced bilingual training where possible; third, unlike China’s mandarin, there is no nationallyspoken language in India. Hindi is a language widely spoken in India, but it is only in Northern India and not in the South. There are hundreds of languages in India, of which 18 local and official languages at the state level are recognized by the Constitution as official national languages. Therefore, only English was the language spoken all over the country. At present there are two national languages—Hindi and English. Without English there is no way for people in the North to communicate with their compatriots in the South. Therefore, it is only natural for Indians to learn English well. Indians who have received higher education speak accurate, standard and learned English. 7 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-06/27/content_6799171.htm Beijing-based survey company Mycos HR “Poll: Hot majors of past not getting jobs”, Wang Ying (2008-06-27 07:36) 8 Krashen, Stephen D. (1981). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. English Language Teaching series. London: Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd. 9 Qiang/ Wolff, (2007) “China EFL: The Unqualified Teaching the Unmotivated in a Hostile Environment” Frontiers in Higher Education, Ch. 11, Nova Science Publications 10 Discussion of teaching in English in the use of audio-visual Lessons A discussion teaching method in English video-aural-oral course [Xinyang Journal of Agricultural College, journal of Xinyang Agricultural College] CUI Shu-li Cooperation mode teaching in the English audio-visual teaching that the role of Effect of cooperative instruction on English video-aural-oral course [Xinyang Journal of Agricultural College, journal of Xinyang Agricultural College] CUI Shu-li Lessons College English audio-visual methods of teaching and

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Krashen’s theory of second language acquisition11 is generally ignored because it is claimed that “it will not work with Chinese students.”12 Truth is that Chinese teachers of English rejected the communicative teaching methodology due to their own poor English skills.13 Consequently, China continues with a 25 year old “talk and chalk - rote memorization for test regurgitation” methodology that has failed to produce college graduates capable of producing comprehensible oral or written English.14 English is taught in four separate and disconnected classes, i.e. intensive reading, comprehensive listening, extensive writing and oral conversation. Most, but not all, Chinese teachers of English spend the entire 90 minutes of scheduled class time reading from the assigned text or writing on the blackboard. There is no interaction, no question and answer. And then the class is over.

testing Analysis of Audio-lingual-video Teaching and Testing for College English [coal higher education Meitan Higher Education] Zhang Xuemei, ZHANG Xue-mei The number of English Language Teaching System in the role of audio-visual Lessons The Function of Digit Language Teaching System in English Visual-Aural-Speaking Course [laboratory science Laboratory Science] Chen Min, Han Guan clouds, high-vibration Talking about "common participatory approach" in English Teaching of Application of Working Together Teaching Method in Audio-oral Course for Higher Vocational English Teaching [Liaoning Higher Vocational Journal Liaoning Higher Vocational Technical Institute Journal] Kai Jiang Audio-visual teaching English Lessons On teaching of audiovisual and oral English course [Journal of Qiqihar University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition) Journal of Qiqihar University (Philosophy and Social Science Edition)] Yang Qing Anchored said audio-visual teaching methods in English Teaching of English Audiovisual and Speaking Teaching Based on Method of Anchored Instruction [Journal of Hunan University (Social Sciences) Journal of Hunan University of Technology (Social Science)] also Ling Liu Discourse discussion of the overall teaching and the integration of the use of teaching - teaching college English reading and writing a new attempt A Blending Use of "Textual Teaching and Discussion-Oriented Teaching" - A New Trial in the Instruction of Comprehensive College English Course [Hengyang Teachers College Journal of the Journal Hengyang Normal University] Zhiqi English language teaching system in the audio-visual teaching that the psychological effect of Psychological Effect Produced by Language Teaching System in English Visual-Aural-Oral Teaching [laboratory science Laboratory Science] Chen Min, Han Guan-yun Comprehensive audio-visual said English teaching reform of Studies in the Reform of Student English Audio, Visual, Oral Teaching Method [Jiangxi education and scientific research, Jiangxi Educational Research] parawing, Duan Rong Audio-visual said - to develop the ability to re-English heard that the first lesson Audiovisual Oral Course The Important Course in Cultivating Students' Oral Ability [Journal of Anhui Industrial University (Social Sciences) Journal of Anhui University of Technology (Social Sciences Edition)] Shih Chi-yu English heard that the use of multimedia-assisted teaching APPLICATION OF MULTI MEDIA ASSISTED AURAL AND ORAL ENGLISH TEACHING [Journal of Mudanjiang Teachers College (Philosophy and Social Science Edition) Journal of Mudanjiang Teachers College (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition)] Qu Ying-mei, Wang Guohua On the audio-visual College English Teaching On Polytechnic College's Visual-audio-oral English Teaching [Journal of Taiyuan University Journal of Taiyuan University] Zhuqin Said senior audio-visual teaching reform – “joint participation” teaching mode “Working Together”: A Newlydeveloped Method of Teaching and Learning for the Visual-audio-oral Course in the New Century [Foreign Language Teaching Foreign Language Education] Wang Chen-ping Multi-media that the teaching of Discussion on Multimedia Audio-Video-Spoken Teaching [Journal of Changchun Normal College (Natural Science) Journal of Changchun Normal University (Natural Science)] Xia Cao 11 Krashen, Stephen (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Pergamon Press Inc. 12 This comment has been uttered by many foreign and Chinese English teachers, most of whom admitted to having never read Krashen’s works on second language acquisition. 13 Mingjun Lu (2007), ELT in China and a “China English” Model www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/courses/ eng6365-lu.htm 14 Qiang/Wolff (2007) EFL/ESL Teaching in China: Questions – Questions – Questions, Ch. 8, Frontiers in Higher Education, Nova Science Publications

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Generally speaking, there is not even a token attempt at English acquisition.15 There is no English speaking environment, no English library16, and no English immersion.17 English speaking ability is not even a job requirement for Chinese teachers of English in many college Foreign Language or English Departments throughout China.18 In 2002 Dr. Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff began developing a Holistic English acquisition program for Chinese English students.19 The first, full-scale implementation of this Holistic approach to English acquisition was implemented at Xinyang Agricultural College in the spring semester of 2007.20 This program does not invent any new theory or technology, it simply reconfigures existing theory, technology and resources to better serve the Chinese English learner with English acquisition. The Holistic approach to English acquisition was so popular with the students and successful academically, the Xinyang Agricultural College curriculum committee decided to extend the program into the next academic year (2007-2008). The College administration made a commitment of facilities to overcome some of the difficulties initially experienced in implementing the Holistic English Program. A multi-media room, properly appointed and equipped, was assigned for the exclusive use of the English Department21, thus eliminating scheduling conflicts and providing real accountability for equipment maintenance.22 The multi-media room was utilized to show the assigned movies every Tuesday and Wednesday evening with attendance restricted to class members showing their assigned workbooks for admission. Every Friday evening an English movie was shown to anyone desiring to watch, subject to the 300 seat limitation. 23 Third year students were encouraged to participate as they have no oral English class. The “Friday Night at the Movies” was so successful that this free choice movie opportunity was extended into a four night schedule. Thursday night became “Disney Night” Friday night became “Ladies

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15

The banner strung across the building entrance welcoming the freshmen English majors was 100% Chinese, not even bi-lingual. The entire freshmen English majors’ orientation was done exclusively in Chinese. From this humble beginning emerges a hostile English speaking environment that permeates the Foreign Languages Department. 16 English majors constitute 10% of the College community but there isn’t even a single English book in the College library. Most of the English Department staff can’t communicate in English and most of the teachers teach in Chinese. Department meetings and written communications are 100% Mandarin. 17 Qiang/Wolff (2008), China EFL: Why Chinese Universities Do Not Provide an English Speaking Environment, Journal of Education Research, Nova Science Publishers 18 4 out of 5 Chinese teachers of English teach in Chinese instead of teaching in the target language, English. When confronted, most did not even know what “target language” meant. 19 Qiang/Teng/Wolff (4/07), “China EFL: The Use of Movies to Teach English” English Today, Vol. 23 No. 2 Cambridge University Press. 20 Qiang/Teng/Wolff, (2007) “China EFL: A New Paradigm”, (2008) Education in China, Nova Science Publications) 21 Repeated attempts to inspect the room and equipment were rebuffed until the first day of classes on September 10, 2007. Only then was it discovered that there was no multi-media equipment in the assigned room. Another multi-media room was assigned but the computer required re-installation of the software before being operational. The school failed to inspect, test and repair for three months and delayed until the first day of classes on September 10, 2007. 22 The College has 9 multi-media classrooms. During the first semester of the program, eight had no window curtains and the equipment was in disrepair. The ninth classroom sound system broke down regularly and the technician assigned to the equipment was rarely available. This caused five movie class cancellations and the subsequent cancellation of the next week’s discussion classes. This was a major cause of frustration both for the teachers and the students. 23 The old multi-media equipment broke down on the 8th week of the semester and became completely inoperative on the 10th week of the semester.

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Night” with romance and general interest movies.24 Saturday night became “Men’s Night” with action movies.25 Sunday night became “Classics Night”26. (Due to poor reception of “Classics Night” it was converted to “Comedy Night.”)27 And Monday night became “Sports Night”.28 A total of 2,280 hours of free choice movies were provided during the semester through this scheduled video library. The college library should provide this service as do most modern western libraries. A classroom was designated exclusively for English conversation classes and was configured appropriately, removing the theater style seating.29 The desks were configured in two U shaped rows with the rear row elevated 40 cn. to facilitate better eye contact amongst more students. All Chinese language input was removed from the room. Class size was limited to a maximum of 40 students.30 A hot water filtration machine was installed. Several green plants were added. The teaching area in the center of the U was carpeted. A large television was configured to receive BBC, CNN and CCTV Channel 9 (International English) for free choice evening viewing between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. daily.31 A small English library was provided for free choice evening reading. Every consideration was given to creating a friendly English acquisition environment. The Holistic English Workbooks underwent revision in response to the students’ answers to an end of semester questionnaire. (See Appendix F.) Each workbook contains eight chapters, one movie constituting one chapter. This fits an 18 week academic semester while allowing the first week for course introduction and the last week for final examination review. The previously proven, reduced efficacy of classes consisting of more than forty students resulted in a fundamental Foreign Languages Department policy change of limiting class size to a maximum of 40 students.32 A fundamental class scheduling change was also required.

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24

Cinderella Story, Flicka, Prince and Me, Maid in Manhattan, Beyond Borders, Ray, Born into Brothels, Mississippi Burning, Memoirs of a Geisha, Around the World in 80 Days, Naked Gun, Yours, Mine, Ours, Crocodile Dundee I, II, III, Syriana, Maria Full of Grace, Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, David, Titanic, Great Race. 25 Backdraft, Rambo I, II and III, Money Train, Night Crossing, Top Gun, Tango and Cash, Flight 93, Troy, The Marine, Steven Segal martial arts, The Terminator, The Killing Fields. 26 From Here to Eternity, On the Waterfront, GiGi, American In Paris, The Greatest Show on Earth, West Side, Story, The Apartment, Casablanca, Twelve Angry Men, About Eve, Hamlet, All the King’s Men, Inherit the Wind, Going My Way, Lost Weekend, Best Years of Our Lives 27 Police Academy, Naked Gun, Jim Carey movies, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Blazing Saddles, Mrs. Doubtfire 28 Rocky–VI, Million Dollar Baby, White Men Can’t Jump, Love and Basketball, Cool Runnings, Sea Biscuit, Longest Yard, Gridiron, Bend It Like Beckham, Bad News Bears, Field of Dreams, A League of Their Own, Caddyshack 29 There are special sound labs for listening comprehension and computer labs for intensive reading but totally unsuitable classrooms, with theater style seating and horrible acoustics are pressed into service for conversation classes. The regular classrooms had fans but no blades. After the blades were finally attached, the fans still did not work due to faulty switches that were not checked when the blades were finally attached and were not fixed prior to the hot summer. 30 A maximum of 20 students per class is the optimum model but economically unfeasible at a Chinese university. Even limiting each class to 40 students required coordination with the school admissions office, school registrar and the school budget office. 31 By the sixth week of the semester the students were questioning when the TV would arrive. When it was disclosed that it was in the Dean’s hands, the students responded, “Then it is only a dream. We know him.” The promised TV did not appear during the entire semester. 32 When classes of 42 to 56 students appeared, it was suggested that the excess students simply bring their own additional stools and squeeze into the new Holistic English Lab. This approach completely ignored the Holistic English Lab design limitation and purpose. It also ignored the educational value in limiting class size to a maximum of 40 students. A single overflow class had to be established for all students in excess of 40.

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Previously all oral English classes were conducted in the various homerooms assigned to each class. With the advent of the Holistic English Lab, all oral English classes were scheduled for the Holistic English Lab.

THE COLLEGE

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“There is less to fear from outside competition than from inside inefficiency, discourtesy and bad service.”

Xinyang Agricultural College is a typical third-tier three-year college located in Xinyang City, Henan Province, PRC.33 The college is a school of last opportunity for students who fail to achieve a sufficient score on the college entrance examination to enter a mainstream fouryear college. This is not a college to which anyone aspires to attend. The college administration and staff patronize the student body and treat them like disposable fungible goods. The college was founded in 1910, closed during the Cultural Revolution and re-opened in the 1980s. The college is located in one of China’s premier tea-growing regions, which is also one of China’s most poverty stricken areas. As with all public universities and colleges, Xinyang Agricultural College labors under a dual administrative system. Every academic administrator, leader, Dean or department head has an assigned Communist Party superior who must approve of all administrative and academic decisions as being consistent with China’s Communist Party goals and objectives. Academic excellence takes a back seat to political expediency. Many English majors have such a heavy curriculum, loaded with political theory and Party propaganda, that they only have two semesters of oral English during their entire college education. Xinyang Agricultural College also suffers from the same heavy bank debt service obligations as articulated in the 3/13/07 China Daily article, “Debt warning for universities.”34 This has resulted in far too high a student/teacher ratio of 150/1. An English class of 40 students in 2002 has ballooned to a class of 160 students in 2006. There is simply not enough money35 to hire a sufficient number of teachers and even if the funds were available, there is a distinct shortage of qualified and experienced teachers. Colleges and universities throughout mainland China must develop a new management strategy that increases economic efficiency while simultaneously improving the quality of the educational product being delivered to the student/consumer. In June 2008, Xinyang Agricultural College graduated 356 English majors. Of these, 47 qualified to take the national examination for further college education. Of these 47, “maybe 10 passed the examination and were allowed to continue with their education. By any standard, these results are a disaster and demand education reform. This is just another normal year for this college and hundreds like it throughout China. This does not bode well for 33 34 35

Qiang/Wolff (2003) Can You Get a First-Class Education in a Third-Tier College in China?, Ch.2, Progress in Education, Nova Science Publications Mainland Chinese universities have borrowed heavily to finance construction of new building and campuses to house the ballooning student enrollment. The debt service is bankrupting the universities. The Chinese teaching staff worked with deferred salary for two semesters while the administrators regularly received their salary.

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development of a better-off, harmonious society and these disillusioned students may prove to be the foot soldiers in China’s next revolution.36

THE FACULTY "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil." —Confucius

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The Foreign Languages Department at Xinyang Agricultural College has 41 staff, four of whom have sufficient English proficiency to teach in the target language, English. The remainder of the staff cannot teach in English or carry on an English conversation outside the classroom. Two of these latter people have been with the department in excess of five years, but have done nothing to improve their own English output. Due to a severe shortage of qualified teachers, people who have studied English for 16 years, but cannot produce English, are hired to teach English. This fact, standing alone, is sufficient to warrant a fundamental shift in the way English is taught in China, particularly at the Normal universities where future teachers are enrolled. There is neither incentive nor disincentive (penalty) program in place to encourage the teachers to improve their own English production. Teachers who refuse to improve their own English production are teaching students to improve their English production. This is so hypocritical. It is reminiscent of a drunken father holding a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other, lecturing his son on the evils of drinking and smoking. There is no continuing education program for the teachers. Many offers have been made and lauded, but no action taken. The one time a program was scheduled, the party secretary decided it was more important for the teachers to study a report from the CCP 17th National Congress.

THE STUDENTS The student community at Xinyang Agricultural College consists primarily of young adults from economically disadvantaged farm and peasant families hailing from economically depressed and disadvantaged rural communities throughout Central China37. To suggest that these students do not have many of the advantages or worldview of college students in China’s rich coastal cities - would be a gross understatement. Many of the students come through the Technical/Vocational Middle School program as opposed to the traditional Middle School program. Hence their admission scores are extremely low. The students are fully aware and appreciative of their circumstances in attending this 3rd tier school of last opportunity. Most are not English majors by choice but were assigned to be English majors because they were deemed unfit for any other major. To some students, their desperate situation motivates them to excel; while others are disappointed, discouraged and 36

These hinterland colleges handing out their fake certificates for a fake education may prove to be the breeding ground for future social unrest in China. 37 Henan Province, Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province

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even angry, and simply give up on themselves and continue to be unmotivated underachievers. The students range in age from 19–23. Psychologically and socially they are not as developed as their Western counterparts. They can best be compared to US junior high school students. The school administration addresses them as “boys” and “girls.” This condescending attitude emanates from staff that are themselves cut from the same mold, unhappy, disappointed and even angry that they ended up teaching at a 3rd tier college. There is a 10:00 p.m. curfew in the campus dormitories for these young adults and electrical power is cut off at 11:00 p.m. Students from different Provinces are admitted to different majors with diverse entrance examination scores. Some students choose their major while others are assigned by the government and have no choice. These two factors, independently, and particularly in combination, create a difficult mix of students to teach. English capability levels are diverse, ranging from mere beginner to expert. Intrinsic motivation may be very high or completely lacking. Students are assigned to classes based upon major and not English capability or motivation. In the fall of 2007 a new group of students was admitted into a new International Program. The International Program allows those students without even minimal academic qualifications to enter the lowest 3rd tier college to receive a “higher education” if their parents are able to pay a financial premium. There is no specially designed curriculum for these special needs students.38 Graduates of the Xinyang Agriculture College English Department suffer from the same pedagogy and methodology that has generally failed China for the past 25 years. The graduates are functionally illiterate in that they have studied English for 16 years but are unable to speak or write coherently, at even a basic level. They are required to learn English through four independent and disconnected courses, i.e. intensive reading, comprehensive listening, extensive writing and oral English.. The teaching methodology is rote memorization of “set phrases” through talk and chalk. There is no English speaking environment, no target language immersion or acquisition.39

THE ORAL ENGLISH CURRICULUM The traditional oral English curriculum provides oral English classes for Applied English freshmen, Business English freshmen, Tourism English freshmen, and freshmen who are nonEnglish majors. Sophomore non-English majors and Applied English majors have no oral English class. There are no oral English classes for any third year students. One of the 38

In the fall of 2007 40 International students were placed into the Holistic English Freshmen I program while 80 were placed into a traditional oral English class and were taught set phrases by a Chinese teacher of English. The following term, all International students were placed into the Holistic English Freshmen II program. The 40 students who had the requisite Holistic English Freshmen I course progressed normally and on a par with the regular college students. However, the 80 students who had not taken the requisite Holistic English Freshmen I program were lost and gained little discernable benefit from the Holistic English Freshmen II program, 39 English majors constitute 10% of the College community but there isn’t even a single English book in the College library. Most of the English Department staff can’t communicate in English and most of the teachers teach in Chinese. Department meetings and written communications are 100% Mandarin.

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maxims of second language acquisition is that if the second language is not used consistently, it will be lost. (Use it or lose it!) No matter what the degree of English acquisition by the freshmen and limited sophomores, by the time they graduate they have reverted to functional illiteracy in oral English production. The entire oral English program raises serious academic and economic questions that require serious analysis and probably major change.

THE HOLISTIC ENGLISH PROGRAM

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“Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.” —Confucius

Throughout China, English is taught in four separate and disjointed classes, Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking. There is no link or common subject matter between the classes. The foreign teacher is retained, primarily, to handle the oral class to force40 speech production by chatting with the students. (Yes there are exceptions but we are speaking to the overall national situation at all levels of higher education throughout China. Yes, some foreigners do teach other than oral English. Yes, some foreigners are given teaching materials for oral English. But those are the exceptions and they are few.) The Holistic English Program replaces oral English learning with conversation English experience; replaces teachers with facilitators; replaces set phrase or speech pattern memorization with language acquisition; develops self-confidence, intrinsic motivation and develops autonomous learners and creative thinkers; replaces graduates who are unable to produce comprehensible English with those who can. There are Chinese beliefs that you learn English just like you learn any other subject; if you can speak English you can teach English; foreigners can just chat with Chinese students to improve the Chinese' spoken English; English can be taught by Chinese speaking Chinese; and Chinese students will improve their oral English if forced to speak with a foreigner.41 Holistic English is simply taking one subject matter and using it for reading, listening, writing and voluntary42 speaking in one single class. It emphasizes comprehensible input through very entertaining movies, in a friendly English speaking environment. It is all about language acquisition rather than language learning. It emphasizes input rather than output. Watching dictioned movies is different from the audio-lingual method because the subtitles enable the students to read and comprehend the movie and the story of the movie makes learning a pleasurable entertainment which makes implicit learning or incidental learning of the vocabulary possible. This is a combination of both explicit learning and implicit learning or intentional learning and incidental learning, or conscious learning and unconscious learning.

40

Forced output raises the affective filter and actually prevents language acquisition. Krashen (2004) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions. 41 The Comprehension Hypothesis claims that we acquire language by input, not by output, a claim is supported by studies showing no increase in acquisition with more output (Krashen, 2002b). Studies show, however, consistent increases in acquisition with more input. 42 Comprehensible input-based methods encourage speaking but do not force it. Students are not called on; rather, participation is voluntary.

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It also provides free choice reading material and English TV for leisure time activities in the evening. Every attempt is made to prompt the English mental lexicon within a dominant Chinese environment. Everything possible is done to create a non-academic, non-performance based, non-test oriented atmosphere within in the classroom setting. Students speak when they are ready, not on command. Forced output is actually very harmful.43 One way to relax the classroom atmosphere is to have plants; carpet, curtains, wall pictures, as opposed to Chinese proverbs in Chinese, which prompt the Chinese mental lexicon rather than the target English mental lexicon; water machine, anything that takes the edge off and makes the room feel more like home. There is no lectern as that is a major barrier to a friendly environment.44 It has been scientifically proven that the above formula works and students do acquire English with output capabilities.45 25 years of recent Chinese educational history proves that language learning does not produce students with output capabilities. That is why so many Chinese try to go abroad to improve their English. The Holistic English Program is a comprehensive, but remedial, "Holistic" approach to English acquisition46 including observation, listening, reading, writing, debate, conversation and Internet research, all in one course. Each semester the course revolves around 8 full feature commercial Hollywood entertainment movies. The freshmen course movies are primarily cross-cultural in nature while the sophomore course is exclusively composed of movies with business content, theme or moral.47

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43

Forced output raises the affective filter and actually prevents language acquisition. Krashen (2004) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions. “There are five types of output namely reading out aloud, pattern drills, memorized matters, story retelling, and free production or communicative output. If students are forced to produce output which they are not linguistically ready for, it will only encourage them to produce deviant English or Chinglish which fossilizes if they cannot receive timely corrective feedback, which usually is the case. They stopped learning as soon as their pidgin English can manage a conversation. They use communicative strategies like avoidance, simplification, overgeneralization to express their ideas both in oral as well as written production. Therefore, same as giving students the optimal input is crucial for acquisition to take place, eliciting optimal output is also essential to guarantee acquisition. This does not mean to exclude free production altogether. It only means that at the initial stage of learning, students should learn to observe how words and phrases they learned from textbook are idiomatically used in all their complexity and contexts in the movies before or while applying them freely to their own free output. This is like building a three-floor house. You do not build the third floor without building the first two. Free production is like building the third floor. Learning the vocabulary from a dictionary and textbook is preparing students for understanding movies and reading materials. Only when the learner encounters a word frequently in different contexts, can he or she convert the declarative knowledge of a term into procedural knowledge and then later on into automatic ability. Thereafter, pattern drills like making up sentences with words and phrases is a necessary step to drill the students in how to use the words properly.” Niu Qiang (2001) “Types of Output and the Elicitation of Optimal Output”, Teaching English in China. Vol.24 No.1 44 Suggestopedia, one of the eight teaching methodologies, is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist educator Georgi Lozanov who describes it as a science … concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or nonconscious influences, that human beings are constantly responding to. Suggestopedia optimizes learning. The most conspicuous characteristics of Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the classroom, the use of music, and the authoritative behavior of the teacher. Memorization in learning by the suggestopedic method seems to be accelerated 25 times over that in traditional methods. ( Richards, J.C and Rodgers, T.S, 1986:142 ) Richards, J.C and Rodgers, T.S, (1986) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. 45 Krashen, Stephen (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Pergamon Press Inc. 46 The emphasis is on language acquisition not language learning 47 There was opposition to the Freshmen II Workbook due to the inclusion of medical drawings of a breast and ovaries, in conjunction with the advance vocabulary taken from the movie Supersize Me. The drawings were deemed inappropriate material for college students.

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The underlying educational philosophy is that the best way to truly improve a student’s second language acquisition is through the student’s reading, listening, writing and speaking more English, in a holistic manner. There is no shortcut. This course is also intended to provide timeless business conversation issues with current application in China. There are computer assisted reading and vocabulary activities for the students to complete before watching the movie. The primary purpose of the exercises before watching the movie is to increase the student’s comprehension of the movie, i.e. Krashen’s “comprehensible input” theory. There are no academic exercises while watching the movie, thus creating Krashen’s “friendly environment” through the absence of academic rigors. Students are encouraged to bring drinks and snacks, relax, and enjoy the movie. The movies are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly, educational. They may be played in any order as one does not build upon another. To enhance the educational value of the movies and hence improve English acquisition and business knowledge, the movies must be presented within a friendly entertainment atmosphere instead of within the institutional strictures of a rigorous academic assignment. The movies should be shown in a downtown movie theater atmosphere. Stopping the movie for discussion, analysis, or to memorize chunks of language, is totally inappropriate, as is showing the movie in segments. Such activities are techniques of English teaching, not English acquisition. After watching the movie there are writing assignments; Internet research assignments that will draw the student’s attention to current issues in China related to the moral of the movie; and suggested topics for conversation or debate. The exercises after watching the movie are intended to involve the student in an in-depth analysis of the moral of the movie and its current relevance in China, and thus prepare the student for the subsequent conversation or debate regarding the movie. This will facilitate language acquisition and output. The main objective of this course is to take the students out of the language-learning realm and place them into a language acquisition mode and increase language output.48 The goals are to create self-confidence, intrinsic motivation and develop autonomous learning strategies. This course is a departure from the "talk and chalk" teaching methodology where the students are required to "memorize and regurgitate" for a test oriented course. There is simply nothing to memorize. At the same time, the course will expand the students’ worldview and business knowledge as well as help them develop a personal moral base. Again, it bears repeating, this is not a film appreciation class. The movies are not the subject of any study, they are simply comprehensible input. The idea of “Holistic Approach” is borrowed from psychology and has been applied to many fields other than linguistics. Holistic approach in language teaching means to treat what is to be learned as a whole. This course is holistic on three levels: First, along with the movies, the five skills of language are not presented in isolation, but are integrated in one course; Second, due to the nature of movies, English is not broken down into small units, rather the input is presented in all its complexity, which enables the learner to acquire the real There was opposition to the Business I and Business II Workbooks due to inclusion of the movies Disclosure and North Country. Sexual harassment and sexual discrimination were deemed inappropriate subjects for college students. 48 Subconscious acquisition, not conscious learning.

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meaning and use of the words learned in isolation Third, the most important innovation of this course is the idea of introducing international business culture by way of movies. The content of the movies provides both a global view of the business world and the underlying culture differences between the east and the west. In addition, moral and personality essentials towards success and failures, gains and loss are an indispensable part of each movie, which will help to build up the university students’ character and prepare them for possible challenges in their future life. It achieves what we call “quality education” in the real sense. Last but not least, this course is a very example of the famous Chinese saying “combine education with recreation”. The movies will not only strongly motivate the students so as to develop a positive attitude towards classroom learning, but also effectively teach them how to learn on their own outside the classroom, which we believe is the solution of English learning in the end. The movies replace traditional “oral” or “conversation” textbooks that contain old, boring and irrelevant stories or “set phrases” to be memorized through role playing and game playing; resources that evoke constant criticism from students and foreign teachers alike. The movies constitute comprehensible input that is delivered in a low-anxiety situation. They are real messages of real interest. Watching English movies helps the learner to convert their receptive knowledge into productive ability by drawing their attention to how words, expressions are actually used in real context of situation instead of context of text. While watching, unconscious memory is also working, same as listening to the same melody repeatedly enables one to hum the tune without effort. The Chinese students are poor at acquiring the English pronunciation, especially the intonation. Owing to the fact that Chinese belongs to a different language family, namely, the Sino-Tibetan language family. But by exposing to English in great quantity by various native speakers of English, the students imitated and acquired the English accent quite naturally and easily. Good pronunciation is conducive to both good comprehension and production in the English language for Chinese students. Idiomatic conversational English, academic English, business English, conference English, English for special purposes like legal English, zoological English, astronautic English, etc., can all be learned through watching TV Series on various subjects, depending on the learner's own interest and choice of profession. Both visual and audio channels are brought into full play cognitively, motivation and interact are increased to the highest level psychologically; modules for both listening and reading are activated neurologically or biologically, and by dubbing, even the pathway of speaking is smoothed which helps greatly to prepare students for later or future free production. Various ways to express the same meaning become possible, and the same word or phrase can be encountered in all its complexity in various situations. Therefore, if proper learning strategies on how to watch English movies are communicated to the student, for instance, by telling them to give intentional attention to the target term, then not only the different meanings of the same term can be picked up, but also, repeated encounters of the same term enhances the memory and shortens the incubation period from comprehension to production. In this way, the three factors influencing memory,(frequency effect, recency effect, saliency effect) will guarantee the student to learn English expressions so well that they can pass from controlled forced output to automatic natural production without too much effort.

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It would be beneficial to provide the students with access to computer lab or sound lab facilities where the movies can be watched repeatedly. A theory that is widely accepted and is true in both L1 and L2 acquisition is that incidental vocabulary learning is a gradual process in which gains are made in small increments with repeated encounters needed to gain full knowledge of a word. It was found that vocabulary gains increased as the number of times learners met words in context increased. Learners who met words 10 times produced superior scores to those who met words only twice. However, no significant results were found between two and six encounters and six and ten encounters. The correlation between the number of times each word occurred in the book and the relative learning gains was found to be 0.34, which confirms that repetition affected learning (Stuart Webb, 2007). It is safe to say that six to ten encounters are more likely to promote receptive knowledge of known words to productive knowledge of words than two or three encounters. While watching movies makes many encounters possible within a short time which enables the recency effect, frequency effect and saliency effect to take place in terms of the functions of memory. The effect of repeated watching with intervals is exponential.49 Availability of the movies on the university intranet is essential. This course should not be confused with a “film appreciation” class that studies the film for creation, composition and value. This new paradigm is completely different from the academic pursuit of studying films. The workbooks cannot be adapted to a film appreciation class. Nor is this a CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) course. The computer is only one tool in the integrated use of modern technology. This is truly a Holistic English course. The movies should be played in one sitting. They should not be stopped for analysis, discussion or memorization of chunks of language; nor showed in segments. This course will promote learner autonomy, creative thinking, enhanced reading skills, enhanced listening skills, enhanced writing skills and increased voluntary oral communications. Wang Shugua, President of Harbin Institute of Technology is quoted as saying “… university education has robbed students of their originality. The education system, particularly the higher education system, badly needs reform.” A famous Chinese proverb provides: If you give a person a fish, he can eat for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, he can feed himself all of his life. Tao Xingzhi, the famous modern educationist, once said: The best education is to make teachers less needed. This statement concisely generalized the purpose of education is to train learners to study and work independently. In other words, the end-product of education is an independent learner (McDevitt 1997); therefore the ultimate goal of the teacher should be to convert students from passive language learners into independent and autonomous learners and acquirers. The future society will be a world of “survival of the fittest”. People will be required to be independent, lifelong and selfdeveloped learners so as to meet the needs of the society. In education, we should attach great importance to teaching a person the skills and knowledge which will enable him to survive independently throughout his life. English teaching, likewise, is no exception to this general proposition. The task of English teaching is not merely to teach a foreign language, but to teach learners how to learn. Instead of making the student master foreign language skills, English 49

Stuart Webb, 2007. “The effects of repetition on vocabulary learning” in Applied Linguistics. Vol. 28, No 1.

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teaching should help learners to obtain English learning strategies and make them become autonomous lifelong learners. English language teaching has its own special and unique features. It is somewhat different from other subjects such as mathematics, physics or geology. With several formulae, one can work out mathematic or physic problems, whereas mastering some grammar and vocabulary will not enable the learner to speak English like a native speaker. What’s more, if the learner does not continue his autonomous language learning after graduation, fossilization will occur. This means the learner will not maintain his acquired or learned level of English proficiency. Learner autonomy (LA) can be viewed from several aspects. From the macroscopic perspective, we should create an ideal learner autonomy environment. This concerns several aspects, such as school administration, teaching methodologies, teaching materials, etc. And from the microscopic perspective, we should focus on the learner. Teaching linguistic knowledge only, will not produce an autonomous and lifelong learner. To help the learner develop learning strategies paves their way to LA. If the learner masters effective learning strategies, the learner can get twofold results with half the effort. Learning strategy can help the learner improve learning efficiency, promote independent learning during the learning process, motivate the learner, and arouse interest in learning. After mastering learning strategies, the learner can continue self-education, even after graduation. This will prevent fossilization to occur after they leave university. The kinds of learner autonomy mentioned above are not ideal autonomy. We must understand that no autonomous learning is actually purely or truly autonomous. The learning responsibility is largely on the learner’s shoulders, but its actualization requires the joint efforts of both the teacher and the society. To reach the objective of learner autonomy, society must create an ideal environment. Only under the efforts of proper school administration, teaching methodologies, teaching materials and the learner, can an ideal autonomous learning environment come into existence. Since the ultimate goal of English teaching is communication, English teaching should equip learners with a solid foundation of the language in order to communicate with native speakers freely and naturally, without great difficulty. In recent years, researchers have become increasingly convinced that learner autonomy and learning strategies are more important than ever in second language acquisition (SLA). Although there have recently been many encouraging findings discovered in domestic and overseas related fields, teachers should not apply them mechanically. Instead, teachers should combine these findings with the characteristics of Chinese students; help them to create an autonomous learning environment in accordance with present resources and integrate learning strategies into their teaching, and train the learner to be a life-long learner. It is generally agreed that the solution to English language teaching (ELT) in China is for learners to achieve learner autonomy, which means that the learner is taught the ways to get sufficient input outside the classroom. Modern technology makes that possible. Teaching with movies enables a native speaker to introduce a totally different genre or region of the English language to the Chinese students. The learner should have many questions in mind after watching the movie. They can bring these to the classroom and ask the teacher to explain and discuss among themselves. Therefore, the choice of movies is critical. They must be interesting, exciting and relevant. The only solution to come to terms with English globalization for China is to shorten the time for English formal education, which means we have to avail our students of the modern

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technology and information era to explore input outside the classroom. China is known for its long history in education and the idea of learner autonomy is nothing new as revealed in the old saying “If you give one a fish, he can have it for only one day; but if you teach him how to fish, he can have it for life”. This educational principle has not been incorporated into the process of English education due to various reasons. And now it is time to bring our teachers and trainers of English at various levels to the awareness of this teaching principle, that is, to teach the students how to teach themselves in addition to teach them grammar and vocabulary. What may be common sense to many may not be common sense to the students and even many teachers. Every teacher has his or her own ways of learning the English language, but their methods are not based on a systematic study of the psycholinguistic and SLA theories. Therefore, what the linguists should do now is to introduce the teaching and learning strategies which are a combination of both theory and practice, rather than a series of experience or intuitions. A summary of such strategies can help the Chinese teacher to be a much better learner of English so as to be a more effective and adequate teacher of English in class. How to optimize and maximize output from limited input is a question which will never have an ultimate answer because we can always add more to this field of inquiry with the new findings in the neurological and cognitive sciences. But this ever growing cross-disciplinary research makes the quest for answers in one field even more exhilarating because of the light it may throw on other science and social science disciplines. We may never find the answer to how our brain works but the unknown nature of the subject makes the exploration for answers more satisfying than the answer itself.

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THE HOLISTIC ENGLISH WORKBOOKS Formulation of the Holistic English Workbook series began in 2002 with the showing of hundreds of movies to more than 5,000 Chinese students50 over the next five years. (See Appendix I for a complete list of the Holistic English Workbook series.) When the students gave a movie a standing ovation, the movie was considered seriously for inclusion in a workbook. Movies that received lukewarm or negative student responses were discarded. Movies that are of no interest or boring militate against second language acquisition. Once the movies were selected for inclusion in a workbook, they were shown again and the students were asked to identify new words and phrases or words and phrases they did not understand in the context of the movie. When more than 30% of the students identified a word or phrase as troublesome, the word or phrase was included in the new vocabulary section of the workbook. Pre-teaching of the movie vocabulary increases the comprehensibility of the movie. Each original workbook contains eight movies, each movie constituting a separate chapter. This fits an 18 week university semester. In the first part of each chapter the students read a commercial movie review and acquaint themselves with the new vocabulary taken 50

The movies were shown to students from top tier, second-tier universities, third-tier colleges, business institutes and joint venture programs from Harbin to Urumqi, Shanghai to Wuhan.

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from the movie. Students are asked to use the Internet to research definitions because most students have British English dictionaries that do not contain slang or phrases and most, but not all, of the movies are American English. Further, the students need to learn that the Internet is useful for something other than just playing computer games. Then the students watch the movie in a non-academic setting, a friendly environment, just like going downtown to the movie theater. Eating and drinking is allowed and teacher presence is discouraged. After watching the movie there are supplemental reading materials or Internet research assignments designed to draw the students’ attention to the theme or moral of the movie in a Chinese context. The articles, whenever possible, draw from Chinese newspapers written in English. Then there are writing assignments. Short questions to be answered from the cumulative knowledge acquired from the movie and supplemental reading assignments. This not only serves as writing practice, it also reinforces what the students gained from the movie and further prepares them for the discussion part of the class. The workbooks are specifically designed to better prepare the students for their national English examinations (TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6) and to create graduates who can actually produce comprehensible oral and written English. Currently, Chinese students from the best Chinese universities learn English for 16 years, pass their National English exams, but are unable to communicate in oral or written English. English is a tool for communication. Learning English for 16 years without acquiring the ability to communicate in English is a catastrophic waste of time, a monumental waste of money and fails to prepare the students to make their most effective contribution to a better off and harmonious Chinese society. Although the Holistic English workbooks were created by and for the students, the effectiveness still depends upon the students themselves. Students, who place the workbook under their pillow at night to assimilate the contents while they sleep, will not make any improvement in their English competency. The workbooks are designed to be utilized by English majors and non-English majors alike, without regard for individual English competency. The workbooks are a “one size fits all” tool to be utilized by all Chinese students enrolled in a college or university, anywhere in China. This point is particularly important because students in Chinese colleges and universities are not segregated according to English competency levels. Each class is a mixture of beginners to well accomplished students. Classes are arranged by majors, not English competency. We recognize that the Holistic English Program is not a universal teaching paradigm for everyone. No such device exists. As the students’ evaluation charts herein confirm, there is still a small percentage of students who gain little or no benefit from the Holistic English Program. However, the percentage of students passing the National English examinations increases significantly and will be confirmed in a future report. And, the percentage of students who acquire the ability to actually communicate effectively in English also increases significantly, also the subject of a future report.

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COURSE SCHEDULING True educational reform requires that all option be on the table, including rethinking the traditional 45-minute class period. Transferring a daytime class of a combined 90 minutes to an evening class of 180 minutes is the most troubling reform to be accepted by Chinese university administrators. Actual class scheduling is not affected. The classes are merely combined and transferred to an evening time slot in a mufti-media room to facilitate one showing of the movie to many combined classes. The empty daytime classroom is troubling for many administrators, as is the students enjoying an evening movie as apposed to having a live foreign teacher making a presentation. As stated elsewhere, language acquisition occurs when there is comprehensible input in a friendly environment and that means understandable movies in a non-academic setting. All movies were shown at night, beginning at 6:30 p.m.,51 due to their length extending beyond the two-period day time class schedule.52 During the week that the sophomores were watching a movie, the freshmen were engaged in the Holistic English Lab. The next week, the freshmen watched their movie and the sophomores were engaged in the Holistic English Lab. In this manner, the teacher facilitated oral discussions every week and was able to provide a discussion opportunity for up to 400 students each week or a total of 800 students during the semester. The economy of scale savings were discussed in a previous article.53 Although this alternative scheduling placed the students in the classroom an extra four hours during the semester, over and above the forty hour course requirement, no students were heard to complain. Freshmen spend the first week of the term learning the difference between language learning and language acquisition. The lesson material is found on the inside back cover of the Holistic English Workbooks. They are also instructed on how the workbooks should be used. They are then given one week to complete the “Before Watching the Movie” homework. In the second week the freshmen watch their first movie. The evening movie class is substituted for the daytime class. After watching the movie, the freshmen complete the “After Watching Movie” homework. In the third week the freshmen have their first conversation class. Sophomores have already had two semesters of Holistic English so in the first week of the term they can watch their first movie. Their first conversation class is in the second week while the freshmen are watching their first movie. This alternating schedule allows one foreign teacher to teach twice as many students over the term. If a school insists that the movie night not substitute for the daytime class, then one week the class can work on the “Before Watching Movie” assignment in class. Please note that the Holistic program will not work when students meet twice a week and it is not possible to utilize the Holistic workbooks for a film class. 51 52

Half way through the Fall 2007 semester the time was changed to 6:00 p.m. at the request of the students. During the first semester of the program, due to administrative indifference or ineptness the movies were scheduled to be shown on Thursday and Friday evenings, thus greatly reducing the time available for the students to complete the homework after watching the movie. Due to malfunctioning equipment and/or technician indifference, five times the movie was not shown until Sunday, completely eliminating any time for the students to complete the required homework prior to the discussion class.

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A third-year English major was selected to intern by assisting with the Holistic course.54 The intern was responsible for showing the evening movies and monitoring the weekend use of the sound lab. He was also responsible for assigning students to clean the facilities after use. Students were allowed to eat and drink during the movie in the multi-media room but not in the sound labs.55 The absence of a teacher reduced the academic atmosphere. It would be beneficial if the students had the opportunity to watch the movies as many time as it required for them to fully comprehend the content and to learn the vocabulary. Neither the college nor the community Internet bars were equipped to accommodate this educational need. Showing the movies in segments or chunks; stopping the movie for discussion or language memorization; and discussions about sections of the movie dialogue, are all tools of language learning and are alien to the Holistic English Program of English acquisition.

STUDENT EVALUATION The sophomore students have completed three semesters of Holistic English.56 The freshmen students have completed two semesters of Holistic English.57 The International students are unique in that one class has completed two semesters of Holistic English Freshmen I and Freshmen II while two classes have completed only Freshmen II, having not participated in Freshmen I.58

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53

Qiang/Teng/Wolff, (2007), “China EFL: A New Paradigm”, (2008) Education in China, Nova Science Publications 54 During the first term of program implementation, two Chinese teachers were assigned as co-teachers to assist the foreign expert by showing the movies at night and attending some of the discussion classes to learn how to teach the course. In actuality, only one co-teacher attended one sophomore class as an observer. Neither coteacher ever actually conducted any class. No Chinese teacher was prepared to teach this class the next semester thus negating a major reason for having co-teachers. In the ninth week of the term, one of the coteachers was terminated for dereliction of duty and unacceptable course content alteration. But both received their full salary as if they had performed their responsibilities well. During the second term of program implementation a second attempt was made to train a Chinese teacher of English to teach the Holistic English course. During the orientation, the teacher opined that we were making a mistake in not using Chinese subtitles when showing the movies. Then he objected to doing the workbook assignments, claiming that his English was good enough without doing the assignments. The last straw was when he decided not to attend the showing of the movie because he could watch it at home. Efforts to train this teacher were terminated. 55 Allowing food and drink helped to create a non-academic atmosphere, like going to a commercial theater. 56 Holistic English Freshmen I; Holistic Business English I; Holistic Business English II 57 Holistic English Freshmen I, Holistic English Freshmen II 58 In the fall of 2007, Xinyang Agricultural College initiated three International classes within the Foreign Languages Department. These are students who do not qualify academically but whose parents can afford to purchase an education for their children. One of the International classes was put on the Holistic English Freshmen I program. Two of the classes were taught by a Chinese teacher of English who taught primarily in Chinese using the traditional chalk and talk teaching methodology and using a typical set phrase memorization textbook. In the spring 2008 term all three international classes were put into the Holistic English Freshmen II program. Those International classes that had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I program were at a distinct disadvantage. They had not had the basic instruction in proper listening skills, proper homework skills, proper writing skills, or Internet research skills. They had not heard the orientation lecture and did not know of their obligation to read more English, write more English, listen to more English and speak more English outside the classroom. Plus the Freshmen II movies were too advanced in subject matter and language difficulty.

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At the end of each semester the students are given an anonymous59 questionnaire (See Appendix F) to ascertain their evaluation of the self-perceived benefits they have received from the Holistic English course. In the fall of ’06, the Class of ’06 consisted of 357 Applied English, Business English and Tourism English majors. However, due to curriculum requirements60, the Applied Linguistic English majors did not participate in the Holistic English program during the spring ’07 or fall ’08 semesters, which left 221 participating in the Holistic English program. These students were admitted to Xinyang Agricultural College with a low cumulative college entrance examination score of 350 and a high of 640. In the spring of ’07 the Class of ’07 consisted of 284 Applied English, Business English and Tourism English majors. These students were admitted to Xinyang Agricultural College with a low cumulative college entrance examination score of 443 and a high of 620. A new International program admitted 120 students who were unable to enter the school on scholastic merits but could afford to purchase a diploma. The students were asked to rank (from 1–10 with 10 being the greatest help) how much the course helped them to improve in ten areas. (vocabulary, reading skills, listening skills, writing skills, conversation skills (Chart 1), confidence, motivation, discipline (Chart 2), worldview and business knowledge (Chart 3). The students’ responses are summarized in the following charts.

Zhao Shixiong, Social Sciences Academic Press. In week 9 of the spring 2008 term, the students who had participated in Holistic English Freshmen I were able to make an extemporaneous, comprehensible three-minute oral presentation. The students who had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I class during the fall 2007 term were unable to produce more than ten English words when asked to make a three-minute presentation and a super majority of students could not utter a single English word. Teaching set phrases does not produce speakers of comprehensible English. The Holistic English program requires that students begin with Freshmen I and then progress through Freshmen II, Business I and then Business II. When the Holistic English program is utilized as designed, it produces students who can produce extemporaneous, comprehensible oral English output. 59 Anonymity protects the students from fear of retribution for honesty 60 Political education

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CLASS of ’06 Business English and Tourism English The progress of the Class of ’06, in the Holistic English Program, is charted over three semesters. The students participated in Holistic English Freshmen I in the spring ’06 term; Holistic English Business I in the fall ’07 term; and Holistic English Business II in the spring ’08 term. These students did not have an opportunity to participate in Holistic English Freshmen II. When comparing spring ’06 (most classes more than 40 students) with fall ’07 and spring ’08 (classes limited to 40 students) it becomes clear that class size effects benefits conferred and that the quality of education goes down as class size rises above 40 students.

Spring ’06 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION (classes larger than 50)*.

# of students

BE TE Class of '06 combined Vocabulary

50 40 30 20 10 0

Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

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Chart 1.

Fall ’07 Holistic English Business English I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION (classes limited to 40).

Chart 2.

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# of students

Spring ’08 Holistic English Business II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION (classes limited to 40) BE TE Class of '06 combined

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Vocabulary Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 3.

Spring ’06 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE (classes larger than 50) BE, TE,Class of '06

# of students

80 60

CONFIDENCE

40

MOTIVATION

20

DISCIPLINE

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Chart 4.

Fall ’07 H olistic Business English I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE (classes limited to 40) BE, TE,Class of '06

# of students

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10 = GREATEST HELP

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 5.

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10

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

Spring ’08 Holistic Business II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE (classes limited to 40)

# of students

BE, TE,Class of '06 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 6.

Spring ’06 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE (classes larger than 50) BE, TE, Class of '06

# of students

80 60 World View

40

Business

20 0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 7.

Fall ’07 Holistic Business English I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE (classes limited to 40)

Chart 8.

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Spring ’08 Holistic Business English II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE (classes limited to 40) BE, TE, Class of '06

# of students

80 60 World View

40

Business

20 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 9.

CLASS of ’07**Applied English, Business English and Tourism English The class of ’07 participated in Holistic English Freshmen I and Freshmen II. Due to an anomaly, the Business English 3 class was segregated, for diagramming purposes, and is not included in the cumulative charts.

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Fall ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I CHART #1 VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40)

Chart 10.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40)

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai AE, BE, TE Class of '07 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

120 100

Vocabulary Reading

80

Oral

60

Writing

40

Listening

20 0 1

2

3

410 = GREATEST 5 6 HELP7

8

9

10

Chart 11.

Fall ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40)

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40) AE, BE, TE Class of '07 120 100

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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Chart 12.

CONFIDENCE

80

MOTIVATIO N DISCIPLINE

60 40 20 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 13.

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China EFL: Holistic English

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Fall ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40)

Chart 14.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE CUMULATIVE (classes limited to 40)

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N U M B ER O F ST U D EN T S

AE, BE, TE Class of '07 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

10 4 = GREATEST 5 6 HELP 7

8

9

Chart 15.

Jolland Lau Orient Overseas Container Line.

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

CLASS of ’07 Business English 3 Due to an anomaly, the Business English class of ’07 was segregated out of the freshmen cumulative charts. A cursory review of the responses to the questionnaires drew special attention to an apparent anomaly with the Class of ’07 Business English 3 responses which appeared to be extremely out of step with all of the other freshmen responses. Further inquiry revealed that these students had the lowest English component scores, of all entering freshmen, on the college entrance examination and did not come through the normal public middle school program or the normal college entrance examination process; but rather came through the vocational technical training middle school program. However, by the end of the freshmen II program, these students were almost caught up and on a par with the regularly admitted students.

Chart 16.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3 BE 3 '07

# of students

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Fall’07 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3

10 8 6 4 2 0

Vocabulary Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 17.

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China EFL: Holistic English

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This BE 3 class shows significant improvement in the second semester. Although they still lag behind the regular classes, this class has made remarkable and significant improvements.

Fall ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3 (classes limited to 40)

Chart 18.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3 BE 3 ''07

# of students

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15 CONFIDENCE

10

MOTIVATION 5

DISCIPLINE

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 19.

This BE 3 class shows significant improvement in the second semester. Although they still lag behind the regular classes, this class has made remarkable and significant improvements.

Fall ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3

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Chart 20.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CHART #3 WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE CLASS OF ’07 Business English 3

# of students

BE 3 '07 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

World View Business Knowledge 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 21.

This BE 3 class shows significant improvement in the second semester. Although they still lag behind the regular classes, this class has made remarkable and significant improvements.

CLASS of ’07 International Students*** A total of 120 students were admitted to a new International program designed to generate much needed income for the college by admitting academically unqualified students whose parents could afford to purchase the diploma. ***

In the fall of 2007, Xinyang Agricultural College initiated three International classes within the Foreign Languages Department. These are students who do not qualify academically but whose parents qualify economically to purchase an education for their children.

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Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II GPA 80.

# of students

International TE-7 Vocabulary

10 8 6 4 2 0

Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 22.

International #2 computer and gardening # of students

15

Vocabulary Reading

10

Oral

5

Writing

0

Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Chart 23.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9. International #3 Accounting 14 # of students

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10 = GREATEST HELP

12 10

Vocabulary Reading

8 6

Oral Writing

4 2

Listening

0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 24.

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10

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE

# of students

International TE - 7 10 8 6 4 2 0

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 25.

The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II. GPA 80. International 2 computer and gardening # of students

15 CONFIDENCE

10

MOTIVATION 5

DISCIPLINE

0 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 26.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9. International # 3 Accounting 12 10 # of students

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1

8

CONFIDENCE

6

MOTIVATION

4

DISCIPLINE

2 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 27.

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The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69.

Spring ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE

Chart 28.

The International Tourism English #7 class completed Holistic English Freshmen I prior to taking Holistic English Freshmen II. GPA 80.

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# of students

International 2 Computing and gardening

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 29.

The International combined computer and gardening class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 63.9.

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai International #3 Accounting

# of students

10 8 World View

6 4

Business Knowledge

2 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

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Chart 30.

The International accounting class completed a set phrase English learning class in lieu of Holistic English Freshmen I. GPA 69. One of the International classes was put on the Holistic English Freshmen I program. Two of the classes were taught by a Chinese teacher of English who taught primarily in Chinese using the traditional chalk and talk teaching methodology and using a typical set phrase memorization textbook. In the spring 2008 term all three international classes were put into the Holistic English Freshmen II program. Those International classes that had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I program were at a distinct disadvantage. They had not had the basic instruction in proper listening skills, proper homework skills, proper writing skills, or Internet research skills. They had not heard the orientation lecture and did not know of their obligation to read more English, write more English, listen to more English and speak more English outside the classroom. Plus the Freshmen II movies were too advanced in subject matter and language difficulty. In week 9 of the spring 2008 term, the students who had participated in Holistic English Freshmen I were able to make an extemporaneous, comprehensible three-minute oral presentation. The students who had not participated in the Holistic English Freshmen I class during the fall 2007 term were unable to produce more than ten English words when asked to make a three-minute presentation and a super majority of students could not utter a single English word. Teaching set phrases does not produce speakers of comprehensible English and there are no scientific studies that claim it does.. The Holistic English program requires that students begin with Freshmen I and then progress through Freshmen II, Business I and then Business II. When the Holistic English program is utilized as designed, it produces students who can produce extemporaneous, comprehensible oral English output. It was a very ill advised move to teach set phrases or speech patterns to two of the international student groups and then throw them into Holistic English II and the administration did not consult with the Holistic English Program staff prior to making this decision. Both groups of international students who had set phrase teaching in their first freshmen semester should have failed Holistic English freshmen II and would have were it not for the grading policy that will not allow anyone to fail.

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We draw the following preliminary conclusion from the above graphic displays of student input61: 1. Comprehensible output occurs only after comprehensible input. Increased reading, listening and writing, increases oral output. 2. Discipline, motivation and confidence are interrelated and interdependent. 3. Discipline, motivation and confidence play a significant role in oral production. 4. The students are seriously lacking in world view and business knowledge and require much more than just the Holistic English program to become well informed about world affairs.. 5. There is no “one way” to teach or acquire English as a foreign language. 6. While increased motivation results directly in increased comprehensible input, an immediate increase in comprehensible output is not necessarily spontaneous. 7. Current traditional courses in reading comprehension, listening and writing, taught by Chinese teachers of English, leave a void in the students’ acquisition of English. 8. Classes of more than 40 students are anti-academic and anti-productive. 9. Teaching set phrases does not produce speakers of comprehensible English. The Holistic English program requires that students begin with Freshmen I and then progress through Freshmen II, Business I and then Business II. Students who do not follow the program as designed not only receive less benefit from the program, their grades also suffer because they are unable to produce comprehensible English. 10. When the Holistic English program is utilized as designed, it generates students who can produce extemporaneous, comprehensible oral English.

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The questionnaire also asked what the students liked best about the class. Two answers dominated the responses: 1. We have the freedom to express our opinions without fear of being criticized. 2. Each student gets to be the teacher and conduct the discussion. The students were also asked “If you had the authority, power and money, what one thing would you change at this school to make your educational experience better?”62 99% of the freshmen students responded to the questionnaire and four major complaints63 surfaced: 1. More and better equipment. The existing computers are old, in disrepair and not enough to meet student needs. The sound lab and multi-media equipment is in disrepair. The students also require Internet access to complete homework assignments. 37.2% 2. More foreign teachers and better Chinese teachers 30.3% 3. More English books in the school library. 28.9% 61

The raw data has been preserved and will be made available for further research. 9% of the respondents failed to properly comprehend this question and chose between money, power or authority as to which would enable them to study better. 63 There was no advance discussion, coaching or planting of ideas. This question was a complete surprise to the students. 62

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai 4. More English activities such as various competitions 3.4%

A total of 98% of the sophomore students responded to the questionnaire and four major complaints64 surfaced: 1. Living conditions. The dormitories and recreational facilities were heavily disparaged. 26% 2. More and better equipment. The existing computers are old, in disrepair and not enough to meet student needs. The sound lab and multi-media equipment is in disrepair. The students also require Internet access to complete homework assignments. 25% 3. More English books in the school library 25% 4. More foreign teachers and better Chinese teachers 14% At a meeting of the class monitors, the Dean asked for a verbal evaluation of the Holistic English class. The monitors were unanimous in expressing that the class was both interesting and exciting. Chinese are known for being reserved or understated when expressing their opinions. Neither Chinese nor Western college students are known for finding their college classes both interesting and exciting.65

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TEACHERS’ EVALUATION A cooperation agreement was entered into with Stacy Meeking of Guangxi University, Nanning; Kenneth Clarke, Xinyang Normal University (Huarui College); Nick Stirk, Harbin Institute of Technology, Peter Griggs, CIB at Shenyang Normal University and Russ Taylor at Shenyang Normal University wherein they used the Holistic English Workbook commencing fall 2007 or Spring 2008. As a result of favorable student response and teacher satisfaction with Holistic English Freshmen I, Guangxi University decided to use Holistic English Freshmen II for the spring 2008 semester for English majors. See Appendix B. As a result of favorable student response and teacher satisfaction with Holistic English Freshmen I, Huarui College at Xinyang Normal University decided to use Holistic English Freshmen II for the spring 2008 semester for 1,480 plus non-English majors. (See Appendix C.) Nick Stirk, Harbin Institute of Technology was dropped from the program because of a failure to use the workbook for its intended purpose—as comprehensible input for eventual conversation output. Instead, the workbook was used as the foundation for a film appreciation class and none of the instructions for teachers were followed. The Holistic English program is not intended to be used in conjunction with a film appreciation class and it cannot be adapted for such use. A cooperation agreement was entered into with Robert Hill of Yang En University to use the Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I for the spring 2008 semester. (See Appendix D.) 64

There was no advance discussion, coaching or planting of ideas. This question was a complete surprise to the students. 65 It would appear that the course was successful in creating extrinsic motivation.

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A cooperation agreement was entered into with Russ Taylor, Shenyang Normal University to use the Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I for the spring 2008 semester. Russ was not able to obtain permission from his Dean. A cooperation agreement was entered into with Edwin Roessler, CIB at Shenyang Normal University to use the Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I for the spring 2008 semester. (See Appendix E.) A cooperation agreement was entered into with Julie Anderson, Xinyang Technical and Vocational College to use the Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I for the spring 2008 semester. (See Appendix H.)

HOLISTIC ENGLISH LAB

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The Holistic English Lab is unique in that it is the first and only classroom of its kind in China. Oral English classes often find themselves treated as an unwanted stepsister and put in any old available room, or even held outdoors. Usually, little or no consideration is given to the English acquisition or speaking environment in the assignment of facilities for oral English classes. The design of the Holistic English Lab was seriously influenced by Dr. Stephen Krashen’s statement that language acquisition occurs best in a low anxiety environment.

BEFORE

AFTER

When the students entered the new Holistic English Lab for the first time, they milled around in awe of the new facility and were reluctant to sit up on the riser. After some discussion in Chinese, the students started verbally arguing over the seats on the riser. Approximately 2% of the male students took one look at the Holistic English Lab and disappeared for the entire semester. It was clear that they would have no place to hide in the back of the room and sleep, play electronic games, play with their cell phones or read material unrelated to the class. The Holistic English Lab acoustics were significantly improved and thus listening was greatly facilitated. The common echo of sounds bouncing off bare concrete walls and floors was greatly reduced. Everyone in the room was able to follow and participate in the discussion because everyone could clearly hear whoever was speaking. At no time was any segment of the class left out, bored, and eventually disruptive, as is often the case in theater style seating classrooms with poor acoustics.

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The new seating configuration also facilitated better eye contact between everyone in the room and hence facial expressions and body language were successfully incorporated into the EFL equation. It also eliminated any “back of the room” where male students habitually play computerized games, text message, chat in Chinese, read Chinese books, and sleep. No Chinese language signs or notices were allowed to be posted in the room, thus eliminating conflicting message input to the mental lexicon.66 Ten Chinese, Western and Business proverbs were posted on the walls, in English.67 The students were fully informed of the five year effort to develop the Holistic English program and the difficulties in building a Holistic English Lab. They demonstrated their appreciation for the efforts extended on their behalf by dedicating themselves to the serious pursuit of EFL and maintaining the Holistic English Lab according to Western standards of cleanliness, both of which are marked attitude adjustments. To reduce the academic atmosphere of the Holistic English Lab, students were allowed to eat and drink in the room contrary to school rules for regular classrooms. All of the third year English class monitors were assigned to monitor the evening use of the Holistic English Lab to make certain the television was properly working, 68 the water filtration machine was full, and that the room was left in a proper and clean condition for the next morning’s class. The friendly English acquisition and speaking environment of the new Holistic English Lab resulted in more spontaneous and fluent English production. The students commented favorably on the new environment and generally speaking, their English production underwent a remarkable increase. It was clear that many of the students found the discussions so interesting that they forgot that they were communicating in a second language. One student proclaimed that she was even dreaming in English.

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The following are verbatim emails from several students: Our new spoken classroom at the school 2-302. It's different from other classroom. New Oral indeed different from the previous classroom, very English atmosphere. We like it (Venus, Class: 06-business 1 NO: 067013119). First I am very appreciate for you to build a wonderful English class room for the English major students. It is not only the first time for me to see this kind of classroom but all the 66

All classrooms used for English teaching on campus have numerous Chinese signs on the walls. The Foreign Languages department offices have no English signs on the walls but many Chinese signs. An effort to remove Chinese signs and replace them with English signs was rebuffed. 67 "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil." "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous." "To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage." "With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow;-I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness, are to me as a floating cloud." "The wise are free from perplexities; the virtuous from anxiety; and the bold from fear." “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.” “Effective listening starts with inviting listening opportunities.“ “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” “Learning to speak effectively will help you climb the ladder of success.” ‘The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year.” ‘If you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail.” “There is less to fear from outside competition than from inside inefficiency, discourtesy and bad service.” ‘Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly, I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it.” ‘Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm“ 68 This system was terminated in the 10th week of the semester due to the administration’s failure to provide the promised TV.

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students as well. I pretty enjoy the design in our classroom. It is convenient for us to communicate with each other. Especially that you can see every student very clearly and easily. Then I highly support your view of buying a large new TV in our classroom .Because there is no TV or computer in our dorm. In order to save money, some students do not want to go to the Internet bar to view the events or news happened in our nation or in the world. So this is a golden opportunity for us to open our eyes to the world. Next I want to give you a suggestion. Last class you told us that only third year students and applied English class students can go to the room to watch the news from CCTV-9, BBC, CNN. But I think you should give this chance to every student who really wants to go there. Because Xinyang is a small and poor city in China .But we can not put ourselves in this limited space, we should keep up with the world. In my opinion there are a lot of students who need or want to watch the news in our wonderful room. So I hope you can open to the students who would like to go there (Jane, Class 2 Tourism English NO.18).

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Our new classroom is really great. It's clean, comfortable and attractive. So that the classroom can stimulate learning and help build a classroom community. I prefer the U-shaped configuration in our new classroom, where everyone has a front row seat. We can make eye contact with every student and reach each student with easy. It's good for us. I like the plants in our new classroom. Because the plants are an excellent way to make our classroom look more welcoming. They also improve the air quality in airconditioned building. When I am thirsty, I can get water from the water machine. But in my opinion basic bulletin boards are not enough. I believe in a very colorful classroom with poster, photograph and other interesting things to enhance the environment, such as a small refrigerator, electric heating, TV, and a stereo system with a CD player. If they can achieve, I will be very happy. But now what we can do is cherishing the hard-won good learning environment and thanks to our Professor. Thank you for thinking of us (Maggie, Tourism English Class One NO:04). We are extremely grateful that we could have class in this special classroom. It has unique decoration and it makes us fresh and refined. Especially in the shape of "U" and the back row is higher than the front. It makes every student express his own opinion as he pleases and talk to each other. It really provides a good circumstance for us to train our oral English. All of us love this new special classroom very much (Lisa, Class 4 of Business English NO: 23).

The total cost of the Holistic English lab was 10,500 rmb. This included 2,500 rmb for a small English library and 5,000 rmb for the TV. To reconfigure and decorate the room cost only 3,000 rmb. Unfortunately, the promised television never became a reality69 and the promised new desks never arrived. During the 2008 winter vacation, the teaching building was locked so it was impossible to water the plants and they all died.

69

In late May 2008 the College Logistics Department claimed that the type of large screen rear projection TV requested was unavailable on the local market and the new design TV was too expensive. Within 30 minutes of this report, the Holistic English Program student assistant, Pan Youyi, provided color brochures of three large screen rear projection TVs available in local stores. He also provided cell phone pictures of the available TVs and calling cards of the local stores. He found a 43″ for 4,000 rmb; a 47″ for 6890 rmb and a 51″ for 6,000 rmb. This incident highlights the continuing indifference and or incompetence of the College Logistics Department staff. As of press time, there was still no TV in the Holistic English Lab. The students were right when they said it was just an impossible dream.

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In the last week of the spring ’08 term, the Holistic English Lab met an ignomous end when the Foreign Languages Department allowed the Logistics Department70 to use the room for employer interviews of non-foreign language department students. They thoroughly trashed this pristine room beyond recognition. Devastating!71

Second day of classes September 2007.

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ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY The wage disparity between foreign experts and Chinese teachers is well documented elsewhere. Xinyang Agricultural College formerly required two foreign experts, one for the freshmen class and one for the sophomore class. Under the new paradigm only one foreign

70

The same logistics department that delayed 18 months in replacing burned out light bulbs on five flights of stairs used every evening by over 500 students; the same department that never fixed the sound equipment in the multi-media room; the same department that never fixed a retractable movie screen; the same department that failed to clean the multi-media room for 5 months; the same department that could not find a specific model TV in local stores but was found in three local stores by the student assistant; the same department that was unwilling to provide water or electric to the foreign teacher’s courtyard for six months; the same department that refused to replace the electric fuse box on the foreign teacher’s apartment until after fixing it sixteen times and was forced to replace it after an explosive fire; the same department that was unable to purchase a white board in a local store but was purchased in a local store by the student assistant; the same department that failed to fix the weather stripping on the foreign teacher’s apartment windows causing serious illness; the same department that locked the teaching building for 6 weeks thus killing the plants in the Holistic English Lab; the same department that took six weeks to provide four hollow tile blocks for steps in the Holistic English Lab; the same department that took six weeks to supply four brooms and dustpans for the Holistic English Lab; the same department that failed to supply fan blades for the classroom fans for three years; the same department that failed to check the defective fan electrical switches after installing the fan blades; the same department that insisted on monthly repairs of the worn out air conditioner in the foreign expert’s apartment for three years thus forcing the foreign expert to purchase a new 5,200 rmb air conditioner; the same department that proved incompetent over and over again. 71 “neither cast ye your pearls before swine.” Holy Bible KJV, Matthew 7:6 (Do not waste your efforts on unappreciative people.)

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expert is required for 800 students. Replacement of the Chinese co-teacher with a 3rd year student intern also reduced program costs. The Holistic English Program is designed for a teacher to student ratio of 1/800, one foreign teacher for every 800 students. This results in up to a 66% reduction in the cost of providing oral English classes. A school with 100 foreign teachers is overstaffed because only 33 foreign teachers are required under the Holistic English Program. The Holistic English Program can be taught by any foreign teacher no matter what their experience or degree. There is also another budgetary benefit from the new paradigm. Under the old paradigm students were exposed to the foreign expert assigned to their class. Their experience was limited to the one regional English spoken by that one foreign expert. While watching the English movies the students were exposed to an average of ten (10) native English speakers (using many different regional Englishes) per hour and two (2) L2 English speakers per hour. The students/consumers hear (three hundred sixty 360) native English speakers and seventy-two (72) L2 English speakers during the thirty-six (36) hour semester and hence receive much higher value for their tuition fees than exposure to one (1) foreign expert for thirty-six (36) hours. Why let the students understand only one foreigner's pronunciation and vocabulary, while there are so many speakers with different pronunciations and different genres of speech and so much more information that will fill the students, especially English majors' minds, so that they will not be struggling with forced output out of thin air!

DIFFICULTIES IN IMPLEMENTING THE NEW PARIDIGM

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“Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” —Confucius

During the first semester of program implementation, assigned staff approached the new paradigm with skepticism and never gave the full support and cooperation required to make the program successful. Two Chinese co-teachers were assigned to assist the foreign expert and learn how to teach the class. Only one co-teacher ever observed one sophomore business conversation class. Neither assigned co-teacher ever taught a single conversation class. The co-teacher assigned to show the movies was reassigned at week 9 for dereliction of duty and incompetence. During the second semester of the program, efforts were made and abandoned to train another Chinese teacher of English to conduct the Holistic English program. After the initial, comprehensive orientation, the Holistic English program was criticized for showing English movies with English subtitles instead of Chinese subtitles. This ignorance disqualified the Chinese teacher from further participation in the Holistic English Program. The school technical equipment was in disrepair and the technical staff approached their jobs with a rather cavalier attitude. The technical staff was repeatedly heard to say, “It isn’t working and can’t be fixed.” The movie class had to be cancelled 5 times due to faulty equipment and the assigned technician being unavailable. Subsequent conversation classes had to be cancelled. When a movie screen would not deploy and after two weeks of requesting that it be repaired, the technician suggested that the students manually pull the screen down. After the students manually pulled the screen down, the technician had no

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suggestion for retracting the screen to have access to the blackboard. The college’s only technician was unable or unwilling to fix a simple on/off electrical switch. The fans in the conversation classrooms had no blades. The blades were attached after 4 weeks of complaining. However, when attaching the blades, the fans were not tested. As it turned out, the wall switches were defective and the fans remained inoperable throughout the entire semester. The explanation for this was “This is a third tier college, what do you expect?” The rebuttal was “Just because this is a third tier college, that is no excuse for you doing a third rate job and cheating the students.” The decision to extend the program into a second semester was made in May 2007. Neither the third floor multi-media room nor the Holistic English Lab was ready or available for the first day of classes on September 10, 2007. Although under almost daily request for progress, the school administration was remiss in their duties and took no appreciable steps toward preparation until the first day of classes. Notwithstanding this administrative omission, classes were held on time, although under stressful conditions. The promised third floor multi-media room with new equipment never materialized. Classes were assigned to the fifth floor multi-media room with old and outdated equipment. A warning was issued that the heavy use of the old equipment would be problematic but this warning was ignored. When the equipment failed to work, the technician refused to remedy the situation until the following day and the evening classes had to be cancelled. The following day the technician refused to fix the equipment until the following week. This played havoc with class scheduling and student progress in a scientific manner. The technical problems of the first semester were neither remedied nor resolved, just repeated.72 The problems with the audio-visual equipment were never properly addressed and difficulties continued through the spring 2008 semester. During the second semester of the program the assigned multi-media room was on the fifth floor of a five story teaching building, serviced by stairs only. Notwithstanding a serious mishap in early April 2007, due to lack of any lighting in the stairwells; as of October 15, 2007, nine out of ten light bulbs in the stairwells were burned out and it was impossible to get anyone interested in making the stairwells safe. The open air hallway lights were fixed on October 8 but nothing was done about the dangerous stairwells. (The stairwell lights were finally fixed, but only after evening classes were cancelled until they were fixed.) It is unconscionable that it took 13 months to correct such a dangerous condition. As of the third week of the second semester of the program, there were no brooms or dustpans available for the students to clean the Holistic English Lab. Such simple things were treated as insurmountable problems requiring weeks, if not months to resolve. 72

Technicians at Shanghai University resisted using the multi-media equipment to show movies because the projector bulb was very expensive. Facilities at Shanghai Normal University were off limits to students. “The Unqualified Teaching (sic) the Unmotivated in a Hostile Environment” (2007) Frontiers in Higher Education, Ch. 11, Nova Publications Facilities at Guangxi University were off limits to students except during school evaluation Multi-media equipment at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics International School had to be repaired before each use. At the JUFE MBA school, three months of advance preparation failed and the class had to be cancelled on its first day. In Urumqui the sound system lacked a critical connection cord and the movie for 400 middle school teachers had to be cancelled. Xinyang Normal University has 14 new multi-media rooms but no program to utilize them.

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The prevailing attitude was that nothing needed to be done on time or in a proper manner. Freshmen class rosters were not provided until immediately after final exams. For the first 10 weeks of the spring 2008 semester, the cleaning staff completely ignored the multi-media room. The build-up of trash became so unbearable that the students gave the room a thorough cleaning and then complained to the Party Secretary, attaching 12 photographs, four of which are included below.

During the spring 2008 term, in mid-April, it was discovered that a few freshmen were skipping out on their mandatory self-study evening class while falsely claiming that they were going to the free choice movie. Somewhere between the homeroom self-study class and the multi-media room, these students got lost and ended up in card games, pool games or Internet bars. The Vice Dean of the Foreign Languages Department, a person who speaks no English although she has worked in the Department for more than five years, and a person with no training or knowledge in psychology or second language acquisition; unilaterally handed down an edict that all freshmen would be restricted to their homeroom for self-study and would be prohibited from attending the free choice evening movies. This anti-academic punitive overreaction was quickly countermanded by the Dean when it was brought to his attention. Rather than punish everyone for the sins of a few; rather than deprive all freshmen students of comprehensible input in a friendly environment; freshmen attending the free choice movies received a hand stamp at the conclusion of the movie. If a student had been

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absent from the self-study class the night before and could not produce the hand stamp evidence they had attended the movie the previous night, they were punished. The Holistic English Program requires the students to make weekly use of the Internet. There are only 100 computers on campus with Internet access and these are for use by 10,000 students. We note that this was a major disappointment addressed in 200473 but the school administration has not dealt with it in an effective manner. On Sunday, February 24, 2008, the eve of commencement of term classes on Monday, February 25, 2008, of the 6 foreign teachers, at other schools, intending to implement the Holistic English program: Fiev did not have their course teaching assignments, Only one had a classroom assignment, Only two had an advance opportunity to test the multi-media equipment, Only three had their workbooks printed and available for students, Only three had administrative approval for the Holistic English program.

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CREATING A SUPPORTIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT “… it is consensually agreed by critics that the establishment of a “natural” English environment is vital to “authentic” communication, for, as Guo Naizhao and Li Dongfu put it, “the greatest disadvantage for learners of English in the Chinese context is the shortage of a natural communicative environment, and it is generally considered impossible for students to learn English without such exposure” (Guo and Li: 17). However, most of the ELT environments (Sun et al.: 2002; Jin Lingje et al.: 2005; Hu Guanwei: 2003) are artificially created and confined to the space of the classroom. But the fact is, however effectively a simulated English environment works in class, once out of the classroom, the students are treading the Chinese ground and breathing the Chinese air. The communicative competence built up in an artificial environment will be inevitably vitiated due to the lack of a practice environment. Meanwhile, in accordance with the general ELT policy, Chinese CLT also takes “authentic” SE as its assessment standard. As a consequence, the confidence obtained in a simulated “natural” setting will be unavoidably impaired by the fear of committing grammatical errors and speaking accented English on real communicative occasions.”74

During the fall 2007 semester, the multi-media room was utilized on Friday evenings for free-choice movies.75 Students were not required to attend. The 300 seat room was usually always full with only half of those attending being English majors and the balance being from other departments within the college.76 There was no admission charge. When the college had previously experimented with evening movies, there was an entrance fee and the program was a complete failure. Half way through the second semester of the Holistic course 73

Can You Get a First-Class Education in a Third-Tier College in China?” (2004) Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff, Teng Hei, Anne-Marie Gregory, Progress in Education Vol. 13 Ch. 2, Nova Publications; (awarded first prize in Henan Province Certificate No. CG0536, 2003. 5) 74 Mingjun Lu (2007), ELT in China and a “China English” Model www.chass.utoronto.ca/~cpercy/ courses/eng6365-lu.htm 75 Jewish Culture and History: The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, David, Exodus, O’ Jerusalem, Judgment at Nuremberg, Munich, Fiddler on the Roof, The Pianist, Sand Pebbles, Schindler’s List 76 Non-English majors were more motivated to improve their English than students assigned to be English majors.

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implementation, the Friday night movies experienced standing room only crowds, with as many as 100 students standing to watch three-hour movie like The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur and Titanic. The English Club started a Saturday morning comedy movie series in one of the college sound labs. On the very first Saturday there was a standing room only crowd that had to be turned away. An additional men’s night at the movies was added on Saturday evenings, showing action movies such as Steven Segal, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Van Dam and movies like The Killing Fields, Good Morning Viet Nam, etc. Male students who had never attended a single required English class in the Holistic English Lab started attending the free-choice movies. A super majority of the male English majors attended the men’s night at the movies.77 However, there remained a 5% who refused to change their attitude and engage in the educational proves. Primarily their English was so poor that they did not belong in any college English class. During the spring 2008 semester the free choice movie nights were expanded significantly,

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Sunday night classics Monday night sports Thursday night Disney Friday night lady’s night Saturday night men’s night The assigned multi-media room had a seating capacity of 300. Every night of the free choice movies, up to 20 students stood along the wall to watch the movie or brought portable stools, with the exception of Sunday night classics when only between 100 to 150 students regularly showed up78. Hundreds of students simply walked away, disappointed. Five pleas for reassignment to a larger multi-media room fell on deaf ears. Instead, 120 freshmen were added to the Holistic English program and forced to stand during the assigned class movies. Eight larger multimedia rooms went unused during the evening hours because there was an unwillingness to make the equipment operable. In the fourth week of the term, a special remedial movie night was implemented for 120 students identified as special needs students. Cartoon feature films from Disney/Pixar 79 were shown on Thursday evening. Because this group of students had particular problems with listening comprehension, the movies were shown without subtitles. This group of students had a perfect attendance record for the Thursday night movies. The effect on their listening comprehension will have to be measured over a protracted period of time.

77

It appears that the course was successful in generating intrinsic motivation. The few Chinese university libraries that have any English collection usually have the classics. Clearly, the classics are of little interest to Chinese university students and therefore do not fall within the definition of comprehensible input because they are not interesting. 79 Bambi, Cars, Alice in Wonderland, Toy Story, 101 Dalmatians, Lion King, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, Aladdin, Fantasia, Dumbo, Finding Nemo, Fantasia, Monsters Inc. 78

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On Saturday afternoon, motivational movies80 were shown, by invitation only, to those students who did not attend class regularly, had special needs, suffered from a lack of self confidence or motivation, or believed that they were such poor students in such a poor college that they were incapable of improving their lot in life. An English identification sign was placed on the hallway entrance door to every English classroom. A sign was placed at the front of each English classroom that said “Speak English” and on the back wall was a sign that said “This is an English Class. Teach in English.” All Chinese signs were removed from the English classrooms. Initially, the administration was not pleased with this. Numerous requests were made to remove the multitude of Chinese banners from the Foreign Languages Department offices. No action was taken. When English signs were added to the office walls, there was severe criticism, initially. Attempts were made to provide the Chinese teachers of English with current literature on 2nd language acquisition, but these efforts were thwarted.81 The English majors are all assigned to the same dormitory under the assumption that if they live together they will communicate in English. But attempts to remove the Chinese signage and replace it with English signage were rebuffed. English signs were immediately removed by the Chinese staff. The dormitory staff spoke no English and suggestions to replace them with English speaking staff were scoffed at. The staff computers in the English Department offices and the computers in the student’s computer lab were all equipped with Chinese programming. There was a refusal to see the need to add or substitute English programming. The English department computer lab supervisor82 and the computer course teacher spoke no English. English majors were denied the opportunity to improve their English skills in the English department computer classes. Chinese teachers of English were not encouraged to teach or communicate with their students in English, primarily because they couldn’t, their English being too poor. It was believed that merely creating an opportunity to speak English was adequate and that it was not necessary to actually create an environment where English was the dominant language of communication or where the students would be compelled, by the circumstances, to speak English. It was erroneously believed that creating a once a week English Corner, or providing a Friday evening English movie with Chinese subtitles, or assigning all English majors to the same dormitory, or hiring a foreign teacher to “chat” with the students, created an English speaking environment. In short, it was not possible to create an English speaking environment outside the Holistic English Lab.83 There was not even a reasonable attempt to counter the all- pervasive Chinese environment. There seemed to be a resignation to the Chinese environment and a defeatist attitude toward creating an English speaking environment. 80

Stand and Deliver, Gridiron, Blackboard Jungle, To Sir with Love, Coach Carter, Lean on Me, The Great Debaters. 81 Information was not allowed to be posted on the bulletin board. A promised list of all Chinese staff emails never materialized. Out of 42 Chinese staff, almost half had no email address and did not know how to access the Internet. 82 When this teacher was unable to teach a class, he asked the Holistic Teaching Assistant to show the English majors a Chinese movie in his absence. The English majors and the Teaching Assistant rebelled and an English movie was substituted. 83 Qiang/Wolff (2008), China EFL: Why Chinese Universities Do Not Provide an English Speaking Environment, Journal of Education Research, Nova Science Publishers

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Speak with any Chinese university Foreign Language Department administrator and they will extol the virtues of creating an English speaking environment (ESE) for the English majors. But take a close look and you will quickly discover that there is no ESE on campus. First and foremost, Chinese university administrators do not have a clear and proper understanding of what constitutes an ESE. When most of them undertook their university education 20+ years ago, second language acquisition research was in its infancy and comprised no more than one chapter in their textbooks and no continuing education is provided. There is a complete lack of knowledge about immersion84 or comprehensible input in a friendly environment.85 There are two required elements to a proper ESE. A proper ESE is one where the students are inundated with comprehensible English input and where it is easier to communicate in English rather than in the native Putonghua. An English speaking environment is defined as “an environment where English is the dominant language” or “an environment where people are compelled to speak English”. 86 Far too many Chinese Foreign Language Department administrators are under the false impression that an ESE is simply where the students are given an opportunity for English output. As a result they decry the lack of an ESE and immediately turn to speak to an English major in Putonghua; or they place all English majors in the same dormitory with Chinese speaking staff; or, they hold weekly English corners; or, they hire foreign teachers to “chat” with the Chinese students. Even at a school that does all of these things simultaneously, no ESE is created. The administrators do not require the English majors to speak to them in English nor do they respond to them in English.87 There is a very simple explanation for this. The administrators are either unable to speak in English or their English is so poor that they do not want to “lose face” with the students. The administrators do not contribute to the creation of an ESE and they rarely do anything to improve their own English capability. The administrators set a very bad example for the students.

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The Second Language Acquisition Process in Immersion Contexts: Theory and Research, Smith, Samuel, Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, v1 n2 p119-131 Fall 1988, 1988. Abstract: Research concerning the success factors in language immersion education is reviewed, focusing on five major schools of thought. First, the traditional model for immersion research, implemented in a Montreal (Canada) suburb is examined. Then three studies of the influence of affective variables in immersion program success are examined, and it is noted that no theoretical overview of the importance of the affective aspects is known. Theorists and researchers considering the social facet of the immersion process and two works on the interrelationship between social and affective factors in the immersion setting are discussed next. Finally, Stephen Krashen's monitor model is compared with the others, and found to be the most relevant to immersion theory. A 27-item bibliography is included. (MSE) 85 Walking a Mile in Their Shoes: Transforming Teachers' Beliefs about English Language Learners, Grace Cho, Debra DeCastro-Ambrosetti, California State University, Fullerton, http://www.calstate.edu/ITL/exchanges/ classroom/1070_transforming_pg1.html “According to Krashen (1982), language is best acquired when the input is comprehensible (i.e., meaningful, interesting, little beyond current level) and when the learning environment is positive.” 86 Creating Authentic Dialog: ESL Students as Recipients of Service Learning, Stephanie Marlow, Boise State University (Boise, Idaho, USA) “An environment where authentic dialog with native English speakers occurs on a regular basis presents ESL students with the possibility to grow both linguistically and socially” . http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Marlow-ServiceLearning.html 87 One such administrator was bragging about how they will not answer any question from an English major unless asked in English. During this discussion the administrator received a mobile text message from an English major. The message was in Chinese. The administrator answered with a text message written in Chinese.

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When the Party Secretary assigned to the Foreign Language Department cannot speak or understand any English, all department business must be conducted in Putonghua, including all staff meetings and written communications. This militates against creation of an ESE. The joint venture universities set up by foreign universities, in partnership with Chinese universities, are not exempt from this criticism. The foreign university brings its foreign curriculum and administration that usually requires that all courses be conducted in English. However, according to Chinese law, these joint ventures are required to have Chinese deans. The Chinese deans rarely speak English and hire their own Chinese speaking staff. Students find it much easier to communicate with the Chinese speaking staff in Putonghua so they bypass the English speaking staff. Eventually this leads to the Chineesing of the entire joint venture program. The Chinese administrators who profess the need for creation of an ESE are often the primary impediment to its creation. Thirty-eight out of forty Chinese university English teachers, who are supposed to teach in English, are incapable due to their own poor English, so they teach English in Putonghua. They are, for the most part, ignorant of the need to teach in the target language and many have inquired, “What does “target” mean?” English majors ask their Chinese English teachers questions in Chinese and are answered in Chinese, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Telephone text messages between teachers and students are also conducted in Putonghua. The classrooms are littered with Chinese proverbs and political propaganda, all in Putonghua. One oral English classroom had two Chinese signs directly above the blackboard in the front of the room. The Chinese signs translated to:

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“Do not speak in this classroom” and “If you must speak, speak in Chinese.” This was in an Oral English classroom where speaking English was the objective.

The Oral English classrooms have theater style row seating bolted to the concrete floor and students are thus compelled to speak to the back of the head of any other student they wish to engage in oral communication. Modern five story libraries at universities with a 10% or higher English major population have absolutely no English books,88 or the English reading room is reserved for faculty only.89 There is no English speaking staff in the library. A set of inquiries was made regarding the Xinyang Agricultural College library but the promised responses never materialized.90 Actually, the administration used a form of intimidation to squelch any inquiry into the budget or purchasing practices of the College library. Transparency has not yet trickled down to Xinyang Agricultural College. 88

Xinyang Agricultural College Shanghai Normal University. “If the students are allowed to use the English collection, the books will wear out quicker.” 90 1. What is the annual library budget for English material purchase? 2. How much of that budgeted amount is actually spent on English materials? 3. What percentage is that amount of the total purchasing budget? 4. How does the library select the English materials? 5. Who on the library staff has education in 2ND language acquisition and understands comprehensible input? 6. Why do you know nothing about the library purchase program and why does our department not have major input in the purchase recommendations? 89

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The multi-media libraries offer English movies with Chinese subtitles. The computer labs and sound labs are programmed in Chinese rather than English. The lab support staffs and computer teachers do not speak English.91 The campuses have no bi-lingual signage92 Even the sign welcoming the new freshmen English majors is all in Putonghua and the freshmen orientation is all in Putonghua. There is no English speaking staff in the canteen, post office, logistics department, dormitories, or any other service office of which the students must avail themselves. There is no extra-curricular access to English newspapers, TV or films. In short, there isn’t even a token attempt to create a proper ESE within the pervasive native Chinese environment. When foreign teachers complain about the lack of an ESE or make constructive suggestions for the creation of an ESE, they are net with a set of rehearsed excuses that include:

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This is China. It is my habit to speak in Chinese. You will be gone in one year or less. Laughter. Whisper – “that foreign teacher is crazy.” The first step to creating a proper ESE on Chinese university campuses is to provide continuing education in 2nd language acquisition to all Chinese Foreign Language Department administrators and staffs. Unless and until the administrators and staffs understand modern 2nd language acquisition theory, all other efforts at creating a proper ESE are futile. Second, it is imperative that all Foreign Language Department administrators and staffs be required to participate in continuing English language education programs. It is both impractical and hypocritical for Chinese teachers to demand that their students improve their English while the teachers refuse to improve their own.93 Third, there must be an incentive or punishment scheme so that administrators and staffs make an honest effort to understand second language acquisition theory and to improve their English competency. Fourth, schools must transform their Foreign Language Departments into little English enclaves, or at least bi-lingual ones. Classrooms must be English friendly and configured to facilitate oral communication. All Chinese signage should be replaced with English signage and the desks should be configured to facilitate conversation. Fifth, English competency must become an employment prerequisite for all English teachers.94 91

Jiangxi University of Economics and Finance Shanghai Foreign Studies University, the second most important English teaching university in China. 93 "a teacher who gives up learning should also give up teaching." Review of Teacher Education in NSW, https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/teachrev/submiss/contedu.htm 94 On Target: Teaching in the Target Language. Pathfinder 5. A CILT Series for Language Teachers, 1991, Abstract: The guide is designed to illustrate how it is realistic and possible to teach in a target foreign language, propose effective instructional strategies and techniques, and offer suggestions for in-service teacher 92

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Sixth, libraries must provide a diversified selection of English reading materials and English movies with English subtitles.95 Without a fundamental attitude adjustment, the concept of creating an ESE is just an impossible dream. In April 2008, 15 class monitors and the Holistic English student assistant held an impromptu meeting with the Party Secretary for the Foreign Languages Department to complain about the lack of administrative support in providing an English speaking environment on the Xinyang Agricultural College campus. The Party Secretary asked the monitors to submit a written report containing their requests and he also requested a supporting report from the Foreign Expert. Both reports were submitted with 24 hours. The students were requesting a second multi-media room for evening English movies due to limited seating and high demand for the single multi-media room. The students also requested a 52″ television with cable access for CNN, BBC and CCTV 9 for free choice viewing at night in the Holistic English Lab. Within 72 hours of the original complaint, the Party Secretary made his first visit to the Holistic English Lab, accompanied by the College purchasing agent. The Party Secretary directed that the second multi-media room be equipped and the Holistic English Lab television be readied for the September 2008 term. Unfortunately, the College Logistics Department continued to play the role of obstructionist.96 On May 2, 2008, a Shanghai delegation of Chinese businessmen and their wives visited the campus to discuss donating an all-weather, outdoor, video wall for installation on the main square. English news would be played during the day and English movies would be played at night. This would provide an English cornerstone in the middle of the campus that would set the tone for an overall English speaking environment. It would also be the first of its kind on any Chinese university or college campus. The Xinyang Agricultural College

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workshops on the approach. It is proposed that language students need to experience the target language as a real means of communication, have a chance to develop their own built-in learning system, and bridge the gap between controlled, secure classroom practice and the unpredictability of real language encounters. The guide begins with a discussion of teacher concerns about teaching in the target language, sources of meaning other than verbal in communication, classroom techniques for providing messages without use of language, and providing messages using limited language. The second section offers specific strategies for implementation in the classroom, including simple instructions and other expressions, techniques for encouraging student participation and satisfaction, and areas in which teachers can cooperate. Specific activities are provided and illustrated. The final section gives ideas for departmental in-service workshops on teaching in the target language, including activities, and recommendations for troubleshooting in classroom communication. (MSE) Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions, Stephen Krashen, Presented at 13th International Symposium and Book Fair on Language Teaching (English Teachers Association of the Republic of China), Taipei, Taiwan, November, 13, 2004. http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/eta_paper/index.html “The Comprehension Hypothesis also applies to literacy: Our reading ability, our ability to write in an acceptable writing style, our spelling ability, vocabulary knowledge, and our ability to handle complex syntax is the result of reading.” Free Voluntary reading: New Research, Applications, and Controversies, Stephen Krashen Presented at PAC5 (Pan-Asian Conference), Vladivostok, Russia, June 24, 2004, http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/pac5/ index.html “Recreational reading or reading for pleasure is the major source of our reading competence, our vocabulary, and our ability to handle complex grammatical constructions.” In late May 2008 the College Logistics Department claimed that the type of large screen rear projection TV requested was unavailable on the local market and the new design TV was too expensive. Within 30 minutes of this report, the Holistic English Program student assistant, Pan Youyi, provided color brochures of three large screen rear projection TVs available in local stores. He also provided cell phone pictures of the available TVs and calling cards of the local stores. He found a 43″ for 4,000 rmb; a 47″ for 6890 rmb and a 51″ for 6,000 rmb. This incident highlights the continuing indifference and or incompetence of the College staff.

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administration gave approval to proceed with this cornerstone of an English speaking environment. The video wall donation was abandoned and withdrawn when the college leadership insulted the proposed donors by suggesting they had ulterior motives.

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MAJOR CHANGE IN GRADING POLICY Grade inflation in Chinese universities is out of control, by western standards. In a famous Chinese university within the north Shanghai university ghetto, Chinese professors, associate professor, lecturers and other staff are required to assign 40% of their students an “A” grade; 30% must receive a “B” grade and 30% are required to receive a “C” grade. A grade of “D” should be used very sparingly because it would tend to discourage a student and a grade of “F” should only be used when a student’s tuition remains unpaid. In a Joint Venture business institute in central Shanghai any student who fails their final exam is entitled to a re-examination and another and another until they receive a passing grade. At a famous university in Beijing, a student who fails a final examination may pay a visit to the teacher at home, bringing gifts of food, money and even sexual favors to raise their grade. At a university in central China foreign teachers are encouraged to pass everyone. When the foreign teachers give a failing mark, the mark is raised to a passing grade administratively. At a central China university every teacher must submit three alternate final exams for administrative approval. If the original teacher fails a student, the failed students gets two shots at a make-up exam, with two different teachers doing the grading. No student fails all three exams. At a Joint Venture university in Dalian, an administrator’s child, who was a student at the time, was hired as a computer technician and given complete access to the school’s computer system, including the codes to access official records. He was the most feared and loved student on campus. He had access to all teachers’ computers and tests. He always received an “A” grade on every final exam, even exams where no other student was able to achieve an “A” grade. At one Joint Venture university in northern China failed grades remain failed grades until the student pays new fees and retakes the failed course. Another Joint Venture school in northern China that tried that, and went so far as to expel students, who failed three courses,. The parents stormed the Dean’s office in protest. The expelled students were reinstated and admitted on probation. There was never another failing grade issued. A very famous Beijing university utilizes Tutors to assist foreign professors who teach long distance program from their home foreign university. A tutor was pressured and even threatened to change certain low grades. The tutor succumbed to the pressure and threats. When the foreign professor learned of this, he contacted the authorities at the Beijing University who denied any knowledge of pressure or threats against the tutor. Within a short span of days, the tutor was dismissed. Chinese teachers know the score and only violate the grading policy when they know there is an opportunity for economic enrichment from a rich parent or when they lust for a

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student. While some schools encourage foreign teachers to fail deserving students, the list of failed students has all the potential to become an extortion list. Foreign teachers usually exhibit disdain for the grading policies, if they are made aware of them. Usually, foreign teachers become aware of the grading policy by accident or learn of it if they have taught for several years in China. Foreign teachers usually submit their grades to someone who inputs them into the school’s computer system while Chinese teachers input the grades directly into the computer system.97 Foreign teachers rarely receive the access code the the course grades section of the school computer system and thus never really verify what grades were assigned to their students. Foreign teachers who object do not have their contracts renewed. It is generally understood throughout China’s higher educational system that once a student has been admitted; they will graduate so long as their tuition is paid and they have not committed a serious offense against school rules or a law of China. In the fall of 2007, at Xinyang Agricultural College, 22 English major students failed to meet the attendance requirements of the Holistic English program and thus were not allowed to sit for the final examination and received a grade of “0”. All 20 failing grades were administratively raised to a passing grade over the concerns of the foreign professor. In the spring of 2008, these same 20 English major students, (15 boys and five girls), plus another two boys, failed to attend a single Holistic English class, their only oral English class. The foreign professor was asked to re-examine the students and give them a second chance, a plea that was rejected since the Holistic English class is a participation class and the students never participated, not even once. A serious dialogue ensued wherein it was agreed that the failing grades would remain and be logged into the students’ scholastic record. The administration recognized that the “everyone passes’ policy was anti-academic, cheated the students and Chinese society, and denied the professor the ultimate external motivation device. The foreign professor called a meeting of the 22 failed students, with the administration’s approval, and offered them a second chance program. (Thirty minutes prior to the meeting, one female student called the foreign professor and stated that she was too busy to attend the meeting and wanted to meet on another day. The student was informed that the meeting was a second chance meeting and that no third chance meeting would be scheduled. She did not attend the second chance meeting.) The students were offered an opportunity to earn a revision of their prior failed grade if they met the following conditions: 1. They must attend all of their classes this semester, not just the Holistic English class., and they must sit up front and do all of the assigned homework.

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In Anhui, I taught at a local university in Hefei for two and a half years. When school started again in the fall of 2005, I was greeted by a class of sophomore English majors who seemed depressed and down and out. Several of the students complained about their final marks the previous semester. I told them that I would bring my grade book in the next day and I requested that they go online and tell me what there marks were. Out of approximately 25 students, 7 grades were not changed, 10 grades were lowered and 8 marks were raised. After lunch I climbed 5 flights of stairs to the Foreign Languages Department and spoke to the Dean, how an error like this could possibly happen. She didn't have a clue. To make a long story short, I told her that I felt I would have no integrity with my students and that I would resign if the grades were not changed. They were changed within a week. It seems that the person entering the grades with a family name of Chen was incompetent and his father was a professor/leader. http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=60621

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2. They must attend all four weekly free choice evening English movies and sit up front where roll would be taken for them. 3. They must attend a special remedial class to be held on Saturday afternoons at 2:30. 4. A single failure to meet these conditions would result in the prior failing grade becoming permanent. The stakes were extremely high for these 22 English major students because with a “0”grade in their record, they will not graduate until they repeat the course after paying new tuition fees. All 20 English major students, who attended the second chance meeting, agreed to the conditions. Within the first three days of the second chance program, four students failed to meet the agreed conditions and were dropped from the program. We are compelled to conclude that there are some students who are not only unteachable; they do not belong in any institution of higher education. AND THEN THE SHOE DROPPED! Two weeks into the second chance program it was discovered, when the students started dropping out of the program en mass, that all of the failing grades had already been administratively changed to passing grades. The second chance program was immediately terminated upon confirmation of this information. A written inquiry was made of the administration, “Is it true that so long as a student’s college fees are paid and they do not kill a teacher, they will receive a passing grade in every course, even if they never attend a single class?” There has been no response, no denial. This is the norm throughout China, not the exception, and is just one reason a Chinese college education receives little or no recognition in the west.

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THE RESISTANCE “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” —Lee Iacocca, Former Chairman, Chrysler Corporation, USA

Every revolution must have a resistance movement and the move to revolutionize teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in China is no exception. Throughout the five year process of developing the Holistic English Workbook, cooperation from Chinese university and college administrators was not readily forthcoming, other than at Xinyang Agricultural College. The following is a list of stated reasons: “We have been doing it the same way for the past 20 years and I do not see why we should change now.” “What makes you an expert?” “It is a good idea but it won’t work at our college because ….” “We want live foreign teachers teaching every minute of every scheduled class.’ “We don’t need books or movies for oral English. Our foreign teachers should just go chat with our students.’

The above reflects that current knowledge in the areas of second language acquisition, modern management practices, principles of human resource management or even an ability

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to speak English are NOT job requirements.98 The requirements are Party affiliation and academic standing. Even Foreign Languages Department Deans are unschooled in second language acquisition99 and thus through passive inaction, as opposed to proactive leadership, give aid and comfort to the resistance. When presented with current second language acquisition articles, they assign a new teacher to read them and give a report. The teacher neither reads nor reports. When the Foreign Languages Department Party Secretary speaks only Chinese, through his leadership, any attempt to create a supportive English speaking environment is doomed, particularly when lacking any understanding of second language acquisition. Not a single Xinyang Agricultural College Chinese teacher of English understood the difference between English learning and English acquisition and thus failed to play a proper supporting role. Only 8 of the 41 Chinese teachers of English were able to teach in the target language, English, or carry on an English conversation outside the classroom. Repeated efforts to conduct a continuing education program for the Chinese teachers of English were lauded but never implemented. The one time teacher training was scheduled; it was cancelled at the last minute so the teachers could study a summary of the CCP 17th National Congress. In light of the above rather prevalent administrative attitude, it was unsettling when foreign English teachers joined the resistance with:

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“Teaching with movies is silly.” “It won’t work at our school because ….” “It may be a good program but not for our students because ….” “I have been teaching English for 20 years and teaching with movies will not work.” “I can select better movies.” “Teaching with movies is silly.” “I AM THE STAR OF MY CLASSROOM. The students need to connect with me, not a bunch of actors in a movie”

People are creatures of habit and naturally resist any change that may jeopardize their comfort zone. The resistance is a natural phenomenon. However, we acknowledge that there is a view more sinister than ours, although we may not concur. David Cahill, a nine-year “foreign expert” veteran submits the following commentary: First of all, I think the problem is actually worse than the way you present it. I understand that you may be targeting a particular, inclusive audience and don’t want to alienate readers whom you’re trying to win over. (I have a PhD in Rhetoric, two master’s degrees in Linguistics and Renaissance literature and a BA in English literature.) For one thing, it’s not just that the Chinese administrators who seem to be most responsible for failing to implement a genuine ESE misunderstand the issues, as you seem to argue. Many of them, and teachers and students as well, simply don’t take English seriously, 98

Previously at this college the Foreign Languages Department Dean was a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) who spoke no English. 99 When they attended college 24–34 years ago, second language acquisition comprised one short paragraph in their textbook. There has been no continuing education.

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China EFL: Holistic English despite all the well-meaning rhetoric … As China grows economically and gains increasing global power and prestige, the incentives to widespread English competency in China may actually diminish, rather than increase. Many Chinese including the younger generation matter-of-factly say that they expect Putonghua, not English, to eventually be the global language, or that Putonghua will at least gain parity with English as more and more foreigners around the world study it. In a sense, of course, as linguists we would have no issue with this; Putonghua could theoretically serve as well as English or any other language as the global lingua franca (discounting the enormous challenges of teaching a non-alphabetic language). Given this mind set, the Chinese may pay lip service to the idea of English literacy in China while secretly harboring contempt for English. This contempt is manifested everywhere in multiple expressions of apathy toward English, detailed in your piece. … And when creative people like you become too much of a nuisance, your contract will not be renewed (when your contract is renewed, it’s because you haven’t been enough of a nuisance and the local Party office is scarcely aware of your existence). I’m in my third year of teaching linguistics in the English Department at a major Chinese University (my ninth year teaching in my fourth Chinese university). My current employer likes to brag that their English Department is the best in China. In reality, it’s more of a vocational-style training school for foreign-language majors, not a serious university, and its Linguistics and Literature programs are a joke. It does a good job of training these kids (who are generally already very well trained in their major language before arriving at college). I regularly teach junior/senior undergraduates and first-year graduate students advanced linguistics courses. They’re generally talented, intelligent students but also unmotivated and often lazy, with poor study morale (which the university itself can take most of the blame for). The first-year post grad students get accepted into the program on the basis of a general language competency exam and a politics exam. If they don’t do well enough in either of these two exams, they don’t get in. Their actual knowledge of their major is much less important than the fealty they must pay to the Party in the politics exam, displayed in their ability to memorize a vast amount of meaningless boilerplate. As a result, I have to contend with students who don’t know anything about linguistics, and don’t much care, unless they have eventual hopes of studying abroad (Linguistics is often chosen as a graduate major on the assumption it’s the easiest major to get accepted into; few of the students have the slightest interest in linguistics itself). Next semester I have to contend with the Olympics. The Program director warned me that most of the undergraduates I’ll be teaching will be missing class for volunteer activities related to the Olympics, and the semester itself may be cut off early by several weeks. There is no clear attendance policy or guidelines; it’s assumed I’ll go with the flow. One of the courses I’ll be teaching is Shakespeare. They asked me if I plan merely to “talk about” Shakespeare or let the students actually read "excerpts" from Shakespeare. Teaching Shakespeare may not have much to do with the typical foreign teacher’s job in China, namely oral or written English, but some of the issues and problems are the same. These are bright students and English majors who are more than capable of reading Shakespeare. The only way Shakespeare is taught in any English-speaking country and many other countries as well, to English literature majors, is to read whole plays carefully, usually one a week, or one every two weeks (e.g., in China, as a concession to the extra difficulties they have). My point here is that the students won’t take this course seriously because the Department itself doesn’t take it seriously. I’m supposed to go through the motions, pretending to teach “Shakespeare,” without anyone actually doing anything. Yes, it's important for the Olympics to be carried off well and they need English-speaking volunteers from the universities. But the Olympics should NOT be mixed up with university education or interfere with my or any other teacher's work. Yet if I work hard preparing the course and the lessons, I’ll be regarded as a bit of a

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We do agree that any meaningful revolution in EFL teaching in China will be furthered by the “foreign experts” who are dissatisfied with the current oral English curriculum and teaching materials, or the lack thereof. We also recognize that the Chinese administrators are the main impediment to true reform in the teaching of English as a foreign language in Chinese colleges and universities. Arrogance, indifference, incompetence and xenophobia are the major obstacles that must be overcome. During the month of May 2008, “Crazy English”100 was invited to give a two-day seminar with the false promise that for 200 rmb, participants would improve their English pronunciation in two days101. Upon completion of the two-day program, at the next weekly staff meeting, the Vice-Dean of the Foreign Languages Department attributed all of the significant improvement in the students’ motivation to “Crazy English.” This xenophobic proclamation had an immediate and negative effect upon the Holistic English Program. When the Vice-Dean was directly confronted about her insult and challenged in her ignorant claim, her only response was a school-girl giggle, because her English was too poor to even apologize. The Dean had to apologize for the Vice-Dean. When the Dean was directly confronted about his duty to protect the students from such schemes, he extended another apology. It cannot be overstressed how much damage this incident has caused to those involved in the Holistic English Program. Is Crazy English just another FAKE Chinese product?

DEVELOPING THE HOLISTIC ENGLISH WORKBOOK SERIES

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“My Shanghai Company hires graduates who have passed CET 4 and 6, from famous universities but your (Xinyang Agricultural College) students have better oral English skills than my employees.” —Jolland Lau, Orient Overseas Container Line Limited, May 2, 2008

When foreign teachers are recruited to teach in China, the Foreign affairs Office may inform them of the need to bring their own teaching materials, or at least a guitar. Or, upon arrival in China they may be informed that there are no teaching materials and they should just chat with the students; or they are given a text that contains old, boring or inappropriate 100

Crazy English is a Chinese style, home grown second language teaching program that has no scientific basis and is reminiscent of snake oil salesmen in the old wild west of the USA. On May 16 the administration of Xinyang Agricultural College , Henan , PRC, invited Crazy English to address a captive audience of naïve and unsuspecting students. The huckster’s pitch was simple and alluring. Pay 200 rmb for a 2 day seminar and your English would be greatly improved. One would have thought they were in the old Wild West listening to a snake oil salesman. The claim outlandish, the product a fake, the allure, instant success. 80 gullible students signed up and Crazy English stole 16,000 rmb from our poor students. There is no magic wand, no instant success program for anyone wishing to improve their English. There is no scientific basis to support any of the craziness of Crazy English. But China is famous for its fake products so why should Crazy English be any exception? The only thing real about Crazy English is its appropriate name, “CRAZY.” A poll of the 80 student participants disclosed that 78 of them desired a refund because they felt cheated. 101 This false claim challenged the honesty and integrity of the Holistic English Program that teaches the only way to improve your English is to read more, listen more, write more and speak more English over a protracted period of time. There are no shortcuts.

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materials. The Holistic English workbook series fills this gap for all Chinese university students, of all majors and all university/college English levels.102 This is truly a one size fits all approach. The workbook series was developed over six years and involved input from more than 6,000 Chinese university and college students from 10 provinces across China.103 The students were enrolled in the fourth-tier railroad colleges, business institutes, third-tier colleges, second-tier universities and top-tier universities. English comprehension and output capabilities ranged from very poor to acceptable. All of the movies utilized in the workbook series were chosen by the students after declaring them to be both interesting and exciting. The movie vocabulary and phrases included in the workbook, for pre-viewing review, were also selected by the students after declaring them to be troublesome to understand and a hindrance to understanding the movie. Throughout this development process it was very clear that movie choices and potentially troublesome words and phrases chosen by both Chinese and foreign teachers did not coincide with the choices made by the students. Each workbook contains 8 chapters, one movie constituting one chapter. Each chapter should cover two weeks of class. The normal university term is 18 weeks. The first week of the term is reserved for introducing the course and the last week of the term is reserved for examination review. The Freshmen I workbook is the easiest and is recommended for introduction to the Holistic English methodology no matter what the college class level of the students. Freshmen I is prerequisite to Freshmen II. Freshmen II is prerequisite to Business I and Business I is prerequisite to Business II. Each successive workbook is more academic and intellectually challenging.

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CRITICISMS OF HOLISTIC ENGLISH WORKBOOKS The draft workbooks were 200 to 250 pages and were priced at 55 rmb. This pricing far exceeded the national norm of 20 to 30 rmb for university texts. To reduce the price, it was necessary to reduce the cost of production and this meant not only reducing the total number of pages but also transforming internal color pictures into black and white pictures. The redesigned workbooks were sent out to several educational institutions and foreign teachers for comment. The criticisms and the responses follow:

1. The Cover Artwork Needs to Be Improved to Make It More Appealing The four cornerstones of the Holistic English Program, and hence the workbooks, are; read more English, listen to more English, write more English and speak more English. The cover artwork on the Freshmen I and Freshmen II workbooks adequately reflect these cornerstones and create the appropriate mindset in the students. 102 103

Chinese students learn English for 12 years before matriculating to university Shanghai, Shangdong, Jiangxi, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, Hubei, Fujian, Guangxi and Xinjiang

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The Business I and Business II books concentrate on various business management principles that affect the business bottom line, MONEY. The cover artwork fairly expresses the concept and establishes the students’ mindset on money matters.

The originator of the criticism offered to create new artwork on the condition that his name is added to the books as a co-author. The criticism and offer were rejected. However, this criticism provoked further analysis that led to changing the book titles to Book I through Book IV so that Book I could be used by senior students without experiencing any embarrassment.

2. The Vocabulary Lists Are Either Too Long or Too Short The vocabulary lists consist of words and phrases that more than 1,000 Chinese university students, at various levels of higher educational institutions, determined to be troublesome to understanding the movie. The students read movie transcripts and read English subtitles and identified new or contextually troublesome words and phrases. When a high enough percentage of students identified the same words and phrases, they were then added to the particular movie vocabulary list. The vocabulary lists are not memorization lists;

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they are to be used to familiarize the student with their meaning prior to watching the movie thus making the movie more comprehensible. Since the vocabulary lists were student initiated, they remain as decided by the students.

3. There Needs to Be More Definitional Pictures Added to the Vocabulary Lists Some vocabulary words are accompanied with pictures. The criticism is that more words require the accompanying definitional pictures. This is a fair criticism without any practical solution because adding more definitional pictures adds additional pages and increases the retail price to the students. It is better to have the students include an “image” Internet search when they conduct their definition Internet search. This also furthers development of autonomous learning. However, efforts to find a Chinese publisher may reduce publication costs and hence allow for more pictures.

4. The Definitional Pictures Should Be Printed in Color This is also a fair criticism. Only the front and back covers are printed in color. All internal pages are printed in black and white. This is to reduce printing costs and reduce the retail price paid by the students. This may also change if a suitable Chinese publisher can be found.

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5. Some of the Movies Should Be Changed The workbooks were student driven from beginning to end. More than 5,000 Chinese university students watch hundreds of movies and selected those that interested them the most. Then the movies were reviewed for relevance to current or emerging events in china before inclusion in the workbooks. Many of the alternate movie suggestions made by the author of this criticism had been soundly rejected by the students during the original review process. The movies appear to be concentrated in the American 1960’s. This is also a fair criticism. Hollywood was preoccupied with certain social issues in that time frame and China is experiencing almost identical problems now. If and when newer movies become available, the workbooks can be readily changed.

6. The Workbooks Would Have a Better Marketability in Korea or Japan In fact, some of the movies may be offensive to Korean or Japanese students and the Internet research materials are directly related to China and would be of little or no interest to Korean or Japanese students.

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7. The Discussion Topics Should Be Expanded If the discussion topics were expanded and exhaustive, there would be an increase in pages and retail price paid by the students. More importantly, if the discussion topics were expanded, the teacher would not be in an optimum position to put forth challenging topics during the discussion that would create the need for the students to engage in creative thinking and problem solving. The students would simply write their topic answers in advance, memorize their answers, and parrot them back during the discussion. An exhaustive discussion topic list would also limit the students’ ability to direct the discussion in their own manner. The discussion would be reduced to a power point presentation. One of the main objectives of the holistic English program is to encourage creative thinking and problem solving, not to perpetuate the training of robots.

8. The Workbooks Should Direct Role Playing, Group Work, Pair Work and Other Teaching Methodologies Most English learning textbooks do contain such suggestions. However, the holistic English workbooks are not about English learning, they are about English acquisition. Each teacher is free to utilize their own teaching methodologies and creative ideas. It also allows student suggestions. English acquisition occurs when there is comprehensible input in a friendly environment, not in a highly regimented academic pressure cooker environment. Creativity and spontaneity produce the best results.

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9. The Vocabulary Lists Should All Contain Definitions Some of the vocabulary lists contain definitions. Some of the vocabulary lists contain definitions accompanied by definitional pictures where appropriate. Some vocabulary lists require the students to use a dictionary or the Internet to find appropriate definitions and definitional pictures. This mix of approaches reduces the monotony of conformity to a particular regimentation and also assists in producing autonomous learners. The vocabulary lists are not vocabulary lessons where the words and definitions are to be memorized. The students are simply required to familiarize themselves with the new vocabulary so as to make the movie more comprehensible.

10. The Vocabulary Lists Are Not in Alphabetical Order This is true. They generally follow the order in which the students will confront them in the movie. The vocabulary lists are not English learning vocabulary memorization exercises. The students should merely acquaint themselves with the vocabulary from the movie so as to make the movie more comprehensible when watched.

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11. Each Workbook Does Not Contain Enough Movies Each workbook contains eight chapters with each chapter constituting one movie. Each movie unit is a two week lesson plan. The first week of the term is consumed introducing the course and workbook. The eight movies are designed to consume sixteen weeks. The last week of the term is usually used for final examination review. Most Chinese university terms are 19 weeks, inclusive of the final examination. The workbooks are designed for the normal Chinese university nineteen week term. The originator of this criticism raced through the movies one per week and taught the course like a typical English learning Oral English class without regard for any of the language acquisition material supplied to him in advance.

12. The Movies Are Not Available in China When a Chinese university purchasing agent places a book order, one set of movie discs is provided free of charge for every 50 books ordered. Four movies, in MP4 format (best played with Media Classic Player software that is downloadable for free from the Internet and K-Lite codecs) are provided on each of two discs. This distribution system comports with 99 points of the current copyright requirements.

13. The Workbooks Are Not Available in Bookstores

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The workbooks are only sold by way of direct bulk sales to universities in order to provide a measure of copyright protection to the authors.

14. There Should Be Separate Teachers’ Books Objection was raised to the workbooks containing instructions for teachers and class rules. It was suggested that such material should be contained in a separate teachers’ book like so many of the language learning textbooks. Usually, teachers’ books are also available in bookstores and are routinely purchased by students. The only valid apparent reason for making a token effort to keep this teachers’ information from the students would appear to be for the purpose of generate additional book sales. There does not appear to be any valid academic reason for a separate teachers’ workbook, particularly when they are available for purchase by the students.

15. The Workbooks Require the Movies to Be Shown at Night The typical weekly class is two forty-five minute teaching periods. Even without a break, the movies do not fit into the daytime schedule. Showing the movies in segments reduces the viewing to an academic exercise and defeats the “friendly environment” required for language

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acquisition. The movies must be shown at night when there are no time constraints. Watching the movies should be like going to a commercial theater downtown.

16. There Is No Time Allotted for Stopping a Movie for Studying Language Patterns or Repeating Chunks of Language Stopping a movie for any purpose is language learning not language acquisition.

17. The Workbooks Are Not Appropriate for a Film Class This criticism was leveled by a film class teacher who was advised that the workbooks are not designed for use in a film class and cannot be adapted for such use. The Holistic English Program is not about studying films. Those teachers actually using the Holistic English Workbooks found no merit to the above criticisms and none of their students registered any complaints either.

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18. The Workbooks Do Not Tell a Teacher How to Teach The course facilitators are free to conduct the conversation as they see fit. Some teachers have success preparing a list of questions and asking a student to conduct the conversation using the prepared list of questions. The students are rotated frequently, say every three questions. Some facilitators ask the students to give a three minute extemporaneous oral presentation of anything the student wishes to say about the movie. Some facilitators use role playing. The options are open for each facilitator’s discretion and class demography.

19. The Workbooks Are Poor Quality One teacher complained that for a college level textbook, the holistic English Workbooks fell far short of an acceptable quality both in paper and binding. It is true that the holistic English “Workbooks” follow a workbook standard and not a textbook standard. The students write in the workbooks and they are a one time use item. They do not need to meet the rigors of a textbook that may serve as a reference for years to come. Those foreign teachers looking for a coffee table conversation book to take home as a souvenir of their China experience will have to look elsewhere.

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20. Major Editing Required There are admittedly numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the workbooks. These errors fall into two categories. First they appear in attributed work and we are not allowed by copyright law to edit attributed work. Second, they appear in vocabulary taken from the movie subtitles. When the students use the Internet to locate a definition, the search engine will usually also provide a corrected spelling. Changing the spelling in the workbooks will confuse the students when they watch the movie as opposed to their learning the correct spelling from their definitional search. There are also many regional differences and slangs that could be argued about at length. We chose to simply follow the published subtitles as the most prudent and less confusing approach.

21. No Chinese School Will Pay a Foreigner to Show Movies A careful reading of the sections of this paper titled “Course Scheduling” and “Economic Efficiency” will reveal that at no time is it suggested that any foreign teacher be paid to show movies. The intern was responsible for showing the evening movies and monitoring the weekend use of the sound lab. Pg. 17 The Holistic English Program is designed for a teacher to student ratio of 1/800, one foreign teacher for every 800 students. This results in up to a 66% reduction in the cost of providing oral English classes. Pg. 37.

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PUBLISHING THE HOLISTIC ENGLISH WORKBOOK SERIES “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I know I can. I did. I told you so!” —An optimist

A hard cover sample was submitted to one of China’s most famous foreign language education publishers in Shanghai for publication consideration. The editorial staff found the book to “have merit” but publication was rejected because “Chinese teachers would not know how to use it.” It was clearly explained that the books are for use by the 150,000 foreign teachers teaching oral English; the reply was “they do not need teaching material; they just need to chat with the students.” A decision was made to self-publish. Inquiry was made of the Beijing ISBN office to obtain a block of ten ISBN numbers. This request was denied because individuals are not allowed to obtain ISBN numbers in China. They can only be issued to licensed publishing houses and they are all owned by the Government. Neither the British nor US ISBN office would issue an ISBN to anyone in China, even if they used their address in England or the US. A major New York publisher stepped up and agreed to publish the workbooks as EBooks in the US and enter into a cooperation agreement with a Chinese publisher for printing and distribution. However, the New York publisher reneged citing that they are not publishers of educational texts for long, continuous print runs.

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Out of necessity, Holistic English Publishing was created as a US enterprise. ISBN numbers were issued by the US ISBN agency. A cooperation agreement was entered into with a Chinese college for the printing and distribution.104 All of the books were registered with the Beijing copyright office105 and “Holistic English” was registered with the Beijing trademark registration office. Almost immediately, three orders were received, 600 Freshmen II and 400 Business II from one school and 1,480 Freshmen II from another school. The Chinese college did not communicate effectively with the printing department and as a consequence, 1,480 Business II were printed erroneously. This was clearly an error by the Chinese side since none of the communications went through the English side. When Holistic English Publishing could make no immediate use of the Business II books, the printing department became irate with the English side.Most Chinese universities place book orders a few weeks prior to term commencement which is why Chinese publishing houses must advance print and warehouse vast quantities of books. Holistic English Publishing was operating on a custom print to order basis, being without funds to stockpile quantities of books. The error of the Chinese side almost scuttled the entire cooperation agreement until Holistic English Publishing retained their own Chinese representative to handle all orders and communications with the print department. Chinese professors must publish to maintain their academic standing, which “academic standing” provides many economic and non-economic perks. Chinese professors use their own books in class so there is a large theoretical market but it usually can't be tapped because so many are publishing so much out of self interest. Many Chinese PAY to have their books published because the publishing is the key for them, not the revenue from royalty. When Chinese publishers do pay royalty to Chinese professors, it is often as low as 2 jiao per book. Every school gets a 15 to 18% discount from the Chinese publisher. This means that the school makes more per book than the author. Then there are the inevitable disputes over the number of books sold. In a case documented in the Beijing Court, a New Zealand author received no royalty on 10,000,000 books. If an individual self-publishes an E Book, the Chinese universities are precluded by law from purchasing them. The Chinese university must receive an "official receipt" from every vendor. That means a red chop (stamp) properly issued by the Government. That is why the Chinese market monopoly can only be broken through a JV agreement with a Chinese Publisher. Our Chinese printer issues the "official receipt." Publication of texts for higher education in China is tightly controlled by two state owned publishers who have a vested interest in protecting their current offerings. They are both owned by the top two foreign language universities in China. The current offerings are limited to English learning materials to be used by Chinese teachers of English. (Set phrases and language patterns) These publishers are not interested in publishing English acquisition texts nor are they interested in publishing materials for foreign teachers. Changes in teaching materials are tightly controlled by the Government.

104 105

The Chinese printer could only print the ISBN on the inside cover copyright page and not on the back cover. The legal services to register the copyrights was put out to bid and won by Fenbao Liu, Managing Director Patent and Trademark Attorney, Shanghai LandW Intellectual Property Law Office, LLC. After working on the project for less than two months, the law firm increased the agreed fee by 50%. The relationship soured immediately and the relationship was soon terminated.

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On May 13, 2008, a senior editor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press visited the Xinyang Agricultural College to discuss possible publication of the Holistic English Workbook series. Under the publishing proposal, colleges selling the Workbooks would make more money than the Workbook authors.

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LIMITATIONS OF THE HOLISTIC ENGLISH PROGRAM There are three limitations of the Holistic English Program. As the student evaluation charts clearly demonstrate, the Holistic English Program fails to motivate approximately 5% of the participating students. Of which 95% are boys. Personal interviews with the subject students revealed that China’s historical preference for boy babies and boy workers continues to influence current thinking. The boys believe that the college diploma is just a necessary piece of paper and they know that they will be given a passing grade no matter what. As second failing is the lack of objective evaluation devices to measure students’ progress. Second language acquisition is predicated upon comprehensible input with eventual comprehensible output. Output is neither automatic nor consecutive to comprehensible input. Each student responds to the comprehensible input at differing speeds. Some may produce comprehensible output immediately, while others may take an extended period of time that is beyond the current educational term. It is impossible to measure the degree of comprehensible input a student has received. Additionally, there is no initial performance test administered at the beginning of the term so there is no basis for an improvement analysis. Thus, teachers are left to a subjective analysis based upon student interest as expressed through attendance and appropriate listening characteristics as well as actual comprehensible output that may in fact be delayed. The only evidence of benefit, aside from the students’ self-evaluations is the 18% increase in the first time pass rate on the National English proficiency examinations, TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6, observable ability to make creative extemporaneous oral presentations and the success of graduates in obtaining employment where English skills are essential. On May 1, a delegation of major Shanghai employers visited Xinyang Agricultural College. After speaking with numerous students, the employers remarked, “Our Company hires graduates from famous Shanghai universities who have passed CET 4 and CET 6 but your students have better oral English skills than any of our employees.” However, the efficacy of the program in China’s 1st tier universities is still unproven. Attempts to test the program at numerous top tier universities were met with apathy, arrogance, skepticism and indifference.

CONCLUSION “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether I’'s the same problem you had last year.”

The Holistic English Program and the Holistic English Lab at Xinyang Agricultural College comprise the first serious, full-scale effort to implement English acquisition in the

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place of English learning, at any Chinese university or college. Development of both the Holistic English program and the Lab were guided by the sage advice of Dr. Stephen Krashen of the University of Southern California, “Second language acquisition occurs when comprehensible input is delivered in a low-anxiety situation, when real messages of real interest are transmitted and understood. … we learn best only when the pressure is completely off, when anxiety is zero, when the acquirer's focus is entirely on communication; in short, when the interchange or input is so interesting that the acquirer ‘forgets’ that it is in a second language.” The entire project was overseen by Dr. Niu Qiang, Associate Professor, Changchun University, Jilin, PRC.

Comprehensible Input The movie input is made more comprehensible by reading the vocabulary taken from the movie, along with either reading prepared definitions or researching definitions. The postmovie Internet research and writing assignments help the student to further understand the message of the movie.

Delivered in a Low-Anxiety Situation

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The multi-media room is operated like a commercial theater that allows eating and drinking. This is to create a more relaxed atmosphere. The Holistic English Lab is laid out and appointed in as “laid back” an atmosphere as the rigors of an academic institution will allow.

Real Messages of Real Interest All of the movies are Hollywood productions and most are based upon true stories or representative stories. After watching the movie the students have Internet research assignments and reading assignments that draw the students’ attention to current events in China that relate directly to the message of the movie. Thus the foreign movies are supplemented with real messages of current interest in a local context.

Pressure Is Completely Off The students have no pressure while studying the vocabulary of the movie. They are advised that they need to be familiar with the new words and their meaning but they are not required to memorize them. During the post-movie discussion, the students are told that there are no right answers and no wrong answers, just what they think and what they communicate using the words available in their mental lexicon. There is minimal correction so as to encourage oral production rather than inhibit it. Too much correction too early can actually create a permanent block to oral production. The students are not forced or required to

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produce oral English until they are ready. Premature compulsion can also cause substantial and permanent harm to the student. The Holistic English program and the Holistic English Lab conform to the basic requirements of language acquisition which is summarized as “comprehensible input in a friendly environment.” The students claim to have experienced a well balanced set of tangible benefits from the Holistic English program and find the Holistic English Lab to be a comfortable English speaking environment. The student evaluations stand for the following propositions: 1. The larger the class, the less benefit conferred, particularly with classes exceeding 40 students. 2. The students believe they have received real value from the Holistic approach to second language acquisition. 3. The students believe that they have not only benefited in reading, listening, writing and speaking skills; they also increased their world view and business knowledge. 4. There is a small percentage of unmotivated students who gained little or nothing from the Holistic approach to second language acquisition, thus confirming: a) There is no “one” teaching methodology that suits all students. b) There are always some students who are beyond the reach of external motivation and are simply unteachable. 5. The students believe that the benefits derived from the Holistic English program have increased each semester of participation.

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One of the real jewels of this paper could be easily overlooked. Lisa Class 4 of Business English NO: 23 stated: “It makes every student express his own opinion as he pleases and talk to each other.”

Each student must think for themselves and express their own personal opinion. There is nothing to memorize and repeat back. The Holistic English Program is not just about output, it is also about creating independent thinkers who can creatively approach their daily environment with a broader world view. There is no right or wrong answer, only what the students think and freely express. The students claim to have comparatively benefited simultaneously in all ten categories of intended benefit, which confirms the value of the Holistic approach using movies as the comprehensible input base for a conversation English acquisition experience. The benefits to Chinese students include: Eighten percent increased first time pass rate for TEM4 and CET4. Increased confidence Increased intrinsic motivation Increased self-discipline Increased reading, listening, writing and speaking skills

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Expanded world view and increased business knowledge Increased autonomous learning Development of creative thinking Graduates can speak and write comprehensible English and obtain the higher paying jobs. The Holistic English course was conducted simultaneously with the traditional reading, listening and writing courses; yet, the students found significant benefit in reading, listening and writing within the holistic course. This suggests that the traditional courses are in need of review. The efficacy of the Holistic English Program for both English majors and non-English majors is confirmed in second-, third- and fourth-tier colleges and universities throughout China. It is clear that no matter what the lower level of higher educational institution; no matter what the personal differences of the various teachers; no matter what the level of college students; the Holistic English Program is consistent in delivering significant benefits to Chinese college students. Professional “foreign experts” teaching English as a foreign language in China are frustrated with instructions to “just chat with our students”; no teaching materials or inappropriate texts; lack of an English speaking environment; and an unwillingness to sing and dance to entertain like white monkeys. The complaints of these professionals have fallen on deaf ears primarily because they were unable to offer any viable alternatives. The Holistic English Program arms these professionals with a proven English acquisition alternative. The success of the Holistic English Program does not depend upon teacher qualifications and, as reflected in Appendice C, it can deliver significant benefits to the students when conducted by a less than qualified or less than enthusiastic teacher. Students are a major force and their opinions trump all else. Students are dissatisfied with the current English teaching curriculum and its unproductive results. Students’ complaints have even appeared in the China Daily. Those students from affluent families, or on Government scholarship, go abroad to improve their English output. Poor students remain in China and suffer with poor English output. While it is economically unfeasible to send all Chinese students abroad, the Holistic English Program brings a bit of “abroad” to the students in China. The combination of frustrated foreign experts and dissatisfied students combine to create an unstoppable force for moving away from English teaching and towards English acquisition. Every successful revolution has had a just cause. Educational reform must include administrative reform as well as pedagogical reform. “Let's Not Speak for the Facts; Let the Facts Speak for Themselves.” This is not an EVOLUTION; it is a REVOLUTION.

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APPENDIX A: CUMULATIVE STUDENT EVALUATION None of the six universities and colleges implementing the Holistic English Program provided the most basic facilities and equipment necessary for proper implementation nor did they make even a modest attempt to create an English speaking environment for their students. We can only imagine what a modicum of administrative support would accomplish in increasing the educational benefits of the Holistic English program. The following three charts reflect the cumulative results of student satisfaction questionnaires from six colleges and universities in four provinces of China, including the northeast, (Liaoning) southeast coastal region, (Fujian) central region (Henan) and southwest region (Guangxi semi-autonomous region).

It is clear that no matter what the lower level of higher educational institution; no matter what the personal differences of the various teachers; no matter what the level of college students; the Holistic English Program is consistent in delivering significant benefits to Chinese college students.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen and Sophomore VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION Cumulative 6 schools

600 NUMBER OF STUDENT

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The efficacy of any scientific experiment is in being able to reproduce the same results, under similar conditions and variables. In the testing of the Holistic English Program in six different colleges and universities across China, there were two variables that were not consistent, i.e., teacher uniqueness and student disparity. Each teacher utilized his or her own classroom methodology and style. Each teacher had a different mix of students, i.e., each class was made up of students of variable academic qualifications for college admission as well as variable English proficiency. Yet, as both the individual charts and the cumulative charts confirm, all of the student participants received comparable benefits in similar percentages per class and cumulatively. The efficacy of the Holistic English Program for both English majors and non-English majors is confirmed in second-, third- and fourth-tier colleges and universities throughout China.

Vocabulary

500 400

Reading

300

Oral

200

Writing

100

Listening

0

1

2

3

4

5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 55.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen and Sophomore VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION Cumulative 6 schools

600 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

500 400

CONFIDENCE

300

MOTIVATION

200

DISCIPLINE

100 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 56.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen and Sophomore WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE Cumulative 6 schools

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

500 400 300

World View

200

Business Knowledge

100 0

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1

2

3 4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

Chart 57.

These cumulative charts from one fourth-tier, one third-tier and four second-tier colleges and universities further confirm that comprehensible output lags behind reading, listening and writing skills. Put another way, most students experience improvement in reading, writing and listening skills before they experience improvement in oral production skills. These cumulative charts likewise confirm that as discipline, motivation and confidence increase, students also experience improvement in their reading, writing, listening and oral skills. These cumulative charts further confirm that as the students find the comprehensible input from the movies to be interesting and exciting, they experience an increase in discipline, motivation and confidence. From a business perspective, treating the students’ responses as indicators of customer satisfaction, the Holistic English Program, as a marketable product, has a high degree of customer satisfaction.

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APPENDIX B Fall 2007 Semester – Guangxi University, Stacy Meeking [email protected]

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Stacy Meeking was born Melbourne, Australia. He was educated at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (Mount Eliza Campus), where he received a Bachelor of Business in Risk Management. He has worked towards Masters Degree (Risk Management – Indigenous Leasehold) NTU – Darwin Australia. He is an affiliate of Australian & New Zealand Institute of Finance and Insurance, having secured awards for highest exam scores for four subjects in 1994. He has been President of Australian Insurance Institute N.T. (AII) (two terms) and has sat on the National Board of AII for five years 1994–1999. He was appointed a “Foreign Expert” in China in 2003 and visiting English lecturer at Guangxi University, Foreign Languages College, Nanning, China where he continues to teach Oral English, English composition and debate.

Author’s Note Stacy Meeking taught the Freshmen I program in the fall ’07 term. Bonnie Yule (Canadian) and Karen Barnes (from Washington D.C., where Karen established and directed a church-based ESL program for fifteen years.), taught the freshmen II program in the spring ’08 term while Stacy Meeking taught an elective course wherein he tested new movies for inclusion in the Holistic English Program. Two movies have been added to the program as a direct result of these tests and student feedback. Both Bonnie's and Karen's classes were restricted by the College's insistence that they include certain standardized lessons from the standard GXU Oral English textbook in their HE classes. This had the effect of heavily diluting the major benefits of the HE programme due to time constraints on pre and post movie viewing discussion in class. This Holistic approach, to be really successful, requires teachers and administrators who are confident enough in their own abilities to take a few risks and let their students reach their potential. Many are not capable or game enough to roll the dice. Teachers who need step by step textbooks in order to function won't be able to grasp this programme.

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For many years now English as a second language (L2) has been taught and studied in China. In fact, English education in China has produced thousands, possibly millions, of English ‘experts’ who know more theory about English than native speakers. From a purely academic standpoint this is commendable. From a wider career advancement viewpoint its appeal is limited indeed. Anecdotal responses from students asking about their job aspirations reveal that most see English as a vehicle to a more promising and rewarding career. Responses from potential employers of students with L2 abilities note that they require effective L2 communicators. China’s production of L2 theorists is not meeting this need. An organization in need of an L2 communicator is not interested in the applicant’s deeper understanding of mnemonics. They want to know this: “can you effectively communicate in English to add value to my business or organization?” Today’s successful English L2 graduates in China need a skill-set which comprises an ability to effectively communicate in English: both written and spoken L2. This is where the Holistic English (HE) method is aimed. Ask any knowledgeable teacher, student or employer about the most effective way to learn L2, and the overriding majority will say that you should go and spend time in a country where the native language is your L2; where you listen, speak and write in a native language environment. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to be able to adopt this best option. But we can attempt to provide an L2 environment that is conducive to L2 acquisition. You will note the word “acquisition”, not “learn”. Acquisition is that you are able to use the L2 effectively. Learn means that you have consumed an amount of data about L2, but have not, necessarily, acquired the ability to use L2. There is a chasm between these two concepts of acquisition and learning, and it is this gap that the Holistic Learning approach is designed to bridge. HE uses English language movies shown in a friendly environment from which students are stimulated to discuss debate, assess, critique, analyze and share opinion. The HE workbooks are designed to introduce and prepare students prior to watching movies. This improves understanding and appreciation. They also have discussion topics and activities designed for in-class completion. In addition, there is vocabulary and research work to be completed outside class, which may involve Internet usage. There is ample flexibility and scope for teachers to employ many of their own classroom activities and individual teaching styles to compliment the HE model. The HE workbook is not a text book. HE is designed utilizing a holistic approach to language acquisition through comprehensible input in a friendly environment. (Stephen Krashen’s second language acquisition model) HE is not a movie course. Movies are just a vehicle to facilitate better L2 acquisition. The advantage of movies is, however, that they generate students’ interest – especially when they have done the requisite class preparation – and they are full of native English, including everyday speech, phrases and idioms; the English used in the real world today, which the students need to acquire in order to be accomplished English communicators. HE is best suited to English learners in the first four (4) terms of University in China. For English Majors there are workbooks for two freshmen and two sophomore terms and there are also modules for English in Business, International Trade, and International Law studies.

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In the first term of 2007/2008 academic year I introduced HE teaching to my freshmen English majors, which consisted of 135 students in five separate classes. These were compulsory for the first term only. The second term HE course was optional and some students had to pay to participate, depending on their credit load. 120 students signed-up for the second term optional class. Students are not stupid. They know when they are getting value. In my nearly six years of teaching English at Guangxi University, I have never known a course of English study that has generated such consistent, ongoing interest as HE. The students are enthusiastic and keen to participate in activities. They are acquiring English and they don’t even know it. This is precisely where they need to be.

FALL ’07 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION (classes limited to 25) Guangxi Freshmen Cumulative fall '07 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

50 40

Vocabulary

30

Reading Oral

20

Writing

10

Listening

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION (classes limited to 25) Guangxi Freshmen Cumulative spring 'o8 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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Chart 31.

35 30 25 20

Vocabulary Reading Oral

15 10 5 0

Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 32.

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai

FALL’07 Holistic English Freshmen I

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Guangxi Freshmen Cumulative fall '07

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

CONFIDEN CE MOTIVATIO N DISCIPLINE

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 33.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Guangxi Freshmen Cumulative spring '08

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

CONFIDEN CE MOTIVATIO N DISCIPLINE

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 34.

FALL’07 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE (classes limited to 25) Guangxi Freshmen cumulative fall '07

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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1

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 35.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE CUMULATIVE

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

Guangxi Freshmen cumulative spring '08 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 36.

One hundred 35 freshman English majors utilized the Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I. Two students failed to fill out the complete form so their responses were discarded. The questionnaire also asked what the students liked best about the class. Two answers dominated the responses: 1. I like the discussion after watching the movie because I can practice my oral English and creative thinking. 2. It helps build open and creative thinking.

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The students were also asked “If you had the authority, power and money, what one thing would you change at this school to make your educational experience better?” A total of 100% of the freshmen students responded to the questionnaire and four major complaints surfaced. (There was no advance discussion, coaching or planting of ideas. This question was a complete surprise to the students.) 1. More and better equipment. The existing computers are old, in disrepair and not enough to meet student needs. The sound lab and multi-media equipment is in disrepair. The students also require Internet access to complete homework assignments (60%). 2. More foreign teachers and better Chinese teachers (22%). 3. More English books in the school library (12%). 4. Foreign students as roommates (6%).

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APPENDIX C FALL 2007 SEMESTER – HUARUI COLLEGE at Xinyang Normal University, Kenneth Clarke [email protected]

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Kenneth Clarke, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Materials Science from Bradford University (1976). He has worked as a Metallurgical Engineer in the South African mining industry for 30 years. He was appointed a “Foreign Expert” in China and continues to teach in China. In the fall 2007 semester, Huarui College at Xinyang Normal University decided to teach English to all freshman non-English majors, for the first time in the college’s history. Five teachers were assigned to teach oral English to one-thousand three-hundred and eighty students. This created a very high student/teacher ratio calling for a creative solution. An attempt was made to introduce the Holistic English program. The reaction of the foreign teachers to a briefing on the Holistic English program produced mixed results. The main objection to the Holistic English program was the fear of losing classroom contact time with the students while they watched a two-and-one-half hour movie. At a subsequent meeting with the Chinese English teachers, they totally misconstrued the entire Holistic concept and interpreted it as a movie appreciation class. The Holistic program is new and they have no familiarity with it so they used their movie appreciation point of reference to judge the Holistic program. Subsequent investigation revealed that the University leaders were never approached about the Holistic program because it had been rejected by the inexperienced Chinese teachers. Although the Holistic English workbooks were in accord with the initial assurances that the foreign teachers would be allowed to select their own text materials, the university provided completely incomprehensible and unworkable textbooks for the oral English course. English class rosters were not provided to the foreign teachers until very late in the term which impeded effective teacher/student communications and attendance/grade record keeping.

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Although modern multi-media rooms were provided, they lacked Internet access which prevented implementation of the planned curriculum. This forced a fall back to trying the Holistic English Freshmen I program, on a very limited basis, to 474 students. The first movie, Tai Pan, was shown during two separate class periods on two separate days. By the time of the showing of the second half of the movie, the students had all but forgotten the first half of the movie. Showing the movie in segments was a complete disaster. Due to inadequate home computers supplied to the foreign teachers, it was not possible for the teacher to preview the movie and hence was unable to prepare any written homework assignment. The second movie, Eat a Bowl of Tea, was an absolute hit. The verbal response— laughing, oohing and aahing—was amazing, even more so after the teacher left the room and listened from just outside the classroom door. The students were provided a homework assignment and the results varied from mediocre to very good. The most important thing to be learnt here is that the movie and homework provided every student with a talking point. The third movie was Iron and Silk, also very popular. There was no “chaperone” with the students while watching the movie. There was no homework for this movie as the following discussion classes were disrupted by the official winter holiday schedule. A plurality of students had very positive reactions to the Holistic approach to English acquisition. At a subsequent meeting with the President of the college, a plea was made to fully implement the holistic English program for the spring 2008 semester He agreed and after some technical problems are worked out, such as scheduling evening movie classes, the Holistic English Freshman II program will be offered to the entire freshman class of 2007.

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SPRING 2008 SEMESTER – HUARUI COLLEGE at Xinyang Normal University, Kenneth Clarke It was decided that all 1,480 freshmen students would use the Holistic English Freshmen II workbook this term. A delegation of four teachers and two students, led by Juhia Ying, observed a Holistic English class in the new Holistic English Lab at Xinyang Agricultural College on Monday, March 10, 2008. Although the Agricultural College students had much lower college entrance examination scores than our students, we found that the second year students at the Agricultural College were as accomplished in English as our own students. We were very surprised to learn that the Agricultural College students had matriculated from the technical vocational middle school program and not the regular middle school program. This made their accomplishments in English all the more impressive. When we were informed that we were in fact observing a freshmen class and not a second year class; our amazement turned into disbelief until the students confirmed that they were indeed first year students. We were very impressed and desired to duplicate the entire Holistic program at our University. Subsequently our foreign teachers were assigned to their own classroom and all classes were required to be held in that assigned classroom. This was a marked improvement.

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As usual changes were made to the teaching schedule due to the non-arrival of one teacher and the non-employment of another. This resulted in a third of the students starting later than the others, as well as English majors being withdrawn from the program. In order to satisfy teacher’s teaching hours, classes were divided into two groups, to ensure that the teacher met his commitment of 20 periods per week. This initially did not appear to be a problem, but became a problem at the time of the National holiday and the subsequent earthquake disaster. It was initially decided that movie #1 would be shown to the “odd” students and movie #5 to the “even” students, then following sequentially for both groups. The reasoning behind this was that it would reduce the amount of copying in the dormitories. Also it gave the teacher a break before having to repeat the same lesson plan again. The program worked well, even with the usual teething problems, equipment breakdowns, classrooms commandeered by Chinese teachers and leaders, lack of information and unscheduled time re-arrangement for the Mayday Festival. Although this was a fairly straight-forward break the problem was accentuated by having two days prior to this scheduled as “sports days”. This totally confused the student body and led to a 3 week delay to rectify falling back in line with the program. One very annoying aspect was the withdrawal of a co-teacher from the program at mid-term. He withdrew without informing either the authorities or myself that he had done so, which was tantamount to admitting that he could not change his “teaching style”. It also resulted in his students being cheated of their money as they no longer used the workbooks they had paid for, although many of them still continued to watch the movies. The ultimate result was that the students ended up watching five movies (albeit different ones) and the spoken English at the end of the term was vastly improved to the start of the term. One student who at the beginning would NOT speak turned around at the end and said “See. I will speak to you in English”. This sort of positive attitude behavior is consistent with the concept of HE. Unfortunately the curriculum followed by our college makes no allowance for “oral” English for second year students at the moment, which means that the continuation of the HE program is unknown at this stage, but by the reaction of the students, if it is not continued, they will be very disappointed. My only wish at the moment is that all support is given to this program bearing in mind the old adage “You can please most of the people most of the time, you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. This just about sums up the entire feeling for the program—IF YOU WANT IT TO WORK, YOU CAN!!!

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION Xinyang Norm al University

120 NUMBER OF STUDENT

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230

100

Vocabulary

80

Reading

60

Oral

40

Writing

20

Listening

0 1

2

3

4

5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 37.

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China EFL: Holistic English

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE

Chart 38.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

Xinyang Normal University

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

World View

Business Knowledge

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

Chart 39.

Author’s Note

Robert Crawford – HUARUI COLLEGE at Xinyang Normal University

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The charts from the students of USA teacher Robert Crawford, El Monte, California, have been segregated from the rest of the students at Huarui College for the following reasons: 1. Early in the term this teacher embraced an unexplained hostile attitude towards the Holistic English Program and its author. 2. Half way through the term, this teacher made a libelous Internet posting condemning all aspects of the Holistic English Program, without a word to the authors about his concerns or complaints, thus requiring intervention by the author’s Shanghai lawyers. 3. At the end of April this teacher stopped using the Holistic English Program and substituted his own lectures on U.S. culture and using a book by Shanghai University Press called “talk 2.” He unilaterally converted his oral English class into a lecture class that showcased his academic prowess but did little or nothing to encourage or motivate his students to produce oral English. 4. In mid-June two more demands were required to remove additional libelous Internet posting from Robert’s my space account. 5. Robert left before the end of the semester and refused to use the agreed Questionnaire thus requiring another teacher to complete this aspect of Robert’s obligations. 6. In his previous term at Xinyang Normal, Robert showed his own selection of movies with such disastrous results that he switched to teaching the U.S. Constitution, with equally disastrous results.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION NUMBER OF STUDENT

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As can be observed in the following charts, Robert’s students give the Holistic English Program high marks.

Robert Craw ford at Xinyang Norm al University

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Vocabulary Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 40.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Robert Crawford at Xinyang Normal University

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

100 80 60

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION

40

DISCIPLINE

20 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 41.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE Robert Crawford at Xinyang Normal University

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

100 80

World View

60

Business Knowledge

40 20 0

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

1

2

3 4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

Chart 42.

The comments of Robert’s students are very telling about what kind of class Robert conducted. “Oral English class is very interesting and exciting….” “I like the method because we can see some movies and enjoy ourselves. At the same time we can learn more words, foreign culture and American slang.” “I like the free atmosphere during the movie we can talk about it with the classmates around us, not like in class, we can only listen careful.” A total of 92% of Robert’s students commented about how much he talks in their conversation class about US culture; how he talks about the movie before showing it and how he talks about the movie after showing it. When asked what they liked most about this class, 96% stated “movies.” Lecturing Chinese students about a foreign culture, without any reference point, or without wrapping it in a story, is useless. It does not give the students any basis for comprehensible output. It is simply a lecture. Robert made the cardinal error of many first time EFL teachers in China; he felt that what was most important was for him to tell the Chinese students what he wanted them to know about his home country. He lectured; he failed to facilitate the students’ conversation. This usually results from improper training, lack of experience, or ego that requires the teacher to

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be the center of attention. He was under the false impression that he was making great progress with his students because they sat attentatively smiling and nodding in agreement. The truth is known to most China teaching veterans as expressed by this student of Robert, “When I sit this class I can’t understand what the teacher say. But I put on my best. I think the best is the smile for our teacher.” It is also clear from the students’ comments that Robert was intent on correcting the students English, completely oblivious to the fact that premature correction can be extremely harmful and that at the freshmen level the most important thing is to encourage, not criticize, because it discourages. “Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition”, Stephen Krashen, 1982 What theory implies, quite simply, is that language acquisition, first or second, occurs when comprehension of real messages occurs, and when the acquirer is not 'on the defensive'... Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill. It does not occur overnight, however. Real language acquisition develops slowly, and speaking skills emerge significantly later than listening skills, even when conditions are perfect. The best methods are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.

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From Robert’s My Space posting it is clear that he is not properly schooled nor trained to be a teacher of anything, let alone EFL in China. Had Robert come to China with a proper attitude and followed through with the Holistic English Program to the end, he could have benefited from reading his students’ comments such as this: “Yes, I like it. But I think teacher should teach how to impress what they want to express but to discussion with students. Because at first many students can’t follow teacher’s speed and the most important skill is to express what we want to say.” A fair translation of this Chinglish is “The teacher should speak less and slowly and allow the students to express themselves more.” This is a fair criticism since this is the students’ conversation English class where they are supposed to have an opportunity to speak English in a safe and friendly environment. Robert not only cheated his students, he cheated himself out of a learning experience. But the Holistic English Program delivered the appropriate benefits to the students in spite of the inadequacies of the individual teacher. The Holistic English Program performed as designed.

Virginia – HUARUI COLLEGE at Xinyang Normal University

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Virginia is a middle-aged woman from the Philippines and an L2 English speaker. Virginia taught at this school for one year but none of her colleagues seem to know her last name or educational background.

Author’s Note

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION NUMBER OF STUDENT

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In previously published articles we have criticized China’s recruitment of L2 English speakers to teach oral English as a foreign language. We have been particularly critical of hiring people from the Philippines because they are unable to pronounce “F” or “L” properly and their teaching method usually consists of teaching singing and dancing. It is no surprise that many of Virginia’s students comment on her teaching them to sing songs and to play games. Apparently Virginia is also learning to speak Chinese because several of her students mentioned her use of Chinese in the classroom. We have also previously criticized foreign teachers using their classroom to improve their Chinese because this is not what they are being paid to do. (The Unqualified, Teaching (sic) The Unmotivated, In A Hostile Environment, (2007), Frontiers in Higher Education, Nova Science Publishers, New York) They are paid to assist their Chinese students with English. In developing the Holistic English Program we took the Virginias and Roberts of the Chinese EFL teaching world into account and designed a one-size-fits-all program that delivers the anticipated benefits to the students in spite of the teachers. Virginia’s student’s comments overwhelmingly praise the watching of movies as giving them something they can’t get out of a book, giving them knowledge about other cultures and giving them something they can talk about in class. Some students claimed the class was interesting while others claimed it was exciting. None of Virginia’s students claimed her class was both interesting and exciting. Many students stated that they wanted more oral Englishes classes like this where movies are central to the teaching method.

Virginia at Xinyang Norm al University

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Vocabulary Reading Oral Writing Listening 1

2

3

4

5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 43.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Virginia at Xinyang Normal University

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

CONFIDENCE MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 44.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen II WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE Virginia at Xinyang Normal University

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

40

World View

30 20

Business Knowledge

10 0 1

2

3 4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

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Chart 45.

APPENDIX D SPRING 2008 SEMESTER Yang En University – Robert Hill [email protected]

Robert Hill, BA Edu., was born in Pontiac, Michigan, USA. He obtained his BA in Economics (1968) from Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan and a BA in Education (1993) from the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. He has taught International

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Negotiations, Business English, International Trade and Conversation English in Turkey, Korea and has been a “Foreign Expert” in China since 2003. After teaching Business Majors International Trade during my first semester here at Yang-En University, I was asked to teach an additional elective conversational class. I had seen Holistic English and know the authors personally. The Holistic English Workbook Freshmen I was reviewed and finally approved. I scheduled two classes for 50 juniors and nine seniors. All of the students are International Trade or Economics majors. It was a challenge to prove to the students that “mistakes are good” and that the main point of the conversation class is to talk freely about the movie and about related subjects. After a slow beginning, the students began to enjoy the movie plus conversational class format. They can have some fun while planning what they will say during the second class. Actually, as the class has proved to be so popular, I have added FOUR new conversation classes which give the students more time to talk and encourage more lively discussions. The first movie The Terminal was enjoyed by almost all of the students even though the first week I still had 3 or 4 students in each class who were too shy to comment. My response to that has been to repeat, to write on the board and to stress that “mistakes are good” and our main purpose is to relax, to enjoy the movie & then have free talking. This seems to be working. With each successive movie, with each additional conversation class the students seem more relaxed and seem to be enjoying themselves more. I know I have seen a marked increase in class participation during the discussions. Once they realized that the movies are springboards to interesting discussions about life, about differences in culture and/or about how they can get more out of their student years, then their interest levels improved greatly. Yes, you can have fun while learning. The course has proven so popular that I am even showing extra movies… The main points are these. As a class, I believe Holistic English will be a success. The students like the idea of watching movies and then discussing them. The book, the process and the selected movies all work together to improve classroom enjoyment which helps improve their attention levels which leads to far better classroom discussions. And that after all is what this is all about. Students who are enjoying themselves pay more attention. Students who are enjoying themselves tell their friends and that is why there are more students in my classes now then at the beginning of the Semester. We will see if the questionnaire bears out my conclusions, but in my opinion it is simple. (1) I have seen first hand how shy students have improved their self confidence. (2) “Holistic English, it works”…

Author’s Note The charts from Yang En University indicate that the students received a comparable percentage of benefit as all of the other schools participating in the Holistic English Program. This confirms the efficacy of the Holistic English Program when considering the following: 1. From the very beginning and throughout the term, this teacher was more interested in coming up with schemes to have his name added to the cover of the Holistic English Workbooks than in focusing on facilitating a proper class.

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Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai 2. The teacher did not read the previously supplied foundational materials before commencing the Holistic English Program. 3. The teacher failed to follow the established protocol and instead rushed through each two week movie unit in one week, taught the class like a typical English learning class instead of facilitating an English conversation class, and deviated from the workbook by choosing his own movies and using them without the necessary preparation work. 4. This teacher unilaterally changed the questionnaire but not in a way that impacted on the validity of the charts. 5. The most disliked movie was What the Blurb, a movie not in the Holistic English Workbook. Too many foreign teachers suffer from the delusion that they know best how to select movies for Chinese students. 6. One student summed it up rather nicely: “Apparently this course will be improved a lot. The teacher will be more experienced and he knows what students are thinking. This course of this semester is not enough to improve us.” 7. A total of 97% of the students desire to take another Holistic English course next semester.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION Yang En University

NUMBER OF STUDENT

20 15

Vocabulary

10

Reading Oral

5

Writing 0

Listening 2

3

4

5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 46.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Yeng En University

20 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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1

15 CONFIDENCE

10

MOTIVATION DISCIPLINE

5 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

Chart 47.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE

Chart 48.

APPENDIX E SPRING 2008 SEMESTER CIB at Shenyang Normal University – Edwin Roessler (“Heroes”)

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[email protected]

Edwin Roessler was born in Hartford, Wisconsin, USA. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin in 1978. He retired from a career with the US Government in 2003, and was appointed a “Foreign Expert” in China that same year, where he has continued to live and teach ever since. He has taught Business, Western Culture, English Composition, and Conversational English classes at various universities throughout China, as well as Business Ethics classes as a Cooperating Teacher for Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. He owns operates a private English school and kindergarten in Fushun, China. Tuesday, March 4, 2008: Yeah, just got the go-ahead this afternoon. As mentioned earlier, the school wants to have both scheduled classes as well as movies every week. In keeping with that schedule, all students (with the exception of one) agreed to give up two hours of their free-time every week to come in and watch the movie. Scheduled movie night

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is tentatively set for Thursdays, 5–7 p.m., or until finished. Additionally, all the students agreed to pay for the reproduction of the workbook as well, should the school be unwilling to reproduce them free-of-charge. I'm not sure exactly what the school's stance is on that right now, but it doesn't matter any way. The school will definitely reproduce them either way. The first movie will be shown next week. The conditions and schedule aren't as you envisioned, but it's a start. The majority of the students appeared to be very excited about the concept. I'll let you know how it goes! March 14, 2008: The classes are going quite well, thanks. Our first Movie night went great. The students really seemed to enjoy it. I saw a lot of LED illumination, but it may have been from electronic dictionaries. I will say something in class about it this week. There were also students who came and went. Some of them just went after the movie started when they realized I wasn't taking attendance. I think I’ll have them sign out next week, and sign back in when they return. Concerning homework, rather than just give them a pass/fail, I think I'll score it on a scale from 1–5. Some students really care/try, and put much more effort into it than others. They deserve more credit for their effort than someone who just does a half-assed job, the way most things are done here. I'll convert the totals into a numerical grade, and count it as one-third of their final grade for the course. They'll also have one presentation, and one final oral exam. This program builds self-confidence very quickly, then intrinsic motivation follows and the students develop self-discipline and become autonomous learners. We did things a bit differently here at the College of International Business (CIB), Shenyang Normal University (SNU). Not by choice, obviously, but because the administration wanted both a movie and class every week, rather than offset them. So, that is what we did. We had our weekly classes where the students took weekly quizzes (five questions—four multiple choice, and one short answer to keep students honest), had student “question and answer” periods while I graded their weekly homework, and then finished with a review of the upcoming weekly movie, and corresponding vocabulary. Although it required the students to give up two-plus hours of their free-time to come in and see a movie one evening every week, none of them complained (none of them complained about having to spend approximately 25 CNY to purchase the workbook required for the course, either). The majority of them said they really enjoyed the movies. They said the movies gave them a welcome break from spending all their free-time in the library, or their dormitory room every night. As you read further, keep in mind that none of my students were English majors. I had 142 assigned students, one Junior, and 141 freshmen. They were all International Trade, Finance, Economics, and Law majors. In addition to what I gleaned above from my discussions with them throughout the term, and without analyzing any of their questionnaires, their major complaints / dislikes were: 1. The movies—unavailability on line. Several students complained that they could not watch them anywhere but in the classroom. They were not available to them on-line. CIB’s as well as SNU’s network administrator both said there was not enough bandwidth to even load the weekly movie on their respective Web sites, let alone all eight of them. Hard to believe, and I am not at all LAN, WAN, or Web-site savvy, but nevertheless. The students resolved this issue by copying the movies from the classroom computer’s hard-drive to memory sticks for personal viewing in the library, or their dormitory rooms.

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2. I believe it is imperative that the students have access to the movies outside the classroom. For those who copied the movies to memory sticks, many of them said they watched the same movie several times just to review specific parts of the soundtrack that they had difficulty understanding, even with the provided English subtitles. 3. The movies—outdated. Several students complained that a few of the movies were somewhat old, and outdated. Although true, they still all agreed that there was still much to learn from the movies, and the lessons learned / knowledge gained from each was still relevant in today’s society. Smart kids! 4. The movies—vocabulary. Several students complained that for a few of them, the vocabulary was too extensive. Yes, some movies do have more vocabulary than others, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It just requires that the students do more work, more research = more learning. Many students are simply unmotivated, and expect everything to be handed to them. Especially when they believe they have paid for it. 5. The movies—subtitles. Several students complained that there were no subtitles for a few of them. That is true, and a very valid complaint. It is especially valid when they have no other means of readily watching the movies again, on-line. That is just one more reason it is imperative to make the movies available to students on-line.

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And their major compliments/likes were: 1. The movies—the movies. After the complaints, imagine that. The majority of the students commented that they found most of them to be very entertaining, albeit entertaining in different ways. They said the movies helped them relax, and that they got a lot of enjoyment out of the majority of them. Again, the movies were a very nice break from otherwise spending every night in the library, or their dormitory rooms. Simply put, the movies made them happy! Just what every school administrator wishes for—happy students. 2. The movies—eye-openers. Many students commented that they opened their eyes, increased their world-view, their exposure. The students said that classroom discussions based on movie content afforded them the opportunity to express their opinions and discuss many topics that are taboo, or not discussed at all in other classes. They really appreciated and enjoyed the chance to speak out openly and freely about cultural differences in love, marriage, divorce, sex, education, politics, and religion, to name a few. And it was not just cultural differences, either. The movies also brought up discussions concerning personal, internal struggles between being 'traditional' Chinese, and more “open”; the pressure placed on them between doing what their parents want them to do, and what they would really like to do themselves. 3. The movies—vocabulary. Even though some complained that it was too much for some movies, they also said they did learn a lot of new words. Not just words, but also phrases, idioms, slang, expressions, and reductions, as well. 4. The student “question and answer” periods—They proved to be big self-confidence builders and shyness breakers for many over time. The students learned how to speak in front of a group. Even though most of the time they were just asking a series of

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prepared questions, sometimes they had to be able to defend their views if brought to task by one of their peers. That was when it really got interesting! 5. The student “question and answer” periods—Hand-in-hand with number four above, over time they learned to accept being laughed at for their mistakes. Actually, they learned that it was OK to make mistakes. And there were many mistakes made by all, and much laughter had by all, as well. I enjoyed a lot of good laughs, myself! Concerning the specific movies themselves, and again without analyzing any of the questionnaires, the movie that seemed to be most liked—The Terminal. Reasons given were that it was funny, entertaining, and easy to understand. The movie that was most disliked (it actually seemed to be the most difficult for many to understand, as well)—Tai Pan. Reasons given were because it was an old movie, and several students did not appreciate the way Chinese history was portrayed. As I mentioned, it was probably the most difficult to understand for many, as well. The runner-up for most disliked was probably Gung Ho—simply because several of the students have such a keen dislike of the Japanese. Several students were really upset/offended by it. It was quite surprising to me, actually. My personal experience with the Holistic approach and Holistic English program has been a very positive, very enjoyable one. I believe watching the movies and discussing them is an excellent venue for language acquisition, and the Holistic approach encompasses all aspects of language acquisition, not just speaking. Holistic English encompasses listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing skills, as well. It’s a very well-rounded course of instruction. The Holistic English course has the element of entertainment that gets students excited, and holds their interest. I am an educator myself, not an entertainer. I do not dance, sing, play guitar, play games, tell jokes, or tell stories as many students would hope. However, the movies at the heart of the Holistic English course certainly do seem to fulfill that desire/craving for entertainment that most students share here. Not only that, but most of the movies seemed to be very well received by the students, as well. They were excited about discussing them in class. In fact, classes often became quite animated when students were trying to make/get their points across with one another. It was a lot of fun, and very entertaining for me, as well. The course of instruction is very well organized. The way it is structured makes putting together a lesson plan a breeze. It is very simple, and very straightforward. The students really appreciate and enjoy knowing exactly what is happening from week to week as well. I guess if I had anything negative to say about the Holistic English course, it would concern the time-stamp on some of the movies. I would also suggest that some of the movies be replaced. I did not care much for Tai Pan either. I agree with the students, who thought it was old, and outdated. Nevertheless, there were still those lessons to learn, and other-worldly cultural differences to digest and discuss. In summary, I believe that the Holistic approach to language acquisition in general, and specifically the Holistic English course are very sound choices for any educator / school administrator. Especially for those educational institutions that are serious in seeking new, innovative, exciting, and captivating means of expanding the language acquisition of their student populations. Personally, I will continue to use the Holistic English approach and Holistic English course whenever, and wherever I can.

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Next year I will be teaching at XinYu College in Jiangxi, Province. I already have the goahead to use Holistic English there.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION

Chart 49.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE CIB at Shenyang Normal University

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

30 25 20

CONFIDENCE

15

MOTIVATION

10

DISCIPLINE

5 0 2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 50.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE CIB at Shenyang Normal University

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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1

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

World View

Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

Chart 51.

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10

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APPENDIX F QUESTIONNAIRE Class _____________________Freshman ____ Sophmore ____ INSTRUCTIONS 1) Fill in this form anonymously and hand it in before leaving the classroom. Print clearly. Question 1 Which movie did you like the best? ______________________ Why? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 2 Which movie did you like the least? ______________________ Why? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

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Question 3 Which movie was the easiest movie to understand? ________________ Why? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 4 Which movie was the most difficult? ______________________ Why? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 5 What did you like the best about this oral English class? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 6 What would you like to say about your foreign teacher? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 7 Please circle 1 to 10 (10 – greatest help; 1 – least help): Did this course help you to improve your:

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Question 8 What grade do you think you deserve in this class? ______________ Why do you deserve that grade? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Question 9

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If you had the authority, power and money, what one change would you make at this school so that your education would be improved? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX G FALL 2007 SEMESTER – Xinyang Agricultural College – Pan Youyi

Pan Youyi, Student Assistant

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At Xinyang Agricultural College, third-year students must serve a job internship prior to graduation. In the fall of 2007 the Dean of the Foreign Language Department gave me an internship as the student assistant to the Holistic English Program. My duty was to show the evening movies and enforce the class rules. I had to set a good example by arriving at the classroom early and making sure the students followed my example. If a student was late or did not bring their book, they were not admitted to the movie. The boys were required to sit in the front row and no one was allowed to use their mobile phone during the movie. In China the leaders should have a good attitude because the teachers or students will follow the leaders. If the leaders should have a bad attitude they will also be followed. So, leaders should have a good attitude. Time is money; we all know. But how many students come on time for a meeting? Western culture is very different. We should learn to have a good attitude and learning better ways will improve us. In fact every movie was very important for us. Every movie was talking about the business story. When we leave school, we will meet the same things and then we will know what to do The Holistic English Program was perfect. If we wanted to improve our English we must speak more, listen more, write more, and read more English. The program includes all the four parts. When we watched the movies we practiced listening and reading more English .When we do homework we practiced writing. When we discuss the movie we practiced speaking more English. The holistic room is very special. The desks were configured in two U shaped rows with the rear row elevated 40 cm, to facilitate better eye contact amongst more students. In the room there were no Chinese signs and the class size was limited to a maximum of 40 students A major problem was that the multi-media equipment broke down, over and over again, making us cancel a class and wasting the students’ time.

SPRING 2008 SEMESTER The leaders kept promising a TV for the Holistic English Lab but they never kept the promise. This was a big disappointment. The administration made a big mistake bringing Crazy English to our school and cheating our students. It became a sore point for the students who paid for a quick way to improve their English instead of following the Holistic way of reading more, listening more, writing more and speaking more. Now they know they were cheated by Crazy English and they blame the school. There were three International classes but only one had Holistic English Freshmen I before. Now the two classes that had standard textbook oral English before are far behind and unhappy with their low grades. Because the school did not keep its many promises to support the Holistic English Program, the foreign teacher left our school and took the program away. What a pity. I got this from the Holistic English Bulletin Board.

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APPENDIX H SPRING 2008 SEMESTER, Xinyang Technical and Vocational College – Julia Anderson [email protected]

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Julie Major was born in Houston, Minnesota and has lived in Minneapolis all her life. She received her B.A. degree in French and Social Science from the University of Northern Colorado (1966). She received a degree in Esoteric Philosophy from Sancta Sophia Seminary in 1992. She has taught French, Montessori, Computer Software and Conversation English. She came to China as a “foreign expert” in 2005 and continues to teach English at Xinyang Technical and Vocational College. Initially the administration was not keen on my using the Holistic English program and it did not fit my intensive teaching schedule of two periods twice a week. After the semester began my teaching schedule was reduced to two periods once a week and the administration gave approval to use the Holistic English Program. First update: I have completed the first chapter of the series and for the most part it went well. I am pleased with the student's ability to communicate orally after having prepared for and viewed the film. I was surprised that 15 students did not come to see the film. I threatened to fail them if they did not show up for the next film. I taught the first Holistic English workbook to second term sophomores at Xinyang Vocational and Technical College, two classes of approximately 50 students per class. I had taught these students for 2 previous terms creating lesson plans using a text which was British and in story form and enrichment materials to encourage conversation in pairs and groups of four on themes like travel, shopping, food etc. As you might imagine, the shift to using these materials was difficult for the students. They liked the idea of seeing movies but they did not want to do the homework. With encouragement and a few threats, the students finally understood the importance of learning the vocabulary before seeing the film and especially completing the written answers to the questions about the film. Those students, who worked diligently on all the skills which this course is designed to develop ie. Listening, speaking, reading and writing, improved greatly in their ability to express their ideas, thoughts and feelings about what they had seen in the various films. The class discussions were relevant and meaningful to the students. They learned that with the proper preparation and tools, they could express themselves and be heard by others in the

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class. They liked that and it gave them more confidence to continue trying to communicate their opinions. The following are statements made by the students from these classes: “I think I am more confident and brave. At first, I can’t speak English correctly or clearly, but now I can speak freely.” “In this class, we can talk with each other easily and freely. Our teacher often give us enough time to recognize and receive the new knowledge. We can appreciate many moving films and learn many foreign customs and habits.” “I think the oral class is good for us to improve our express technique. It can make me brave so that I can say what I want to say.”

When I arrived in Xinyang and began teaching these students at Xinyang Vocational and Technical College, these students buried their head and simply did not want to speak English. I was their first foreign teacher and I found the task of teaching these students daunting. But I happy to report that most of these students have come to the point of wanting to be heard. The Holistic English course has contributed greatly to heighting this desire by giving them interesting films and pre and post exercises which are the tools for helping the students to express their opinions by reading, writing, listening and speaking about a relevant topic.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I VOCABULARY – READING – LISTENING – WRITING – CONVERSATION Xinyang Technical and Vocational College

25 20

Vocabulary

15

Reading

10

Oral

5

Writing

0

Listening

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 10 = GREATEST HELP

8

9

10

Chart 52.

SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I CONFIDENCE – MOTIVATION – DISCIPLINE Xinyang Technical and Vocational College

30 NUMBER OF STUDENTS

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NUMBER OF STUDENTS

30

25 20

CONFIDENCE

15

MOTIVATION

10

DISCIPLINE

5 0 1

2

3

4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

Chart 53.

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SPRING ’08 Holistic English Freshmen I WORLD VIEW – BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE NUMBER OF STUDENT

Xinyang Technical and vocational College

30 25 20 15 10 5 0

World View Business Knowledge

1

2

3

4 5 6 7 8 10 = GREATEST HELP

9

10

Chart 54.

The students were also asked “If you had the authority, power and money, what one thing would you change at this school to make your educational experience better?” A total of 100% of the sophomore students responded to the questionnaire and three major complaints surfaced. (There was no advance discussion, coaching or planting of ideas. This question was a complete surprise to the students.) 1. More foreign teachers and better Chinese teachers (59%). 2. More and better equipment. The existing computers are old, in disrepair and not enough to meet student needs. The sound lab and multi-media equipment is in disrepair. The students also require Internet access to complete homework assignments. The living equipment is old and does not work (33%). 3. More English books in the school library (8%).

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Author’s Note Julie’s story represents what every foreign teacher dreams of but few ever experience; taking a group of disinterested, unmotivated, shy L2 English speakers and transforming them into magpies.

APPENDIX I HOLISTIC BOOK I The Terminal Coach Carter Tai Pan Gung Ho Iron and Silk Not without My Daughter The War of the Roses The Joy Luck Club Eat a Bowl of Tea

Runaway Jury HOLISTIC BOOK II Gandhi Stand and Deliver A Great Wall Freedom Song World Trade Center Supersize Me Reversible Errors Walk the Line

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HOLISTIC BOOK III Erin Brockovitch Wall Street Other People’s Money Disclosure Working Girl Rainmaker

China EFL: Holistic English Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

JFK Fahrenheit 911 NIXON Pentagon Papers

HOLISTIC BOOK IV Barbarians at the Gate North Country McLibel Life and Debt

HISTORY ( China ) Tai Pan The Last Emperor

An Inconvenient Truth A Civil Action The Constant Gardner Class Action

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JEWISH CULTURE Fiddler on the Roof Schindler’s List The Ten Commandments Judgment at Nuremberg The Pianist Ben Hur Munich Exodus JOURNALISM The People vs. Larry Flint Good Night and Good Luck All The President’s Men Broadcast News Up Close and Personal Absence of Malice Control Room Outfoxed US POLITICS Thirteen Days Truman The Hunting of the President Patriot

Sand Pebbles Black Sun: The Nanjing Massacre The Joy Luck Club Iron and Silk Eat a Bowl of Tea A Great Wall INTERNATIONAL POLITICS Hotel Rwanda Gandhi Beyond Borders In My Country Salvador Life and Debt Yes Men OTHER CULTURES The Terminal Heaven and Earth 12 Angry Men Inherit the Wind Gung Ho Drug Wars Born into Brothels Maria Full of Grace The Motorcycle Diaries 8 Mile US CIVIL RIGHTS Mississippi Burning Freedom Song

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251 Free At Last Rosa Parks Story Martin Luther King Jr. 4 Little Girls The Great Debaters Ghosts of Mississippi MUSIC Ray Walk the Line The Story of Jazz (Masters of American Music) Louis Armstrong: Satchmo (2000) The Benny Goodman Story The Jazz Singer Great Balls of Fire Sweet Dreams Honkytonk Man WW II (Pacific Theater) Appointment in Tokyo/ Documentary The Battle of China/ Documentary Empire of the Sun Midway Pearl Harbor Black Sun Rising Bridge Over the River Kuai VIET NAM ERA Good Morning Viet Nam The Killing Fields Platoon Apocalypse Now Coming Home Born on the Fourth of July The Deer Hunter We Were Soldiers MIDDLE EAST

252 Hidden Wars of Desert Storm Kandahar Not without My Daughter Osama Syriana Uncovered Flight 93 SPORTS Million Dollar Baby A League of Their Own

Niu Qiang, Martin Wolff and Teng Hai Cadyshack White Men Can’t Jump Bad News Bears Ice Princess Gridiron Gang Love and Basketball INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW 3rd The Paper Chase The Firm Disclosure

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Life and Debt North Country McLibel The Insider Working Girl Wall Street The Corporation Erin Brockovitch 12 Angry Men Inherit the Wind

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REFERENCES Brody, J. (2002). “Learning through self-talk”. In Speak2me, December 2002, No.1. Cook, V. Second language learning and language teaching. Edward Arnold. 1991. Cohen, A. (1998). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language. London: Longman. Ellis, R. (1985). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gardner, R. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. London: Edward Arnold. Gardner, D. and Miller, L. (1999). Establishing Self-Access—From Theory to Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gardner, R. and W. Lambert (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon. Krashen, S.D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Little, D. (1990). “Learner autonomy in practice”. In Autonomy in Language Learning. London: C.I.L.T. Little, D. Learner (1991). Autonomy 1: Definitions, issues and problems. Dublin: Authentik. Lightbown, M. and Spada, N. (1999). How Language Are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Littlejohn, A. P. (1983). Increasing learner involvement in course management. TESOL Quarterly 17(4). McDevitt, B. (1997). “Learner autonomy and the need for learner training”. In Language Learning Journal, September 1997. No.16, 34-39. 1997. Myers, C. (1990). Facilitating learner independence in the adult ESL classroom. TESL Canada Journal 8(I). Niu Qiang, “On different types of output and the elicitation of optimal output”. Teaching English in China. Vol. 24, No.1. 2001.

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China EFL: Holistic English

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Niu Qiang, “Reexamining the role of input and the features of optimal input (I)”. Teaching English in China. Vol. 24, No.3. 2001. Niu Qiang, “Reexamining the role of input and the features of optimal input (II)”. Teaching English in China. Vol. 24, No.4. 2001. Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning. USA: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. O’Melley, J. and A. Chamot. Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1990. Oxford, R.L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. New York: Newbury House/Harper Collins. Pickett, G. (1978). The Foreign Language Learning Process. London: The British Council. Richards, J. and Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wenden, A. (1990). Learner Strategies for Learner Autonomy. New York: Prentice Hall.

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Chapter 14

INCOMPATIBILITY OF CORPORATE TRAINING AND HOLISTIC ENGLISH Martin Wolff

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I. INTRODUCTION Although “English fever” is running rampant throughout China and is claimed to be “market driven”, the rush to institute English learning nationwide, with more than 1,000,000 Chinese teachers of English who are themselves, for the most part, unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English or teach in the target language, has miserably failed to meet market needs. The goal of universities and colleges throughout China is to have students pass national English competency examinations such as TEM 4, CET 4 and CET 6. Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that these national English competency examinations bear little or no relationship to comprehensible output, the pass rates have become the exclusive focus of administrative attention and false pride. This is in part due to the demands of Chinese employers who are misinformed that passing CET 6 is the evidence of an accomplished English speaker1. Wang Shugua, President of Harbin Institute of Technology, is quoted as saying “I recognize CET as a good tool to promote English studies but I am against the practice of regarding a CET certificate as the prerequisite for graduation, which is totally misleading.” He tried to eliminate the requirement for a CET certificate in order to graduate from HIT, but gave up without success. “I had to reconsider the usefulness of CET certificates in job hunting for our graduates. Almost all employers want their recruits to have a CET certificate, so I had to push my students to pass the CET for their good, although it is against my will.”2 The market need for graduates who can produce comprehensible English output has been completely ignored. Consequently, foreign employers, Joint Venture employers and Chinese companies doing business abroad are hiring university graduates from India because they are 1 2

Yuankai, Tang, 9/6/07 Beijing Review, Education Feared to Raise Robots. http://www.bjreview.com.cn/ special/txt/2007-08/31/content_74644.htm (accessed July 10, 2008) Beijing Review, Education Feared to Raise Robots. http://www.bjreview.com.cn/special/txt/2007-08/31/content_ 74644.htm (accessed July 10, 2008)

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better able to produce comprehensible oral and written English, than their Chinese counterparts. Imagine more than five million Chinese university graduates, who have learned English for 16 years, many of whom are being passed over for Chinese jobs in China. This is simply unacceptable! English is one of “the 10 most popular disciplines that saw low rates of employment last year.”3 Chinese universities are under tremendous pressure to change curriculums to meet the needs of the job market. But instead, they are simply reducing enrollments in certain majors.4 “One of the reasons for the difficulty in university graduates finding employment is that they are unable to satisfy the needs of employers,” he said. (Yang Weiguo, associate professor of Beijing-based Renmin University) He said the universities needed to adjust their teaching methods and content quickly to conform to social development and demand.5 Both “in house” and private corporate English training centers are proliferating throughout the business hubs of China. The curriculum is usually industry specific and amounts to ESP (English for a specific purpose), i.e. the teaching of technical language and phrases to meet the perceived need to limit English communication to a standard or formal form of English related to a specific discipline such as medical English, legal English, architecture English, IT English, etc. Holistic English is to English language learning what Chinese traditional medicine is to health care—a holistic approach. Holistic English moves away from the traditional focus on grammar and lexis. “While there is a need for specialist terminology, the greatest need of international employers is to have employees who can communicate successfully in English. Thus, communication and accommodation should be emphasized in language instruction; the mastering of perfect grammatical forms is an added bonus that can be reserved for later refinement. Flexibility is just as important as the mastering of prescribed forms, if not more so. In order to communicate to communicate across international boundaries, students must learn to adjust to their interlocutor in order to facilitate understanding. Moreover, because of the growing use of English as a global lingua franca, students of the language need to be exposed to a wide range of English accents in order to increase their abilities to understand the people they are likely to encounter in an international career. Furthermore, it is not only formal but informal language skills that should be practiced at university; students should be made aware of the different genres and registers in English, so that they can determine the appropriate use of the language in the various situations in which they are likely to find themselves. …. Finally, students should be taught skills that allow them to mediate between languages and cultures. Thus an intercultural approach is needed in language teaching, so that future employees are ‘able to view different cultures from a perspective of informed understanding’ (Corbett 2003:2)6 An approach that has the goal of successful intercultural communication at its core will prepare students for the relatively unpredictable needs of language use in corporate Europe.”7

3

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-06/27/content_6799171.htm Beijing-based survey company Mycos HR Hot courses won’t secure good jobs (Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2008). http://www.china.org.cn/ china/national/2008-01/12/content_1239129.htm (accessed October 10, 2008). 5 20% university graduates fail to find jobs in 2007 (Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2008) http://www. china.org.cn/english/China/239233.htm (Accessed October 1, 2008). 6 Corbett, J. 2003, An intercultural Approach to English Language Teaching, Clevedon and Buffalo: Multilingial Matters. 7 Erling and Walton 2007, English at work in Berlin, English Today Volume 23 Number 1. 4

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II. EXPERIMENTS We have now experimented with Holistic English at three of China’s largest IT companies in Dalian, Liaoning Province and at China’s largest state owned Oil Company in Guangdong Province. All four experiments were terminated prior to the previously established completion date. The premature termination was not due to any lack of enthusiasm or motivation of the trainees. Nor was it due to any lack of progress by the trainees. The trainees were enthusiastic, motivated and disappointed by their respective administration’s failings to fully support the Holistic English Program or to assist in the creation of an English Speaking Environment. Unfortunately, the administrators and program directors are so steeped in language learning methodology that they are simply unable or unwilling to grasp the concept of language acquisition, notwithstanding their proclamations of support. The administrators and program directors initially expressed their full support for the Holistic English Program but that support eroded very quickly and evaporated within the first four weeks of the program. There was a predilection to teach set phrases specific to their particular industry, (ESP). Although the trainees lacked a sufficient English background to speak English, let alone use it creatively, they were expected to memorize set phrases that would be “useful” in their specific job. General English knowledge and ability to creatively use English were not seen as “useful.” This is similar to teaching a parrot to speak “Poly want a cracker.” The parrot does not know who Poly is, does not know what a cracker is and has no idea if Poly really wants a cracker, but the parrot can speak. Trainees speaking set phrases are but mere parrots. There was a refusal to provide even the minimal efforts of support for creating an English speaking environment, after initially promising such support. In one program the Chinese staff agreed to speak to the trainees in English outside the classroom but this never materialized. Instead, the excuses flowed like water. Exceptions to the “English only” approach became so numerous that there was no English spoken to the trainees outside the classroom. The administrators and project managers pandered to trainee complaints. When trainees complained about having to do homework to prepare to watch a movie, the leaders sought ways to eliminate the homework while completely ignoring the need for the trainees to familiarize themselves with the new vocabulary of the movie to make it more comprehensible. Some administrators went so far as to suggest that the homework could be substituted with Chinese subtitles, completely ignorant of any modern language acquisition theory. When the trainees complained about having to watch the movies in a group and instead favored watching the movies individually on their laptops, an edict was handed down, without any consultation, that group viewing would be terminated. This unilateral decision ignored the checks and balances built into the Holistic English Program that included checking homework before watching the movie, checking homework after watching the movie and grading the homework in a timely manner to provide valuable feedback to the trainees. It also ignored the value of group reaction that prompts a trainee to question why they failed to react, as the rest of the group reacted, to particular scenes.

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It allowed undisciplined trainees to make numerous excuses for not watching the movie at all, such as not enough time, too busy, movie too long etc. It also removed the language acquisition element of watching the movie for fun and replaced it with an opportunity to stop, rewatch, and memorize language chunks, all elements of language learning, and thus transforming the Holistic English Program into just another language learning class. And last but not least, allowing the trainees to watch the movie on their personal computer, at their leisure, required illegal distribution of movies in violation of China’s copyright laws. This was somewhat ironic since the IT companies were vigorously attempting to protect their own work from piracy. When administrators and project managers make partial class observations and do not hear recitation of English, they assume that there is no “useful” activity occurring and that the course must be changed. Administrators and project managers could not see the value in a broad based English background, expanded world view or increased business knowledge.8 The IT companies objected to movies that would inform the trainees of copyright laws or sexual harassment laws. It was discovered that the IT trainees were treated as “property” without any personal intellectual property rights. The company owned them and everything they created. The administrators and project managers were all former university professors in a system that silently condoned sexual harassment of students by professors. There was an element of selfpreservation in not wanting the trainees to learn about sexual harassment laws.

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CONCLUSION Comprehensible oral English production first requires comprehensible input. Actual speech in the L2 requires self-confidence, intrinsic motivation and autonomous learning strategies. Progress is not measurable by how many set phrases a person can remember, usually without any appreciation for appropriate use. Language acquisition success is observable when a student who previously mumbled a few English words while staring at his shoes or while surveying the paint on the ceiling, looks you in the eye and produces a coherent and comprehensible English sentence. Success is when a student who never speaks in class becomes so talkative that they must be asked to give others a chance to practice their English. Success is when a student relates a news story they read but were not assigned to read. Success is when a student responds instantaneously, in correct English, to a completely unexpected situation. But these are not the measures the administrators and project managers are seeking. The English learning methodology of the past 25 years that has failed to produce speakers of comprehensible English is favored under some misguided notion that just another 4 or six months and it will work. They want to hear their parrots talk!

8

Working Girl (intellectual property), Disclosure (sexual harassment), North Country (sexual discrimination).

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Chapter 15

GRADE INFLATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff

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BACKGROUND By Western standards, grade inflation in Chinese universities is out of control. In a famous Chinese university within the north Shanghai university ghetto, Chinese professors, associate professor, lecturers and other staff are required to assign 40% of their students an “A” grade; 30% must receive a “B” grade and 30% are required to receive a “C” grade. A grade of “D” should be used very sparingly because it would tend to discourage a student and a grade of “F” should only be used when a student’s tuition remains unpaid. In a Joint Venture business institute in central Shanghai, any student who fails their final exam is entitled to a re-examination and another and another until they receive a passing grade. A different teacher administers and grades each successive examination until one is found who will give the coveted passing grade. At a famous university in Beijing, a student who fails a final examination may pay a visit to the teacher at home, bringing gifts of food, money and even sexual favors to raise their grade. At a university in central China, foreign teachers are encouraged to pass everyone. When the foreign teachers give a failing mark, the mark is raised to a passing grade administratively. At a central China university every teacher must submit three alternate final exams for administrative approval. If the original teacher fails a student, the failed students gets two shots at a make-up exam, with two different teachers doing the grading. No student fails all three exams. At a Joint Venture university in Dalian, an administrator’s child who was a student at the time was hired as a computer technician and given complete access to the school’s computer system, including the codes to access official records. He was the most feared and loved student on campus. He had access to all teachers’ computers and tests. He always received an “A” grade on every final exam, even exams where no other student was able to achieve an “A” grade.

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At one Joint Venture university in northern China, failed grades remain failed grades until the student pays new fees and retakes the failed course. Another Joint Venture school in northern China tried that, and went so far as to expel students who failed three courses. The parents stormed the dean’s office in protest. The expelled students were reinstated and admitted on probation. There was never another failing grade issued. A very famous Beijing university utilizes tutors to assist foreign professors who teach long distance program from their home foreign university. A tutor was pressured and even threatened to change certain low grades. The tutor succumbed to the pressure and threats. When the foreign professor learned of this, he contacted the authorities at the Beijing University, who denied any knowledge of pressure or threats against the tutor. Within a short span of days, the tutor was dismissed. Chinese teachers know the score and only violate the grading policy when they know there is an opportunity for economic enrichment from a rich parent or when they lust for a student. While some schools encourage foreign teachers to fail deserving students, the list of failed students has all the potential to become an extortion list. Foreign teachers usually exhibit disdain for the grading policies, if they are made aware of them. Usually, foreign teachers become aware of the grading policy by accident or learn of it if they have taught for several years in China. Foreign teachers usually submit their grades to someone who inputs them into the school’s computer system while Chinese teachers input the grades directly into the computer system.168 Foreign teachers rarely receive the access code the course grades section of the school computer system and thus never really verify what grades were assigned to their students. Foreign teachers who object do not have their contracts renewed. It is generally understood throughout China’s higher educational system that once a student has been admitted; they will graduate so long as their tuition is paid and they have not committed a serious offense against school rules or a law of China.

NEW GRADING POLICY In the fall of 2007, at Xinyang Agricultural College, 22 English major students failed to meet the attendance requirements of the Holistic English Program and thus were not allowed to sit for the final examination and received a grade of “0”.All 20 failing grades were administratively raised to a passing grade over the concerns and objections of the foreign professor. In the spring of 2008, these same 20 English major students (15 boys and 5 girls), plus another two boys, failed to attend a single Holistic English class, their only oral English class. 168

In Anhui, I taught at a local university in Hefei for two and a half years. When school started again in the fall of 2005, I was greeted by a class of sophomore English majors who seemed depressed and down and out. Several of the students complained about their final marks the previous semester. I told them that I would bring my grade book in the next day and I requested that they go online and tell me what there marks were. Out of approximately 25 students, 7 grades were not changed, 10 grades were lowered and 8 marks were raised. After lunch I climbed 5 flights of stairs to the Foreign Languages Department and spoke to the Dean, how an error like this could possibly happen. She didn't have a clue. To make a long story short, I told her that I felt I would have no integrity with my students and that I would resign if the grades were not changed. They were changed within a week. It seems that the person entering the grades with a family name of Chen was incompetent and his father was a professor/leader. http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=60621

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The foreign professor was asked to re-examine the students and give them a second chance, a plea that was rejected since the Holistic English class is a participation class and the students never participated, not even once. A serious dialogue ensued wherein it was agreed that the failing grades would remain and be logged into the students’ scholastic record. The administration recognized that the “everyone passes’ policy was anti-academic, cheated the students and Chinese society, and denied the professor the ultimate external motivation device. The foreign professor called a meeting of the 22 failed students, with the administration’s approval, and offered them a second chance program. (Thirty minutes prior to the meeting, one female student called the foreign professor and stated that she was too busy to attend the meeting and wanted to meet on another day. The student was informed that the meeting was a second chance meeting and that no third chance meeting would be scheduled. She did not attend the second chance meeting.) The students were offered an opportunity to earn a revision of their prior failed grade if they met the following conditions: 1. They must attend all of their classes this semester, not just the Holistic English class., and they must sit up front and do all of the assigned homework. 2. They must attend all four weekly free choice evening English movies and sit up front where roll would be taken for them. 3. They must attend a special remedial class to be held on Saturday afternoons at 2:30. 4. A single failure to meet these conditions would result in the prior failing grade becoming permanent.

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The stakes were extremely high for these 22 English major students because with a “0” grade in their record, they will not graduate until they repeat the course after paying new tuition fees. All 20 English major students, who attended the second chance meeting, agreed to the conditions.

CHINA IS ALWAYS CHANGING, BUT CHINA NEVER CHANGES Within the first three days of the second chance program, four students failed to meet the agreed conditions and were dropped from the program. We are compelled to conclude that there are some students who are not only unteachable; they do not belong in any institution of higher education. AND THEN THE SHOE DROPPED! Two weeks into the second chance program it was discovered, when the students started dropping out of the program en mass, that all of the failing grades had already been administratively changed to passing grades. The second chance program was immediately terminated upon confirmation of this information. A written inquiry was made of the administration, “Is it true that so long as a student’s college fees are paid and they do not kill a teacher, they will receive a passing grade in every course, even if they never attend a single class?” There has been no response, no denial. This is the norm throughout China, not the exception, and is just one reason a Chinese college education receives little or no recognition in the west.

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CONCLUSION

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We are not optimistic that the west will give much credence to a Chinese university diploma so long as it is a matter of entitlement rather than something to be earned. Although China graduates approximately five million college graduates each year, China is not developing a highly educated society.

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Chapter 16

ENGLISH CORNER Martin Wolff INTRODUCTION If we are to believe the single definition of English Corner produced by Google and Google Scholar searches, English Corner is unique to China.

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DEFINITION: English Corner From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The phrase English Corner commonly applies to informal periods of instruction in English held at schools and colleges in China. These sessions are sometimes lead by native Chinese teachers or less often by teachers who are native speakers of English. The emphasis in these sessions is on improving the oral English skills of the participants. Often the activities in primary and secondary schools focus on cultural activities such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas among other festivals and holidays common in English speaking countries. As an informal session the topics can be far ranging. Usually English Corner activities are held on Friday afternoons after lunch in many schools.

HISTORY OF ENGLISH CORNER We were unable to find any English written history of English Corner (EC). However, it is commonly believed that EC began in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, some 25 years ago when one Chinese student observed another Chinese student reading an English book while waiting for a traffic light to change. It is said that they struck up a conversation and agreed to meet back at that corner, next week, same time, same corner. The authenticity of this oral history must be questioned in light of known Chinese culture. First, Chinese are loathe to read English, even as a class assignment. It is suspect that a Chinese would be reading an English book on a public street. Second, the reported “corner”

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intersection is a circle surrounded by small public parks. There is no “corner.” Third, Chinese are not known for their compliance with traffic signals and it would be highly unusual to have someone actually waiting for a green light to cross. This historical account sounds more like a foreign interpretation of a Chinese oral historical account.169 It is undeniable that EC is unique to China. What began as an alleged chance social meeting on a public street has morphed through the years into several different formats. China now has the formal EC where a foreign teacher addresses an assembled group of Chinese students. In the west this is simply called a voluntary lecture. Then there is the informal EC where students are encouraged to ask questions after the lecture is completed. Then there is the EC assigned to a room where students can congregate and chat in English with a foreign teacher. There is the open air version held in the public square of the school. Sometimes the open air EC is advertised in the media or at other schools to encourage participation beyond the local academic community. Then there are the variations including an “optional coffee hour.” Under this version, a class is herded into a small cramped room with no air conditioning when the outside temperature is 32C and told to sit on stools. They are offered coffee and Chinese snacks. Then they are instructed to chat with the foreign teacher. When the foreign teacher asks “What would you like to do?” The unanimous response is “LEAVE.” The foreign teacher is later criticized for dismissing a “class’ without permission. The original social nature of a chance street corner meeting of two people with similar interests has been institutionalized and bastardized by an exuberant but misguided academic community. The institutionalization or organization of English Corner has converted an English acquisition experience into an English learning classroom extension.

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EFFICACY OF ENGLISH CORNER Searches of Google and Google Scholar provide not a single scientific study of the efficacy of EC. There are stories about how successful a particular EC may be but this is predicated solely upon the number of participants. EC has proliferated and spread to almost all of the 1,200 plus Chinese colleges and universities, all without any scientific basis. The efficacy can be summed up by reference to the “NOTICE OF ENGLISH CORNER” usually being posted in Chinese, “otherwise the students would not understand and they would not attend.”170 There is a basic failure to appreciate that a student who can not read and understand an English invitation would not have sufficient basic English capability to benefit from attendance at an English only event.

169

According to Paul Theroux’s book, Riding the Iron Rooster: by Train through China, English corner started in 1979 in People’s Park in Shanghai by old men who wanted to keep up their pre-Revolutionary English that they learned in mission schools. In fact, I attended the EC there in 1989 and talked to some of the old timers, many of whose English was impeccable. As you know, during the Cultural Revolution, anyone heard speaking English could be sent to re-education camps or worse, so there was a lot of pent-up demand after that (David Dixon, Foreign Expert, Shanghai). 170 Justification of a dean of a famous Shanghai University.

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LOVE IT OR LOATHE IT? A net citizen asks: “Is the idea of an English Corner to get the students to speak English or the foreign teachers to answer questions about whether they like Chinese food? I'm thinking the former but what happens with ours is the latter.” The EC issue has been thoroughly thrashed on many Internet China teacher chat rooms and forums. From these postings we observe the following:

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1. Very few foreign teachers like EC. 2. Very few foreign teachers find any value in EC. 3. Many foreign teachers are required to participate in EC because it is written into their employment contract. 4. Foreign teachers claim that the most successful EC is when it is organized by the students rather than the administration. 5. Chinese students usually ask a set group of questions at EC: Do you use chopsticks? Do you like China? Do you like Chinese people? Do you like Chinese culture? Do you like Chinese food? Where do you live? (Where are you from?) Do you play piano? Do you play guitar? What is your favorite color? Who is your favorite sports star? (Yao Ming is usually the only acceptable answer.) While most foreign teachers loathe EC, a super majority of Chinese administrators and teachers swear by the benefits of EC. They point to the foreign teacher conducted EC as proof that they have an English Speaking Environment on their campus. The foreign teacher conducted EC allows the Chinese administrators and teachers to completely abdicate any responsibility for creating or maintaining a true English Speaking Environment on their campus.171. In reality, as soon as an EC is established, i.e., a specific time when a foreign teacher is available for students to communicate in English, there is a tacit admission that no English speaking Environment exists on that campus so there must be a designated time to speak English. The existence of an EC is a significant factor in identifying whether or not a particular campus has an English Speaking Environment.

CREATE AN ENGLISH SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT Creating an English Speaking Environment (ESE) is no simple task. Each campus is unique and must be assessed independently. The campus evaluation should include an evaluation of five factors: 1) physical facilities; 2) Chinese staff; 3) students; 4) campus 171

Qiang/Wolff (2008) China EFL: Why Chinese Universities Do Not Provide an English Speaking Environment, Ch. 12, Education in China: 21st Century Issues and Challenges, Nova Science Publishers, New York.

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support staff such as bus drivers, cooks, librarians, etc.; and 5) on-campus residents and their families. Each factor is unique on each campus and defies any simple single formula for creating an ESE. The following is an evaluation recently conducted of a campus in Southern China, Guangdong Province. When contemplating the creation of an English speaking environment, the proper definition must be kept in mind. There are two required elements to a proper ESE. A proper ESE is one where the students are inundated with comprehensible English input and where it is easier to communicate in English rather than in the native Putonghua. An English speaking environment is defined as: "An environment where English is the dominant language." Or, "an environment where 172 people are compelled to speak English”. The conversion of a Chinese speaking environment at a school located in China to an English speaking environment at a school, located in China, is a monumental task akin to eating an elephant. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The transformation of a Chinese speaking environment to an English speaking one must be accomplished one step at a time. In designing an English speaking environment there are two major resources in play. There is the physical facility and the people. Both resources play an equally important role. The facility must impress the casual visitor with the fact that it is an English speaking and training facility. Everywhere you go and everything you see on campus should remind you to speak English. This begins with a western style STOP sign on both sides of the entrance gate and bilingual signage everywhere on campus, buildings to street names. Even the sign on the mango tree warning against picking should be bilingual. Since the hotel is on campus, it must be included. Every room of every building should encourage speaking English. However, the signage would not be my first priority. My first priority would be something that is most impressionable, has the highest cost effectiveness, reaches the most people constantly and has an unforgettable and unavoidable impact. (At Xinyang Agricultural College the first priority was a video wall in the main square that would play English movies with English subtitles every night to the entire college community. During the day it would play English news. The square is crossed regularly by 90% of the college community, several times a day.) If I had the authority, power and money, my first transformation project at the training center would be as follows; Purchase 5 flat screen TVs and permanently tune each one to a different English news channel. TV #1 and #2 – locate on the second floor of the campus cafeteria, one in each room. TV #1 tuned to BBC news. TV #2 tuned to CNN news (These channels are available through local cable service) TV #3 and #4 should be located on the first floor of the campus cafeteria. TV #3 should be tuned to Al Jazeera English news TV #4 should be tuned to Russian TV English news. 172

Creating Authentic Dialog: ESL Students as Recipients of Service Learning, Stephanie Marlow, Boise State University ( Boise , Idaho , USA ) “An environment where authentic dialog with native English speakers occurs on a regular basis presents ESL students with the possibility to grow both linguistically and socially” . http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Marlow-ServiceLearning.html.

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English Corner

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(These channels are available through a 1,000-rmb satellite dish.) Al Jazeera extensively covers the Middle East and Africa, both destinations for our trainees. Russian TV covers the Russia, the former Soviet Union block and the “…stan” countries bordering China and to which our trainees are assigned. TV #5 should be located in the 1st floor lobby of the teaching building and should be tuned to CCTV 9 International. The sound on all sets should be set just above the din but not so loud as to be intrusive beyond the target audience. The first thing people entering the teaching building would hear is English and the last thing they hear before leaving would be English. People waiting for the elevators would have the opportunity to watch and hear English, great preparation for their further activity on upper floors. The four TVs in the cafeteria should be available throughout the work day and not just during the meals. People should be able to watch anytime they have spare time or leisure time. Subsequently I would want to create an English reading room that contains free choice English reading materials exclusively. These should not be academic reading materials but general interest and at varying English levels. For instance, the newspapers should include China Daily, Shanghai Star, 21st Century, South China morning Post etc. Magazine should include Marvel Comics, 16, Ms. Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Modern Mechanics, P.C., Auto trends, Home and Garden, better house and Garden, Vogue etc. Books should include romance novels, mysteries, detective stories, BUT NOT THE CLASSICS. A video library should be available with English movies and English subtitles or no subtitles, BUT NO CHINESE SUBTITLES. An English karaoke room should be established where everyone can enjoy singing English songs BUT NO CHINESE SONGS. All computers and sound labs must have English programming NOT CHINESE. The computers can add Chinese language capability to the English programming so that communications may be prepared in a bilingual format. The above is my preliminary assessment of the facility needs of primary importance. It is not intended as an exhaustive list. Then we must have a comprehensive plan to deal with the human resource on campus. These must be divided into faculty and staff, service workers and incidental people. Two separate plans will be required. The faculty and staff will require mini-seminars on language learning versus language acquisition, immersion, how to create an English speaking environment. They will need to learn their importance in creating an English speaking environment. The service staff (bus drivers, hotel clerks, to cafeteria waitresses) may need basic English courses. Then there are the incidental people. One large segment of this group is the children who live on campus. I would suggest, at the very least, a Saturday morning English cartoon hour where the parents can take their babies and young children and older children can attend on their own. Another large segment of incidental people are the spouses who live on campus. I would suggest that every on campus home be provided with English TV channels. The third and lowest of my priorities would be English activities such as speech contests, debates etc. Such activities are English speaking opportunities but do not create the English speaking environment and are least important.

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Martin Wolff An English corner is a tacit admission that there is no English speaking environment so a special time for speaking English is set aside. And then it is relegated to a “corner” not the center. The above are my preliminary ideas after spending a few days on campus and speaking with numerous staff and students. The above is not intended to be exhaustive and the staff and faculty should be encouraged to give input. Make them partners in the transition work and they will be more willing participants. Trainees added the following suggestions for creating an ESE: English movies in dorm by closed circuit TV – no Chinese TV Bi-lingual signage on campus English electronic sign on Hotel English music on Public Address system Bi-lingual food signs in cafeteria Cafeteria staff should speak basic English Ability to check out English books from library English magazines such as fashion, beauty care, home decoration, new autos, popular mechanics etc. Speech contest Campus radio station should be all English Saturday or Sunday English Movie Theater Every classroom should have English signage

FIRST BITE OF THE ELEPHANT

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Assuming the threshold decision has been made to try creating an ESE, step, by step, what is the first step? Again, there is no single simple answer for every situation. The following is a first step taken at a Guangzhou institution of higher learning: Yesterday the foreign teachers convened a special staff meeting with all of the Chinese staff in attendance. This was a first for me. I mean I have never heard of the foreign teachers successfully demanding a staff meeting nor have I ever heard of 100% attendance at any staff meeting. The Chinese Dean, being fully aware of the meeting agenda, approved of the meeting. A foreign teacher presented a complaint received from several students. “The Chinese staff does not speak to us in English outside the classroom.” The foreign teacher pointed out that we are teaching English majors in an English program and are employed by an English department. She also pointed out that all of the staff has very good English skills and there is no apparent reason for the staff not communicating in English outside the classroom. We then listened to an hour of excuses. Another foreign teacher was called upon for comments. He walked to the front of the room wearing a red baseball cap with yellow letters that read “SPEAK ENGLISH.” He just stood there for two minutes until the laughter died down. Then he turned his back, took off the red cap and replaced it with a black cap. He then removed his outer shirt to reveal a black undershirt that read “ENGLISH ONLY” on the back. More laughter.

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English Corner

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Then he whirled around displaying the front of the shirt and the cap, both of which read “ENGLISH POLICE.” Both hands were cocked like pistols and he yelled “WE ARE SERIOUS.” Then all of the foreign teachers displayed their black shirts and caps. After the laughter died down, it was explained that every week arrest warrants would be issued for teachers who spoke to students in Chinese outside the classroom. Then the room went very silent. It was explained that every week a letter would be sent to the President identifying those teachers who were hindering student development by refusing to speak to students in English outside the classroom. Then every teacher was issued a red cap. Everyone put their cap on and agreed that they needed to speak to the students in English outside the classroom. The next morning, as the Chinese teachers went to their classrooms without their red caps, they were met by a room full of students wearing red caps reminding the teachers to “SPEAK ENGLISH.” The teachers were very surprised and taken aback. The students explained that they refused to speak with any teacher who spoke to them in Chinese. Within two weeks an administrative edict was handed down that the foreign teachers were prohibited from any further activity directed at creating an ESE.

The existence of an English Corner is a present danger and imminent threat to the effective creation of an English Speaking Environment. It not only constitutes an impediment, it enables the excuse makers. Kill the English Corner and create an English Speaking Environment. The great unanswered question is; why does China continue to implement a process that is without scientific basis and shows no appreciable benefits? After 25 years of English Corners, Chinese college graduates are still unable to produce comprehensible output.

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CONCLUSION An ESE provides an essential element for English acquisition173 while an English Corner is simply a tool for more English learning.174 Consider the definition of EC again, “…informal periods of instruction in English ….” 173

Language acquisition refers to the process of natural assimilation, involving intuition and subconscious learning, which is the product of real interactions between people where the learner is an active participant. It is similar to the way children learn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in the spoken language without theoretical knowledge; develops familiarity with the phonetic characteristics of the language as well as its structure and vocabulary, is responsible for oral understanding, the capability for creative communication and for the identification of cultural values. Teaching and learning are viewed as activities that happen in a personal psychological plane. The acquisition approach praises the communicative act and develops selfconfidence in the learner. A classic example of language acquisition involves adolescents and young adults who live abroad for a year in an exchange program, attaining near native fluency, while knowing little about the language in the majority of cases. They have a good pronunciation without a notion of phonology, don't know what the perfect tense is, modal or phrasal verbs are, but they intuitively recognize and know how to use all the structures. Second language acquisition occurs when comprehensible input is delivered in a low-anxiety situation, when real messages of real interest are transmitted and understood. … we learn best only when the pressure is completely off, when anxiety is zero, when the acquirer's focus is entirely on communication; in short, when the interchange or input is so interesting that the acquirer 'forgets" that it is in a second language. Krashen, Stephen (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Pergamon Press Inc. 174 The concept of language learning is linked to the traditional approach to the study of languages and today is still generally practiced in high schools worldwide. Attention is focused on the language in its written form and the objective is for the student to understand the structure and rules of the language through the application of

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intellect and logical deductive reasoning. The form is of greater importance than communication. Teaching and learning are technical and governed by a formal instructional plan with a predetermined syllabus. One studies the theory in the absence of the practical. One values the correct and represses the incorrect. There is little room for spontaneity. The teacher is an authority figure and the participation of the student is predominantly passive. In the teaching of English in Brazil, for example, the student will study the function of the interrogative and negative modes, irregular verbs, modals, etc. The student learns to construct sentences in the perfect tense, but only learns with difficulty when to use it. It's a student's native language, knowledge that hopefully will produce the practical skills of understanding and speaking the language. This effort of accumulating knowledge becomes frustrating because of the lack of familiarity with the language. Innumerable graduates with arts degrees in English are classic examples of language learning. They often are trained and theoretically able to teach a language that they can communicate in only with extreme difficulty. Krashen, Stephen (1981) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning, Pergamon Press Inc.

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Chapter 17

WHY CHINESE UNIVERSITIES DO NOT PROVIDE AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT ∗

Niu Qiang and Martin Wolff ABSTRACT

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There is a new expression in vogue on Chinese university campuses. “We must create an English-speaking environment.” This statement is usually uttered by a Chinese administrator using Putonghua. Chinese administrators are under the false impression that the creation of an English-speaking environment simply requires providing an opportunity for oral English output.

THE PROBLEM Speak with any Chinese university foreign language department administrator and they will extol the virtues of creating an English-speaking environment (ESE) for the English majors. But take a close look and you will quickly discover that there is no ESE on campus. First and foremost, Chinese university administrators do not have a clear and proper understanding of what constitutes an ESE. When most of them undertook their university education 20-plus years ago, second language acquisition research was in its infancy and comprised no more than one chapter in their textbooks and no continuing education is provided. There is a complete lack of knowledge about immersion175 or comprehensible input in a friendly environment.176 ∗

(2008, 4th Quarter) Education in China: 21st Century Issues and Challenges, Nova Science Publishers, New York. 175 The Second Language Acquisition Process in Immersion Contexts: Theory and Research, Smith, Samuel, Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, v1 n2 p119-131 Fall 1988, 1988 Abstract: Research concerning the success factors in language immersion education is reviewed, focusing on five major schools of thought. First, the traditional model for immersion research, implemented in a Montreal (Canada) suburb is examined. Then three studies of the influence of affective variables in immersion program success are examined, and it is noted that no theoretical overview of the importance of the affective aspects is

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There are two required elements to a proper ESE. A proper ESE is one where the students are inundated with comprehensible English input and where it is easier to communicate in English rather than in the native Putonghua. An English speaking environment is defined as: “An environment where English is the dominant language.” Or, “an environment where people are compelled to speak English”.177 Far too many Chinese foreign language department administrators are under the false impression that an ESE is simply where the students are given an opportunity for English output. As a result they decry the lack of an ESE and immediately turn to speak to an English major in Putonghua; or they place all English majors in the same dormitory with Chinese speaking staff; or, they hold weekly English corners; or, they hire foreign teachers to “chat” with the Chinese students. Even at a school that does all of these things simultaneously, no ESE is created. The administrators do not require the English majors to speak to them in English nor do they respond to them in English.178 There is a very simple explanation for this. The administrators are either unable to speak in English or their English is so poor that they do not want to”lose face” with the students. The administrators do not contribute to the creation of an ESE and they rarely do anything to improve their own English capability. The administrators set a very bad example for the students. When the Party Secretary assigned to the foreign language department cannot speak or understand any English, all department business must be conducted in Putonghua, including all staff meetings and written communications. This militates against creation of an ESE. The joint venture universities set up by foreign universities, in partnership with Chinese universities, are not exempt from this criticism. The foreign university brings its foreign curriculum and administration that usually requires that all courses be conducted in English. However, according to Chinese law, these joint ventures are required to have Chinese deans. The Chinese deans rarely speak English and hire their own Chinese speaking staff. Students find it much easier to communicate with the Chinese speaking staff in Putonghua so they bypass the English speaking staff. Eventually this leads to the Chineesing of the entire joint venture program. The Chinese administrators who profess the need for creation of an ESE are often the primary impediment to its creation. Thirty-eight out of 40 Chinese university English teachers who are supposed to teach in English are incapable due to their own poor English, so they teach English in Putonghua. known. Theorists and researchers considering the social facet of the immersion process and two works on the interrelationship between social and affective factors in the immersion setting are discussed next. Finally, Stephen Krashen's monitor model is compared with the others, and found to be the most relevant to immersion theory. A 27-item bibliography is included. (MSE) 176 Walking a Mile in Their Shoes: Transforming Teachers' Beliefs about English Language Learners, Grace Cho, Debra DeCastro-Ambrosetti, California State University, Fullerton, http://www.calstate.edu/ITL/exchanges/ classroom/1070_transforming_pg1.html “According to Krashen (1982), language is best acquired when the input is comprehensible (i.e., meaningful, interesting, little beyond current level) and when the learning environment is positive.” 177 Creating Authentic Dialog: ESL Students as Recipients of Service Learning, Stephanie Marlow, Boise State University (Boise, Idaho, USA) “An environment where authentic dialog with native English speakers occurs on a regular basis presents ESL students with the possibility to grow both linguistically and socially” . http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Marlow-ServiceLearning.html 178 One such administrator was bragging about how they will not answer any question from an English major unless asked in English. During this discussion the administrator received a mobile text message from an English major. The message was in Chinese. The administrator answered with a text message written in Chinese.

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They are, for the most part, ignorant of the need to teach in the target language and many have inquired, “What does ‘target’ mean?” English majors ask their Chinese English teachers questions in Chinese and are answered in Chinese, both in the classroom and outside the classroom. Telephone text messages between teachers and students are also conducted in Putonghua. The classrooms are littered with Chinese proverbs and political propaganda, all in Putonghua. One oral English classroom had two Chinese signs directly above the blackboard in the front of the room. The Chinese signs translated to: “Do not speak in this classroom” and “If you must speak, speak in Chinese.”

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This was in an oral English classroom where speaking English was the objective. The oral English classrooms have theater style row seating bolted to the concrete floor and students are thus compelled to speak to the back of the head of any other student they wish to engage in oral communication. Modern five story libraries at universities with a 10% or higher English major population have absolutely no English books,179 or the English reading room is reserved for faculty only.180 There is no English speaking staff in the library. The multi-media libraries offer English movies with Chinese subtitles. The computer labs and sound labs are programmed in Chinese rather than English. The lab support staffs and computer teachers do not speak English.181 The campuses have no bi-lingual signage182 Even the sign welcoming the new freshmen English majors is all in Putonghua and the freshmen orientation is all in Putonghua. There is no English-speaking staff in the canteen, post office, logistics department, dormitories, or any other service office of which the students must avail themselves. There is no extra-curricular access to English newspapers, TV or films. In short, there isn’t even a token attempt to create a proper ESE within the pervasive native Chinese Putonghua environment.

EXCUSES When foreign teachers complain about the lack of an ESE or make constructive suggestions for the creation of an ESE, they are net with a set of rehearsed excuses that include: This is China. It is my habit to speak in Chinese. You will be gone in one year or less. Laughter.

179

Xinyang Agricultural College Shanghai Normal University. “If the students are allowed to use the English collecetion, the books will wear out quicker.” 181 Jiangxi University of Economics and Finance 182 Shanghai Foreign Studies University, the second most important English teaching university in China. 180

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SOLUTIONS

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The first step to creating a proper ESE on Chinese university campuses is to provide continuing education in second language acquisition to all Chinese foreign language department administrators and staff. Unless and until the administrators and staffs understand modern second language acquisition theory, all other efforts at creating a proper ESE are futile. Second, it is imperative that all foreign language department administrators and staff be required to participate in continuing English language education programs. It is both impractical and hypocritical for Chinese teachers to demand that their students improve their English while the teachers refuse to improve their own.183 Third, there must be an incentive or punishment scheme so that administrators and staff make an honest effort to understand second language acquisition theory and to improve their English competency. Fourth, schools must transform their foreign language departments into little English enclaves, or at least bilingual ones. Classrooms must be English friendly and configured to facilitate oral communication. All Chinese signage should be replaced with English signage and the desks should be configured to facilitate conversation. An example:

Before / After184 Fifth, English competency must become an employment prerequisite for all English teachers.185

183

“A teacher who gives up learning should also give up teaching.” Review of Teacher Education in NSW, https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/teachrev/submiss/contedu.htm 184 Xinyang Agricultural College 185 On Target: Teaching in the Target Language. Pathfinder 5. A CILT Series for Language Teachers, 1991, Abstract: The guide is designed to illustrate how it is realistic and possible to teach in a target foreign language, propose effective instructional strategies and techniques, and offer suggestions for inservice teacher workshops on the approach. It is proposed that language students need to experience the target language as a real means of communication, have a chance to develop their own built-in learning system, and bridge the gap between controlled, secure classroom practice and the unpredictability of real language encounters. The guide begins with a discussion of teacher concerns about teaching in the target language, sources of meaning other than verbal in communication, classroom techniques for providing messages without use of language, and providing messages using limited language. The second section offers specific strategies for implementation in the classroom, including simple instructions and other expressions, techniques for encouraging student participation and satisfaction, and areas in which teachers can cooperate. Specific activities are provided and illustrated. The final section gives ideas for departmental inservice workshops on teaching in the target language, including activities, and recommendations for troubleshooting in classroom communication (MSE).

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Sixth, libraries must provide a diversified selection of English reading materials and English movies with English subtitles.186 Without a fundamental attitude adjustment, the concept of creating an ESE is just an impossible dream.

186

Applying the Comprehension Hypothesis: Some Suggestions, Stephen Krashen, Presented at 13th International Symposium and Book Fair on Language Teaching (English Teachers Association of the Republic of China), Taipei, Taiwan, November, 13, 2004. http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/eta_paper/index.html “ The Comprehension Hypothesis also applies to literacy: Our reading ability, our ability to write in an acceptable writing style, our spelling ability, vocabulary knowledge, and our ability to handle complex syntax is the result of reading.” Free Voluntary reading: New Research, Applications, and Controversies, Stephen KrashenPresented at PAC5 (Pan-Asian Conference), Vladivostok, Russia, June 24, 2004, http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/pac5/ index.html “Recreational reading or reading for pleasure is the major source of our reading competence, our vocabulary, and our ability to handle complex grammatical constructions.”

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INDEX

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A absorption, 123 academic, 1, 5, 9, 18, 33, 40, 46, 52, 74, 77, 78, 84, 87, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 111, 136, 137, 138, 139, 145, 146, 151, 156, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 171, 172, 187, 190, 195, 204, 206, 209, 212, 213, 216, 218, 221, 224, 225, 232, 261, 264, 267 academic performance, 52, 100 academics, 104 accidental, 2, 10, 35, 108 accommodation, 256 accountability, 158 accounting, 131, 132, 184, 185, 186 adjustment, 202, 275 administration, 23, 76, 77, 93, 96, 98, 112, 113, 133, 140, 156, 158, 160, 162, 168, 186, 190, 194, 196, 198, 200, 203, 204, 205, 208, 240, 246, 248, 257, 261, 265, 272 administrative, 27, 46, 47, 51, 74, 75, 85, 95, 96, 97, 98, 110, 112, 113, 125, 129, 155, 160, 171, 194, 196, 202, 203, 206, 220, 221, 255, 259, 269 administrators, xi, 23, 46, 52, 70, 72, 75, 76, 79, 85, 87, 95, 97, 133, 156, 160, 171, 199, 200, 201, 205, 206, 208, 223, 257, 258, 265, 271, 272, 274 adolescents, 154, 269 adult(s), vii, 23, 102, 154, 161, 162, 252, 269 Afghanistan, 61, 63 Africa, 41, 267 afternoon, 38, 109, 198, 239 age, 24, 101, 162 agent, 202, 213 agriculture, 113 aid, 40, 206 air, 17, 47, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196, 264 air quality, 191 alcohol, 85, 110, 119

allies, 76 ants, 2, 10, 35, 239 anxiety, 48, 61, 121, 138, 156, 166, 189, 190, 218, 234, 269 apathy, viii, 207, 217 application, 26, 78, 83, 101, 105, 137, 145, 154, 165, 269 aptitude, 77 argument, 8 arrest, 269 Asia, 42, 62, 115 assassination, 61 assessment, 95, 105, 196, 267 assignment, 25, 76, 77, 98, 100, 137, 145, 147, 165, 171, 189, 196, 229, 263 assimilation, 154, 269 assumptions, 9, 10 Australia, 12, 16, 40, 41, 64, 84, 90, 223 authenticity, 263 authority, 18, 27, 47, 85, 95, 96, 111, 112, 113, 154, 187, 227, 245, 250, 266, 270 autonomy, 139, 140, 141, 167, 168, 169, 252 avoidance, 136, 164 awareness, 82, 141, 169

B babies, 217, 267 bachelor’s degree, 22, 41, 86, 113, 228 backlash, 7 bandwidth, 240 bank debt, 143, 160 barrier, 24, 136, 164 basic needs, 49 basketball, 38 beer, 85, 110 behavior, 62, 70, 71, 81, 82, 96, 136, 164, 230

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Index

Beijing, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 34, 35, 36, 40, 53, 54, 63, 83, 93, 98, 112, 115, 118, 133, 144, 153, 155, 156, 203, 215, 216, 255, 256, 259, 260 Belgium, 1, 4, 58, 65 beliefs, 61, 62, 135, 163 bell, 7 benefits, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 36, 80, 81, 118, 129, 173, 174, 219, 220, 221, 223, 234, 235, 265, 269 bias, 26 Bible, 40, 54, 59, 60, 62, 64, 192 bilingual, 3, 10, 35, 49, 156, 266, 267, 274 binding, 214 birds, 15, 45 birth, ix blame, 78, 207, 246 blocks, 192 blood, 120 body language, 190 bomb, 29, 89 bonus, 78, 84, 97, 99, 256 bottleneck, 78 boys, 52, 162, 204, 217, 246, 260 brain, 28, 88, 120, 141, 169 Brazil, 1, 62, 154, 270 breathing, 97, 196 breeding, 70, 161 bribes, 75 Britain, 1, 12, 40, 41, 58, 63, 104 buildings, 266 business management, 124, 210

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C cable service, 266 caliber, 58 Cameroon, 43 Canada, 12, 40, 41, 199, 236, 252, 271 candidates, 53, 83, 96 capital punishment, 85 capitalism, 58, 71 capitalist, 70, 98 cast, 192 cell, 118, 120, 121, 189, 191, 202 cell phones, 120, 189 certificate, 12, 13, 41, 42, 75, 104, 112, 113, 155, 255 channels, 138, 166, 266, 267 cheating, 52, 53, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 83, 84, 86, 87, 115, 194, 246 child labor, 75 children, 37, 73, 75, 78, 98, 102, 105, 154, 172, 182, 267, 269

China Daily, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40, 44, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 83, 86, 87, 92, 93, 95, 98, 102, 104, 115, 143, 155, 160, 220, 267 Christmas, 118, 263 Cincinnati, 93 citizens, vii, 2, 4, 6, 35, 72, 73, 87 civil servants, 2, 3, 10, 17, 35, 51, 70 class period, 171, 229 class size, 24, 107, 108, 111, 143, 159, 174, 246 classes, 12, 15, 24, 26, 27, 29, 36, 37, 40, 45, 46, 50, 84, 89, 98, 100, 102, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 127, 128, 129, 135, 144, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 154, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163, 171, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182, 186, 188, 189, 192, 193, 194, 196, 198, 204, 215, 219, 223, 225, 226, 229, 230, 235, 237, 239, 240, 241, 242, 246, 248, 249, 261 classroom, 16, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 39, 42, 102, 105, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 128, 129, 136, 138, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 154, 155, 158, 159, 161, 164, 166, 168, 169, 171, 172, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 196, 198, 199, 200, 202, 206, 221, 224, 228, 229, 235, 237, 240, 241, 244, 246, 252, 257, 264, 268, 269, 272, 273, 274 classroom practice, 202, 274 classrooms, 24, 26, 27, 37, 107, 118, 144, 147, 152, 158, 159, 189, 190, 194, 198, 200, 230, 269, 273 cleaning, 46, 195 clone, 62 cloning, 63 clouds, 157 CNN, 21, 22, 27, 29, 62, 63, 86, 89, 159, 191, 202, 266 coal, 157 codes, 203, 259 coercion, 61 coffee, 155, 214, 264 cognitive science, 141, 169 cohesiveness, 4, 25 cold war, 60 collaboration, 60 collectivism, 71 college students, 23, 24, 27, 45, 58, 84, 87, 95, 97, 100, 103, 111, 112, 137, 161, 162, 164, 165, 188, 209, 220, 221 colleges, vii, 2, 6, 14, 18, 21, 29, 30, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 52, 57, 69, 70, 89, 90, 95, 96, 98, 99, 102, 104, 105, 106, 109, 112, 113, 127, 128, 129, 155, 156, 160, 161, 169, 170, 208, 209, 217, 220, 221, 222, 255, 263, 264 collegiate level, 129

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index colonization, 59, 60, 61 comfort zone, 23, 206 commerce, 1, 2, 6, 34, 58, 60, 61, 62 commodity, 84 common law, 1 communication, 8, 16, 17, 48, 50, 51, 58, 61, 114, 117, 124, 134, 140, 146, 154, 155, 156, 168, 170, 196, 198, 200, 201, 202, 218, 256, 269, 270, 273, 274 communication processes, 61 Communism, vii, 70, 71 Communist Party, 5, 7, 14, 44, 70, 72, 73, 100, 160 community, 1, 18, 71, 75, 88, 109, 113, 158, 161, 162, 172, 191, 264, 266 community support, 75 compensation, 99 competence, 97, 196, 202, 275 competency, 129, 155, 170, 201, 207, 255, 274 competition, 78, 95, 160, 190 complement, ix complexity, 101, 136, 138, 145, 164, 165, 166 compliance, 264 components, 107 composition, 139, 146, 167, 223 comprehension, 24, 25, 26, 37, 38, 40, 85, 86, 107, 117, 118, 121, 125, 137, 138, 145, 146, 159, 165, 166, 187, 197, 209, 234, 242 compulsion, 219 compulsory education, 40 computer labs, 27, 106, 159, 201, 273 computer skills, 101 computer use, 107 computing, 106 concentration, 12, 18, 47 concrete, 17, 46, 47, 189, 200, 273 conditioning, 17, 47, 264 confidence, 122, 135, 141, 145, 146, 148, 149, 150, 151, 154, 163, 165, 173, 187, 196, 198, 219, 222, 237, 240, 241, 249, 258, 269 confidentiality, 121 configuration, 24, 190, 191 conflict, 87 conformity, 212 Confucianism, 70 Confucius, 70, 161, 163, 193 Congress, 5, 14, 44, 63, 73, 100, 102, 161, 206 consensus, 61 Constitution, 71, 156, 232 constraints, 112, 214, 223 construction, 17, 47, 71, 72, 73, 143, 160 consulting, 98 consumer goods, 69 consumers, 111, 143, 144, 148, 193

279

consumption, 87, 119 contact time, 228 contamination, 25 contracts, 204, 260 control, 3, 7, 11, 14, 35, 44, 59, 104, 203, 259 conversion, 266 conviction, 25, 62 copyrights, 216 corporate responsibility, 121 corporations, 58 correlation, 52, 139, 151, 167 corruption, 71, 72, 78, 87, 99 cost effectiveness, 266 costs, 3, 5, 10, 35, 82, 193, 211 counseling, 72 counterfeit, 79, 82 course content, 172 CPC, 71, 72, 85, 87, 94, 100 craving, 242 creative thinking, 26, 105, 134, 139, 146, 167, 212, 220, 227 creativity, 81 credentials, 46, 52, 70, 73 credibility, 98, 109, 110 credit, 225, 240 critical analysis, 146 criticism, 138, 146, 166, 198, 200, 210, 211, 213, 214, 234, 272 cross-cultural, 13, 43, 137, 146, 151, 164 cues, 52, 125 cultivation, 78 cultural differences, 16, 241, 242 cultural practices, 59 Cultural Revolution, 98, 115, 160, 264 cultural values, 154, 269 culture, 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, 36, 43, 44, 47, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 72, 73, 74, 78, 80, 100, 103, 120, 121, 124, 138, 145, 166, 232, 233, 237, 246, 263, 265 currency, 5 curriculum, vii, viii, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 35, 43, 44, 46, 72, 87, 95, 96, 97, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 111, 119, 144, 156, 158, 160, 162, 173, 200, 208, 220, 229, 230, 256, 272 curriculum development, 96

D danger, 8, 269 death, 28, 58, 88, 97 debt, 143, 160 debt service, 143, 160 decision making, 6

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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280

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decisions, 6, 8, 13, 43, 75, 97, 160 declarative knowledge, 136, 164 deductive reasoning, 154, 270 defense, 62, 110 definition, 15, 16, 23, 45, 51, 97, 98, 197, 211, 215, 263, 266, 269 delusion, 238 democracy, 7, 59, 61, 63 demography, 214 Deng Xiaoping, ix denial, 15, 45, 107, 205, 261 depressed, 82, 161, 204, 260 depression, 100 destruction, 1 detention, 18, 47 developed countries, 79 developed nations, 74 dictatorship, 61 diet, 104 differentiation, 5, 99 diplomas, 52, 69, 70, 78, 95, 113 disappointment, 27, 196, 246 disaster, 160, 229, 230 discipline, 12, 27, 41, 42, 71, 73, 97, 148, 149, 150, 151, 173, 219, 222, 240, 256 discourse, viii, 63 discrimination, 60, 137, 165, 258 discs, 213 dishonesty, 87 disputes, 216 distance learning, 105 distribution, 111, 213, 215, 216, 258 diversity, 62 division, 106, 108 divorce, 241 doctors, 17, 51 dogs, 15, 45 dominance, 57, 59, 61, 62 donors, 203 draft, 209 dream, 159, 191, 202, 275 dreaming, 190 drinking, 85, 110, 161, 170, 218 dust, 17, 47 duties, 72, 194

E early retirement, 101 earthquake, 230 ecology, 62 e-commerce, 62 economic development, 72, 105

economic efficiency, 144, 160 economic status, 71 economically disadvantaged, 161 economics, 74 education, v, vi, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23, 31, 33, 34, 35, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, 64, 65, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 83, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 100, 101, 102, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 129, 133, 143, 145, 155, 156, 157, 158, 160, 172, 194, 196, 198, 199, 201, 235, 236, 255, 259, 265, 271, 274 education reform, 160 educational background, 103, 235 educational institutions, 14, 44, 87, 209, 210, 242 educational policy, xi, 3, 11, 35, 40, 86 educational process, 50, 77, 110 educational programs, 14, 44 educational system, viii, ix, 69, 87, 88, 103, 105, 113, 133, 204, 260 educators, 78, 84, 101, 104, 110 ego, 233 elaboration, 120 election, 7 electives, 114, 115 electrical power, 162 elephant, 266 email, 28, 119, 198 embargo, 60 emigration, 60 employees, 46, 208, 217, 256 employers, 104, 111, 155, 217, 224, 255, 256 employment, 42, 50, 53, 57, 73, 93, 99, 101, 110, 156, 201, 217, 230, 256, 265, 274 encouragement, 27, 248 enculturation, 3, 36 endurance, 144 energy, 16, 58, 62 engagement, 101 English as a second language (ESL), v, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 64, 69, 93, 104, 106, 107, 108, 115, 119, 157, 199, 223, 224, 252, 266, 272 English comprehension, 209 English Language, 4, 18, 31, 34, 54, 64, 93, 121, 156, 157, 199, 256, 272 English Language Learner, 199, 272 English language program, 2 enlargement, 8 enrollment, 12, 23, 29, 51, 69, 89, 108, 112, 143, 160 enterprise, 75, 216 entertainment, 38, 119, 135, 136, 137, 144, 145, 163, 164, 165, 242

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index enthusiasm, 100, 190, 193, 208, 257 environment, 12, 18, 34, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 73, 78, 98, 100, 101, 102, 109, 111, 117, 121, 124, 135, 136, 137, 140, 143, 144, 145, 152, 154, 155, 158, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165, 168, 170, 171, 189, 190, 191, 195, 196, 198, 199, 201, 202, 206, 212, 213, 219, 220, 221, 224, 234, 257, 266, 267, 268, 271, 272, 273 environmental context, 12, 14, 44 essay question, 26 ethical issues, 4 ethical standards, 72, 73, 74 ethics, 70, 71, 72, 74, 78, 121 ethnicity, 61, 62 EU enlargement, 8 euphoria, 54 Europe, viii, 42, 60, 62, 64, 82, 256 European Union, 8, 58 evening, 15, 45, 50, 102, 109, 136, 144, 147, 158, 159, 164, 171, 172, 190, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 202, 205, 215, 229, 240, 246, 261 evil, 73 evolution, 3, 6, 10, 11, 35, 36 examinations, vii, 29, 40, 46, 58, 70, 75, 78, 89, 96, 102, 103, 129, 133, 154, 155, 170, 217, 255 exclusion, vii excuse, 15, 26, 45, 70, 79, 147, 194, 201, 257, 258, 268, 269, 273 execution, 85 exercise, 17, 47, 213 expertise, 97 exposure, 14, 23, 44, 86, 148, 193, 196, 241 expulsion, 60, 84, 93 extortion, 204, 260 extrinsic motivation, 188 eye contact, 159, 190, 191, 246

281

films, 117, 118, 139, 146, 167, 197, 201, 214, 248, 249, 273 finance, 59, 143, 160 financial resources, 48 financial support, 95, 113 financing, 84, 112, 114 flavor, 17, 51 flexibility, 224 flight, 8 floating, 190 flow, 207 fluid, 16 focusing, 199, 237, 271 food, 13, 27, 38, 43, 57, 80, 106, 172, 203, 248, 259, 265, 268 football, 38 foreign experts, 37, 48, 51, 148, 156, 192, 208, 220 foreign language, 59, 63, 78, 117, 140, 156, 167, 187, 192, 201, 208, 215, 216, 220, 235, 252, 271, 272, 274 foreigner(s), 2, 10, 16, 35, 38, 50, 81, 103, 135, 163, 193, 207 forgiveness, 29, 85 formal education, 141, 168 foul language, 119 fraud, 53, 76, 78 free choice, 136, 158, 159, 164, 195, 197, 202, 205, 261, 267 free trade, 59 freedom, viii, 49, 61, 62, 63, 187 freezing, 17, 47 frustration, 158 funding, 75, 106, 112, 113 funds, 100, 144, 160, 216 furniture, 136, 164

G F facial expression, 190 facilitators, 135, 163, 214 failure, 23, 40, 52, 60, 70, 83, 188, 190, 193, 196, 205, 261, 264 family, 28, 61, 80, 82, 90, 138, 166, 204, 260 fatalistic, 78 fear(s), 25, 134, 144, 155, 160, 173, 187, 190, 196, 228 fee, 196, 216 feedback, 98, 136, 164, 223, 257 feelings, 123, 248 fees, 29, 84, 89, 144, 148, 193, 203, 205, 260, 261 feudalism, 71 fever, vii, 34, 255

games, 118, 120, 121, 170, 189, 190, 195, 235, 242 general education, 71 generation, 82, 207 generators, 61 genocide, 60 genre, 140, 168 geology, 140, 168 Germany, 60 gestation, 105 gestures, 76 gift(s), 1, 75, 96, 203, 259 girls, 162, 204, 260 glass, 46, 161 global economy, 6, 58, 59 global terrorism, 60

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global village, 57 globalization, vii, 57, 58, 59, 141, 168 goals, 2, 7, 10, 22, 24, 27, 35, 102, 107, 160, 165 gold, 59 government, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 17, 22, 35, 70, 71, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 87, 95, 101, 105, 106, 109, 112, 113, 156, 162 government policy, 105 GPA, 129, 130, 131, 132, 183, 184, 185, 186 grades, 53, 75, 86, 98, 129, 151, 187, 203, 204, 205, 246, 259, 260, 261 grading, 15, 46, 75, 97, 133, 186, 203, 204, 257, 259, 260 graduate students, 33, 34, 207 grants, 5 grassroots, 7 Greece, 64 greed, 121 grounding, 121, 127 group size, 111 grouping, 119 groups, 4, 6, 17, 51, 59, 79, 108, 133, 147, 155, 186, 230, 248 growth, 25, 82, 105 Guangdong, 19, 55, 257, 266 Guangzhou, 7, 76, 99, 153, 268 guidance, 8, 105 guidelines, 46, 72, 112, 207

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H handling, 76 hands, 97, 159, 269 harassment, 137, 165, 258 harm, 4, 219 harmony, 4 hate, 63 health, 73, 256 health care, 256 heart, 8, 29, 40, 88, 122, 242 heat, 17, 47 heating, 87, 191 hegemony, 59, 62 high school, 2, 6, 13, 14, 21, 25, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 81, 87, 99, 104, 154, 162, 269 higher education, vii, viii, 53, 57, 58, 84, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 104, 107, 110, 112, 113, 128, 133, 135, 139, 156, 157, 162, 163, 167, 204, 205, 210, 216, 220, 221, 260, 261 higher quality, 143 high-tech, 105 hiring, 48, 53, 83, 155, 198, 235, 255 holistic approach, 144, 151, 224, 256

homework, 28, 31, 97, 98, 100, 103, 129, 147, 171, 172, 186, 187, 188, 204, 227, 229, 240, 246, 248, 250, 257, 261 homosexuality, 120 honesty, 70, 73, 84, 121, 173, 208 Hong Kong, 2, 4, 7, 14, 19, 33, 34, 44, 53, 54, 58, 63, 64, 70, 73, 76, 77, 78, 83, 92, 93, 95, 101 horse, 40, 60, 63 hospital, 29, 88 host, 42 hostile environment, 12, 18, 34 hostility, viii hot water, 159 house, 252, 253 household, 103 housing, 101 human, 61, 62, 70, 133, 136, 155, 164, 205, 267 Human Resource Management, 115, 205 hunting, 15, 45, 255

I idealism, 62 identification, 5, 154, 198, 269 identity, 4, 8, 36, 37, 51, 61, 63 ideology, 11, 61, 71 idiosyncratic, 61 illiteracy, 163 illumination, 240 IMF, 59 imitation, 124 immersion, 7, 14, 44, 48, 49, 101, 109, 111, 143, 158, 162, 199, 267, 271 imperialism, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64 implementation, 26, 59, 72, 125, 146, 158, 172, 193, 197, 202, 221, 229, 274 incarceration, 85 incentive(s), 100, 101, 161, 201, 207, 274 inclusion, 72, 137, 164, 165, 169, 211, 223 income, 78, 79, 80, 102, 129, 182 incubation period, 138, 166 independence, 4, 61, 252 indicators, 222 indigenous, 57, 223 individual students, 38, 127 individualism, 70 indoctrination, 13, 43 industrial, 124 industry, 2, 3, 11, 34, 35, 105, 228, 256, 257 inefficiency, 160, 190 infancy, 199, 271 inflation, 203, 259 information age, 101

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

Index information technology, 27, 97, 106, 111 infrastructure, vii infringement, 73 injustice, 59, 62 innovation, 138, 145, 166 institutionalization, 264 institutions, 14, 42, 44, 77, 87, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 113, 209, 210, 242 institutions of higher education, 96, 97 instruction, 57, 129, 156, 172, 186, 242, 256, 263, 269 instructors, 101 instruments, 31, 53, 83 integration, 157 integrity, 69, 70, 73, 86, 110, 120, 121, 204, 208, 260 intellect, 154, 270 intellectual development, 107 intellectual property, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 120, 258 intellectual property rights, 74, 79, 80, 81, 258 intelligence, 133 intentions, 6 interactions, 48, 111, 154, 157, 269 interference, 22, 74, 124 international communication, 7, 124 international standards, vii international students, 133, 186 international trade, 224, 237, 240 internationalism, 71 internet, 2, 12, 22, 26, 27, 28, 30, 34, 41, 62, 63, 75, 77, 85, 89, 106, 108, 111, 115, 119, 121, 123, 129, 136, 137, 144, 145, 164, 165, 170, 172, 186, 187, 188, 191, 195, 196, 198, 211, 212, 213, 215, 218, 224, 227, 229, 232, 250, 265 internship, 111, 246 intervention, 232 interviews, 100, 119, 192, 217 intimidation, 60, 61, 200 intonation, 42, 124, 138, 166 intrinsic motivation, 135, 141, 145, 163, 165, 197, 219, 240, 258 intuition, 154, 269 invasive, 63 investment, 59 iron, 100 Islamic world, 61 isolation, 47, 137, 145, 165

J Japan, 29, 52, 77, 88, 211 Japanese, 28, 77, 88, 211, 242 Jerusalem, 196 Jiangxi, 74, 146, 157, 194, 201, 209, 243, 273

283

job training, 13, 41, 42 jobs, 3, 10, 29, 35, 58, 77, 78, 86, 89, 104, 156, 193, 220, 256 joint ventures, 76, 200, 272 judge, 97, 228 junior high school, 162 jury, 23 justice, 58, 59 justification, 70

K killing, 14, 28, 29, 44, 85, 88, 192 kindergarten(s), 1, 2, 6, 9, 33, 34, 36, 42, 60, 87, 239 Korea, 29, 84, 89, 211, 237 Korean, 211

L labor, 5, 59, 70, 71, 72, 75, 78, 121, 163, 190 labor force, 59 land, 13, 43, 96 language acquisition, viii, 12, 16, 18, 42, 44, 45, 49, 51, 121, 128, 135, 136, 137, 140, 144, 145, 154, 156, 157, 163, 164, 165, 168, 169, 171, 189, 195, 198, 199, 200, 201, 205, 206, 213, 214, 217, 218, 219, 224, 234, 242, 252, 257, 258, 267, 269, 271, 274 language development, 49 language policy, 9 language proficiency, 99 language skills, 2, 6, 35, 140, 167, 256 laughing, 25, 229 laughter, 25, 40, 242, 268, 269 law, 1, 70, 71, 79, 80, 81, 82, 112, 113, 114, 200, 204, 215, 216, 260, 272 laws, 46, 79, 258 lawyers, 8, 17, 51, 79, 232 leadership, vii, 3, 7, 8, 23, 36, 72, 79, 203, 206 learners, 24, 48, 97, 106, 135, 139, 140, 163, 167, 168, 196, 212, 224, 240 learning, vii, 14, 25, 42, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 58, 59, 60, 72, 79, 95, 96, 99, 101, 103, 104, 105, 107, 118, 120, 122, 123, 124, 130, 131, 132, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 144, 145, 148, 151, 154, 155, 156, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 183, 184, 185, 186, 190, 191, 199, 201, 202, 206, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 218, 220, 224, 234, 235, 237, 238, 241, 246, 248, 252, 255, 256, 257, 258, 264, 267, 268, 269, 270, 272, 274 learning efficiency, 140, 168 learning environment, 140, 168, 191, 199, 272

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

284

Index

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

learning process, 25, 140, 168 learning skills, 151 legions, 59, 156 leisure, 136, 164, 258, 267 leisure time, 136, 164, 267 lesson plan, 119, 213, 230, 242, 248 liberalization, 70 liberty, 61 librarians, 266 lifestyle, 120 lifetime, 3, 36, 100 limitation(s), 107, 158, 159, 217 lingual, 135, 157, 158, 163, 201, 268, 273 linguistic(s), 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 35, 41, 52, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 137, 140, 145, 165, 168, 207 linguistically, 62, 136, 164, 199, 266, 272 listening, 12, 21, 23, 24, 25, 37, 38, 39, 40, 50, 103, 104, 107, 109, 117, 118, 121, 122, 123, 125, 129, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 144, 148, 149, 151, 154, 157, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 172, 173, 186, 187, 189, 190, 197, 208, 217, 219, 220, 222, 234, 242, 246, 249 literacy, 111, 202, 207, 275 loans, 5 lobby, 267 logistics, 5, 192, 201, 273 long distance, 203, 260 longevity, 6 love, 4, 8, 29, 36, 71, 89, 118, 121, 191, 241 loyalty, 70, 121 lying, 85

M magazines, 17, 22, 28, 47, 49, 86, 268 mainstream, viii, 160 maintenance, 158 Malaysia, 116 management, 7, 78, 95, 96, 101, 112, 124, 144, 160, 205, 210, 252 management practices, 205 Mandarin, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 18, 30, 35, 36, 47, 48, 51, 52, 57, 65, 110, 120, 158, 162 mango, 266 manipulation, 121 manufacturing, 52, 70, 75, 77 maritime, 1 market, 2, 9, 10, 33, 35, 50, 53, 59, 71, 72, 74, 77, 78, 82, 95, 100, 105, 111, 112, 121, 155, 156, 191, 202, 216, 255 market economy, 59, 72, 74 market share, 2, 9, 33 marketing, 37, 82, 111

marketplace, 69, 100 markets, 58 marriage, 241 Marxism, 58, 70, 71, 92, 93 mastery, 16 materialism, 71 mathematics, 140, 168 meals, 267 meanings, 138, 166 measures, 60, 72, 74, 258 media, 22, 87, 88, 147, 148, 157, 158, 171, 172, 187, 188, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197, 201, 202, 218, 227, 229, 246, 250, 264, 273 medicine, 113, 256 melody, 138, 166 memorizing, 14, 44, 47, 48, 81, 103, 105 memory, 25, 53, 83, 123, 124, 138, 139, 166, 167, 240, 241 men, 2, 34, 110, 197, 264 messages, 48, 109, 121, 138, 156, 166, 200, 202, 218, 234, 269, 273, 274 metaphor, 57 Middle East, 62, 267 middle schools, vii, 2, 6, 34, 36, 38, 42, 57, 76, 102, 128 military, 16, 60, 114 mining, 228 Ministry of Education, 2, 3, 6, 10, 11, 22, 23, 34, 35, 52, 53, 71, 72, 73, 83, 96, 100, 101, 111, 112, 113 minority, 45, 96, 100, 101 mirror, 63 misleading, 45, 155, 255 mobile phone, 28, 31, 53, 74, 83, 88, 246 modernization, viii, ix, 99, 101, 106 modules, 138, 166, 224 mold, 162 momentum, 61 money, 4, 8, 36, 62, 80, 81, 82, 84, 103, 106, 144, 155, 160, 170, 187, 191, 203, 210, 217, 227, 230, 245, 246, 250, 259, 266 monopoly, vii, 216 monsters, 197 moral development, 84, 88 moral standards, 71, 72 moral training, 87 morale, 207 morality, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 78, 86, 87, 121 morals, 87 morning, 190, 197, 267, 269 mother tongue, 124 motivation, 6, 50, 51, 135, 138, 141, 145, 148, 149, 150, 151, 162, 163, 165, 166, 173, 187, 188, 197, 198, 204, 208, 219, 222, 240, 252, 257, 258, 261

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index motives, 203 mountains, 63 mouth, 122, 123 movement, 62, 205 multimedia, 157 multiple factors, 69 murder, 61, 85 music, 17, 47, 49, 76, 77, 113, 136, 164, 268 music CDs, 47 myopic, 61

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N NAFTA, 59 nation, 1, 4, 7, 16, 51, 58, 59, 69, 72, 73, 191 national identity, 8 National People’s Congress, 73, 102 nationalism, 61 nationality, 96 natural, 48, 61, 108, 139, 154, 156, 166, 196, 206, 269 negligence, 119 negotiating, 59, 114 nervousness, 25 network, 43, 240 New Zealand, 15, 41, 216, 223 newspapers, 17, 22, 24, 26, 28, 47, 49, 86, 170, 201, 267, 273 nonconscious, 136, 164 non-native, 43 norms, 70, 82 North America, 58, 60 North American Free Trade Agreement, 59 North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 59 North Korea, 29, 84, 89 NTU, 223 nuclear, 29, 30, 84, 89 nuclear weapons, 84 nudity, 120 nuts, 102

O obligation(s), 8, 129, 143, 160, 172, 186, 232 observations, 258 oil, 208 omission, 194 one dimension, 64 on-line, 24, 42, 111, 124, 204, 240, 241, 260 on-line news, 24 on-the-job training, 13, 41, 42 oral presentations, 217

285

orientation, 42, 100, 129, 158, 172, 186, 193, 201, 273 originality, 81, 139, 167

P pagers, 74 paradigm shift, 95 parental influence, 96 parents, xi, 6, 53, 75, 80, 84, 86, 90, 99, 100, 102, 120, 129, 155, 162, 172, 182, 203, 241, 260, 267 partnership, 9, 200, 272 pass/fail, 240 passive, 125, 139, 154, 167, 206, 270 password, 107 patents, 79 patriotism, 71, 73 pearls, 192 pedagogy, viii, 18, 143, 147, 155, 162 peer review, 97, 110 peers, 25, 242 penalty, 161 perception, vii, 5, 22, 59, 87, 102 personal responsibility, 25 personality, 78, 138, 145, 166 philosophy, ix, 24, 26, 46, 59, 70, 73, 99, 101, 103, 104, 105, 112, 137, 144, 165 phone, 30, 31, 50, 89, 109, 118, 121, 191, 202, 246 phonology, 154, 269 photographs, 195 physics, 140, 168 piracy, 79, 82, 258 pirated, 77 pitch, vii, 208 plagiarism, 52, 53, 70, 73, 76, 77, 81, 83 planetary, 58 planning, 4, 62, 63, 190, 237 plants, 136, 159, 164, 191, 192 play, 38, 49, 97, 107, 138, 166, 187, 189, 190, 202, 206, 235, 242, 265, 266 pleasure, 202, 275 plurality, 229 police, 29, 30, 89 policy makers, xi, 4 political leaders, 5, 6, 79 politics, 1, 7, 61, 70, 207, 241 poor, 14, 15, 39, 44, 46, 49, 50, 53, 61, 75, 78, 97, 98, 103, 127, 133, 138, 157, 159, 166, 189, 191, 197, 198, 199, 200, 207, 208, 209, 220, 272 population, 3, 7, 11, 16, 35, 36, 51, 57, 58, 60, 61, 80, 87, 124, 200, 273 poverty, 58, 61, 81, 160

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

286

Index

power, 4, 52, 58, 59, 63, 70, 93, 162, 187, 207, 212, 227, 245, 250, 266 preference, 96, 217 preferential treatment, 98 premium, 104, 162 president, 63, 75, 133 pressure, 70, 76, 78, 143, 156, 203, 212, 218, 241, 256, 260, 269 prestige, 207 primary school, vii, 2, 6, 13, 14, 34, 42, 43, 44, 57, 84, 90, 104, 105 printing, 211, 215, 216 private education, 14, 44 private property, 70 private schools, 2, 34, 42 proactive, 206 probability, 2, 3, 10, 35, 49 probation, 203, 260 problem solving, 105, 146, 212 procedural knowledge, 136, 164 production, 14, 25, 26, 46, 48, 58, 69, 103, 104, 105, 107, 110, 121, 125, 128, 135, 136, 138, 154, 161, 163, 164, 166, 187, 190, 209, 218, 222, 224, 234, 258 productivity, 70 profanity, 120 professional development, 106 professions, 40, 101 profit(s), 2, 6, 14, 34, 37, 44, 75, 79 profiteering, 14, 44 programming, 107, 128, 198, 267 projector, 194 pronunciation, 11, 14, 16, 31, 42, 44, 75, 107, 124, 138, 154, 166, 193, 208, 269 propaganda, 61, 87, 160, 200, 273 property, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 120, 258 property rights, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 258 proposition, 1, 2, 10, 35, 107, 139, 167 prosecutor, 75 prosperity, 6, 28, 57, 59, 61, 90, 97 protection, 74, 121, 213 protectionism, viii protocol, 238 psychiatrist, 136, 164 psycholinguistics, 23 psychology, 137, 145, 165, 195, 252 public, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 18, 33, 42, 47, 52, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 87, 95, 96, 107, 108, 112, 123, 156, 160, 180, 263, 264 public education, 12 public interest, 5 public opinion, 5, 71, 112 public relations, 87

public schools, 9, 69 publishers, 80, 107, 133, 215, 216 punishment, 18, 28, 29, 47, 53, 74, 76, 77, 82, 83, 85, 88, 107, 201, 274 punitive, 27, 195 pupils, 98

Q qualifications, 13, 41, 42, 46, 96, 162, 220, 221 quality assurance, 69 quality control, 14, 44, 104 questioning, 85, 159 questionnaire(s), 28, 84, 119, 129, 148, 151, 152, 159, 173, 180, 187, 188, 221, 227, 237, 238, 240, 242, 250 quizzes, 240

R race, 199 radio, 21, 73, 86, 268 radio station, 268 range, 77, 162, 256 raw materials, 5 reading, xi, 11, 12, 14, 18, 23, 26, 28, 38, 44, 47, 48, 50, 86, 102, 103, 105, 107, 117, 118, 119, 121, 122, 124, 125, 128, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 144, 145, 148, 149, 151, 154, 157, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 173, 187, 200, 202, 207, 215, 218, 219, 220, 222, 234, 242, 246, 248, 249, 263, 267, 273, 275 reading comprehension, 26, 86, 107, 118, 187, 242 reading comprehension test, 26 reading skills, 139, 148, 167, 173 reality, 3, 7, 14, 18, 36, 43, 44, 47, 53, 59, 99, 191, 207, 265 reasoning, 154, 230, 270 reception, 159 recognition, 98, 101, 103, 192, 205, 261 record keeping, 228 recreation, 78, 138, 145, 166 recruiting, 2, 34, 41, 99 Reform Act, 72 reforms, 59, 74, 87, 88, 156 regulation(s), 3, 8, 11, 14, 35, 44, 46, 71, 78, 79, 97 rejection, 84 relationship, 1, 4, 8, 9, 37, 87, 129, 155, 216, 255 relevance, 24, 104, 121, 137, 145, 165, 211 reliability, 121 religion, 61, 62, 241 repair, 13, 43, 158

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index reparation, 13, 43 replication, 107 reproduction, 78, 240 reputation, 5, 13, 43, 88, 112, 113 resistance, viii, 62, 205, 206 resolution, 3, 11, 33, 34, 35, 72 resource management, 205 resources, 7, 8, 12, 16, 22, 27, 48, 53, 54, 105, 107, 112, 138, 140, 146, 158, 166, 168, 224, 266 responsibilities, 99, 172 retail, 117, 118, 211, 212 retention, 98 retirement, 101 retribution, 173 revenue, 75, 82, 216 rhetoric, 207 rice, 2, 34, 100, 190, 211, 212 rings, 31 risk(s), 3, 8, 36, 223 role playing, 117, 124, 138, 146, 166, 214 rolling, 53 royalty, 216 rule of law, 71, 81, 82 rural areas, 71, 82, 96, 101 rural communities, 161

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

S salary, 13, 43, 99, 160, 172 sales, 2, 9, 33, 111, 213 sample, 119, 215 satellite, 267 satisfaction, 37, 40, 123, 188, 202, 221, 222, 274 savings, 171 scandal, 75, 76 scheduling, 108, 158, 159, 171, 194, 229 scholarship, 98, 220 scientific theory, ix scores, 78, 96, 100, 139, 151, 161, 162, 167, 180, 223, 229 scripts, 117, 118 search, 27, 42, 50, 58, 63, 119, 211, 215 search engine, 215 searches, 263 searching, 71 second language, viii, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 34, 35, 42, 47, 48, 51, 58, 108, 121, 137, 140, 144, 156, 157, 163, 165, 168, 169, 190, 195, 199, 201, 205, 206, 208, 218, 219, 224, 234, 252, 269, 271, 274 secondary schools, 263 secret(s), 76, 120 security, 61, 87

287

self, 252 self-confidence, 135, 141, 145, 154, 163, 165, 240, 241, 258, 269 self-discipline, 219, 240 self-evaluations, 217 self-identity, 61 self-improvement, 77 self-study, 146, 195, 196 self-worth, 61 sensitivity, 12 sentences, 136, 154, 164, 270 series, 37, 109, 121, 138, 141, 156, 169, 197, 209, 217, 241, 248 services, 24, 62, 216 sex, 30, 89, 119, 120, 144, 241 sexual harassment, 258 Shanghai, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 19, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 33, 40, 45, 46, 51, 54, 58, 65, 75, 76, 77, 79, 82, 84, 88, 89, 90, 95, 97, 99, 108, 110, 112, 115, 117, 118, 120, 146, 169, 194, 200, 201, 202, 203, 208, 209, 215, 216, 217, 232, 259, 264, 267, 273 sharing, 76, 80 shortage, 120, 144, 160, 161, 196 shoulders, 38, 128, 140, 168 shy, 237, 250 shyness, 241 sign(s), 17, 18, 29, 47, 86, 89, 98, 190, 198, 200, 201, 240, 246, 266, 268, 273 signals, 264 Singapore, 7, 16, 51 sites, 22, 27, 106, 107, 119, 240 skills, 2, 6, 35, 41, 53, 72, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 109, 114, 121, 122, 129, 137, 139, 140, 145, 148, 151, 154, 157, 165, 167, 172, 173, 186, 198, 208, 217, 219, 222, 234, 242, 245, 248, 256, 263, 268, 270 smoke, 30, 85, 90, 109 smoking, 26, 30, 85, 90, 110, 161 social behavior, 96 social change, 4 social development, 71, 102, 256 social environment, 73, 78 social order, 58, 72 social responsibility, 70 social skills, 41, 102 social status, 57 social structure, 1 socialism, vii, 71, 72 socialist, 70, 71, 72, 73 software, 51, 158, 213 sounds, 17, 47, 189, 264 sovereignty, 7 spectrum, 60, 107

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

288

Index

speech, ix, 23, 25, 39, 63, 71, 73, 105, 107, 108, 110, 127, 128, 129, 133, 135, 154, 163, 186, 193, 224, 258, 267 speed, 22, 49, 77, 86, 105, 118, 234 spelling, 202, 215, 275 spiritual, 71, 73 sponsor, 5 spontaneity, 109, 154, 212, 270 sports, 73, 197, 230, 265 spouse, 29, 89 stability, 61 stages, 49, 144 standardization, 16 standardized testing, 3, 11, 35 standards, vii, 14, 44, 71, 72, 73, 74, 82, 96, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 115, 190, 203, 259 statistics, 2, 12, 34, 40 stock, 121 stockpile, 216 strain, 78 strategies, 136, 138, 140, 141, 145, 164, 165, 166, 168, 169, 201, 258, 274 stress, 48, 49, 103, 110, 237 strictures, 137, 145, 165 student development, 269 student enrollment, 51, 112, 143, 160 student feedback, 223 student group, 133, 147, 186 student populations, 242 success rate, 11 suffering, 80 summer, 16, 17, 39, 42, 47, 74, 95, 100, 159 superpower, vii, 61 supervision, 24, 112 supervisor, 198 supply, 48, 121, 192, 234 support staff, 201, 266, 273 surfing, 124 surprise, 26, 70, 120, 123, 187, 188, 227, 235, 250 survival, 73, 97, 139, 167 symbolic, 1, 61 symbols, 58 sympathetic, 48 syntax, 9, 11, 16, 108, 202, 275 systems, 3, 8, 36, 57

T Taiwan, 154, 202, 275 talent, 78, 111 tangible, 5, 219 tangible benefits, 219 tar, 265, 267

target population, 61 targets, 61 tea, 146, 155, 160, 229, 250, 251 teacher training, 12, 41, 42, 43, 106, 206 teaching experience, 12, 13, 42, 43 teaching quality, 98, 100, 101 technician, 10, 158, 171, 193, 194, 203, 259 technology, 59, 72, 74, 139, 140, 141, 146, 158, 167, 168, 169 television, 17, 18, 21, 22, 27, 37, 47, 49, 50, 84, 86, 109, 159, 190, 191, 202 temperature, 264 tenure, 75 territory, 60 terrorism, 60, 61, 62, 64 terrorist(s), 29, 61, 62, 89 terrorist attack, 29, 89 textbooks, vii, 23, 37, 49, 78, 80, 81, 122, 133, 138, 144, 146, 166, 199, 212, 213, 223, 228, 271 thinking, 26, 59, 62, 98, 105, 107, 122, 134, 139, 146, 167, 191, 212, 217, 220, 227, 238, 265 threat(s), 23, 60, 61, 62, 63, 203, 248, 260, 269 threatened, 62, 203, 248, 260 threshold, 268 time commitment, 148 time constraints, 214, 223 time frame, 211 time use, 214 timetable, 59 title, 26 tolerance, 71, 76 tourism, 114 trade, vii, 59, 120 trading, vii, 16, 51, 121 trading partners, vii, 16, 51 tradition, 23 traditional model, 199, 271 traffic, 263, 264 trainees, 257, 258, 267 training, 2, 9, 12, 13, 23, 33, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 75, 79, 87, 95, 96, 101, 106, 111, 112, 113, 114, 128, 156, 180, 195, 206, 207, 212, 233, 252, 256, 266 transactions, 8 transcripts, 210 transfer, 60 transformation(s), 4, 266 transition, 268 translation, 8, 30, 62, 121, 234 transmission, 22, 27 transnational, 60 travel, 13, 41, 43, 100, 107, 248 trial, 42, 152

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,

Index troubleshooting, 202, 274 tuition, 29, 75, 89, 144, 148, 193, 203, 204, 205, 259, 260, 261 tutoring, 25, 75

U undergraduates, 207 unemployment, 82 unification, 70 uniform, 74 universities, vii, 2, 6, 12, 18, 21, 29, 30, 34, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 48, 52, 53, 57, 60, 69, 70, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 85, 89, 90, 96, 98, 99, 101, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 118, 128, 129, 143, 144, 146, 155, 156, 160, 161, 169, 170, 200, 203, 207, 208, 209, 213, 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 239, 255, 256, 259, 264, 272, 273 university education, 53, 139, 167, 199, 207, 271 university students, 22, 76, 82, 102, 138, 145, 166, 197, 209, 210, 211 unpredictability, 202, 274

Copyright © 2009. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

V vacation, 13, 43, 75, 100, 119, 191 validity, 105, 238 values, 3, 24, 36, 71, 106, 124, 154, 269, 270 variables, 199, 221, 271 variation, 16 vehicles, 59 venture capital, 105 venue, 242 veterans, 234 vibration, 157 victims, 61 village, 57 violence, 61, 119, 120, 144 violent, 61 visa, 29, 88 visas, 77 vision, ix, 6, 8, 57 vocabulary, vii, 7, 11, 12, 14, 17, 23, 24, 26, 44, 47, 51, 102, 103, 104, 107, 119, 120, 124, 125, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 148, 149, 154, 163, 164, 165, 167, 168, 169, 172, 173, 193, 202, 209, 210, 211, 212, 215, 218, 224, 240, 241, 248, 257, 269, 275 vocational, 96, 112, 180, 207, 229 vocational education, 96 voice, 25

289

W walking, 49 war, 60, 62, 84 war on terror, 62 warrants, 269 water, 96, 136, 164, 190, 191, 192, 257 weakness, 124 wealth, 61 weapons, 84 wear, 51, 200, 273 Western culture, 7, 58, 60, 124, 246 Western Europe, 82 wholesale, 6, 79 wind, 46 windows, 17, 47, 192 wine, 34, 49 winter, 17, 47, 191, 229 wisdom, ix, 4, 8, 36, 99 withdrawal, 230 wives, 202 wood, 38, 128 work ethic, 103 workers, 58, 217, 267 workforce, 53, 111 workload, 102 World Bank, 59 World Trade Center, 152, 250 World Trade Organization (WTO), 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 35, 59, 79, 82 worldview, 85, 137, 145, 148, 151, 161, 165, 173 worry, 133 writing, vii, 12, 21, 22, 27, 31, 39, 86, 87, 99, 100, 103, 104, 114, 125, 129, 135, 136, 137, 139, 143, 144, 145, 148, 149, 151, 154, 157, 162, 163, 164, 165, 167, 170, 172, 173, 186, 187, 202, 218, 219, 220, 222, 242, 246, 248, 249, 275

X xenophobia, 208 Xinhua News Agency, 29, 69, 72, 89, 94, 256

Y young adults, 23, 102, 154, 161, 162, 269 yuan, 2, 9, 14, 33, 34, 44, 82

Wolff, Martin. CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform, Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central,