Current English teaching and learning situation in schools 英语专业毕业论文.doc

Current English teaching and learning situation in schoolsIntroduction1.1 The position of English in teaching and learning in current China.English is becoming more and more popular to Chinese people and has become an indispensable part of Chinese teaching in schools. Nowadays since in elementary schools, systematic English teaching has began. In middle and high schools, English has also become a main course in students study. And when in the university, English is also taught and will become much more special. At the same time, English will be divided into various orientations as a major. Therefore, in nowadays, English learning has become an important part in students study life. And whats more, with the world becoming smaller and smaller, English shows its great importance on communicating with people of different countries. Especially when our country has entered into WTO, English has become much more popular, practical and useful. Many fields need English speaking people. Step by step, people pay much more attention to English learning. And then English teaching has taken up a very important position in China naturally. 1.2 Situations in English teaching and learning in Chinese schoolsEnglish teaching is developing so fast. The unceasing reforms have made the situation of Chinese English teaching better and better. With the development of English teaching, students English learning also makes great progress. Different periods (e.g. Elementary schools, high schools, and universities) have different ways in teaching, which make students familiar with English and have a good mastery of the subject. In the present situation of English teaching and learning in Chinese schools, virtues exist, but from a very objective stand, there are still many questions. Better solutions to these problems need to be found.1.3 Reasons and the aim of writing the thesisI am an English major student and very familiar with the system of English teaching and learning in China. And what I have learnt comes from this process and I am deeply influenced by this. I can have a general knowledge of which sides are fabulous and which ones are not. Viewed from my own stand, English teaching can see some virtues and shortages. So when thinking about writing a thesis, I want to write something about this, which is familiar to me, and is also very worthy to explore into it. The aim of writing the thesis is to discuss and analyze the questions appeared in the present English teaching and learning in Chinese schools. And then I will propose a solution of my own points of views.II Current English teaching and learning situation in Chinese schoolsWith the arrival of information age, international communication becomes more and more frequent day by day, which has caused English to obtain the most important international language position. As a result of the historical reason and internets widespread use, English has already become the prime task language that each kind of international situation uses; and it has already become the main language in the international communication. Therefore, with rapid development of modern economy, especially after entering into WTO, our country is paying more and more attention to English language education. When in my childhood, English is not taught until when one began to go to middle school. But nowadays, English is normally taught when students are in grade one of elementary school until they finish their university, Viewed from this aspect, English teaching and learning has become more and more important. Now a general English teaching and learning situation in Chinese schools will be briefly introduced. 2.1 The trend of school English teaching development The general goal of school English teaching is quite explicit in recent years in China (Zhang Zhengdong, 2005); simple education and examination-oriented education in the past are gradually transformed to the comprehensive education and lifelong education. The advanced teaching ideas are being formed, from the language knowledges instruction to the transformation of the language knowledge and the language skills, the humans language concepts of communication have already been approved severely (Xiao Hao, 2004).The English language qualities have been enhanced greatly as a whole, the educational models and the methods also have the innovational improvement in some sense, the teacher-centered teaching approach is being transformed to the student-centered learning approach. The educational techniques and methods diversify day by day; multimedia technology is used as the main teaching media, and it is used effectively in English teaching. Most teachers can avoid the traditional teaching methods, designing the teaching activities carefully, which enables the students to study in a happy and relaxing atmosphere, the teachers and students can communicate naturally in classroom teaching(Wu Zongjie, 2005), students discussion and the debate enables the traditional pure classroom language to have the authenticity, and have the function of communication. Most teachers are different from the traditional teachers-like teachers. Perhaps teachers of these kinds of good qualities are precisely more and more important in recent years, which indicate that since the implementation of English education reform was carried out in our country, the trend of the English language teaching development is along the right direction of language teaching development as a whole. English language teaching reforms in high schools in china are worth affirmation in some sense.2.2 The goals of modern English teaching The goals of modern English teaching mainly lie in developing the students communicative language, which pays more attention to the personal development. From Widdowsons(1978) earlier work to Breen and Candlins (1980) article to Savignons (1983) practical applications of communicative competence, to a recent special issue of Applied Linguistics(Angelis and Henderson 1989), according to Brown(2002)First，classroom goals are focused on all of the components of communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence.Second, language teaching and learning techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional, use of language for meaningful purpose. Organizational language teaching and learning are not the central focus but rather aspects of language that enable the learners to accomplish the purpose.Third, fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques. All times fluency maybe has to take on more importance than accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in language use.Fourth, in the communicative classroom teaching and learning, students ultimately have to use the language, productively and receptively, in unrehearsed contexts.III Virtues and shortages in the present Chinese schoolsThe situation of Chinese schools on the whole is good. Virtues can be seen clearly. Though the trends and goals are right and reasonable, when in the real process of practice, many questions are exposed. In this part, the virtues and questions in the process of English teaching and learning in Chinese schools will be discussed in details. 3.1 Virtues During the process of practice on English teaching and learning in Chinese schools, there are many virtues. 1. In China, English is taught very earlier and last for a long time. Even when students are in the kindergarten, they will learn and be taught something about English. Then in elementary school, high school, until universities, the English teaching will be continued. And there is a lot of English knowledge taught in elementary schools, high schools and in universities. Therefore the virtue of the long duration of English teaching and learning is that students are very much familiar with English though they maybe havent mastered English.2. In Chinese teaching model, whether students study well or not is judged by grades. And the grades mostly are gained form exams. And exams are almost about theory. Of course in English teaching the same model is taken. Most often, when schools arrange courses, they will choose English which is very basic and most about theory. Therefore the theory of English is known well by students. When comparing with those people whose mother language is English, our students grammar is better. 3. Because English is a fix course which is opened in Chinese schools，since when students go to school, one concept in their mind is that they have to learn, because its arranged. So they consider it as a task to finish, and they will try to learn English and finish the task. Then whether students like or not, they will learn and have some knowledge about it. In order to finish the task of teaching, teachers will also be stern and tell students to study it well. Then the condition can also make students study hard. 4. At the present time, the teacher-centered teaching approach is being transformed to the student-centered learning approach. Multimedia technology is also used as the main teaching media, and it is used effectively in English teaching. Most teachers can avoid the traditional teaching methods, designing the teaching activities carefully, which enables the students to study in a happy and relaxing atmosphere, the teachers and students can communicate naturally in classroom teaching(Wu Zongjie, 2005),5. In order to check the ability of students English, CET4 and CET6 are designed for university students. Then students will prepare for the exam and realize which level they are in. This will help them go on to study.3.2QuestionsThe reform of English teaching and learning in high schools has a further development in china, which has improved the English language teaching and learning a lot, but many questions of teaching and learning still exist in the field of teaching and learning in schools (Shu Ding fang, 2004). 1. Though the English teaching and learning has begun earlier in kindergarten and last until the university, the effects are not very ideal. Even when students have finished their university, their ability of English is not so strong. When concerning the real practical communication, they cant manage to do that. 2. The English teaching is ingrained. A great many of teaching methods and thinking ways remain unchanged and are used all the time. It pays great attention to the instruction under teachers and the grammatical knowledge explanations excessively, and doing the exam papers constantly. This kind of teaching has neglected the communicative function of English language and students individuality development.3. Though the teacher-centered teaching approach is being transformed to the student-centered learning approach, it still occupies the majority of time in schools, and takes the teacher as the center rather than students. Teachers dominate the whole classroom teaching, which is against the goal of language teaching (Liu Runqing, 1990). At the same time, all the students have to do a lot of homework and assignments set by the teachers. In class, they have to take notes, recite language points and do boring homework. Yet with all the work on both the part of the teacher and students, the students still can not use English to communicate with each other effectively or idiomatically. 4. Students are lack of interest in English. Learning English is not their choice, it is just a task for them. The students learn English under the teachers and parents pressure, some of them become bored or scared of being reprimanded by teachers. Graph 1 comes from a research on university students attitude on English learning. Seen from this graph one fifth of the students in the research have no interest in English, some of them even hate English. Graph 1: university students attitude on English learningResearch itemsEvaluation sYour attitude towards English learningVery Interesting 25So-so54No Interest12Hate 95. In conventional classroom English teaching, some teachers prefer to dominate the classroom and retain authority over the students (Zhao Huafang, 2007). Teachers fail to make the classes interesting and they also fail to think out some useful ways to make the class active. The ways that teachers use are very rigid and conservative. They teach just as what the textbook say, which is boring and simple. When giving lessons, they also lack passion. 6. English in schools is not taught as a kind of language but just as a subject. Schools open classes about theory of English, ignoring the overall development of the ability of English language. So the English teaching is partial. 7. The purpose of teaching the English subject is not to prepare for the practical use of the language, but to create the linguistic competence and language knowledge (Zhang Jianmin, 2003). In reality, the reason that we need learn English is that English is a language which is very important for us to communicate with others from different countries. However, after many years learning and teaching, the practical communicating ability of students is not developed. Then, we can say the meaning of opening the English class has lost.8. There is a wrong concept in English learning method. No matter in which grades, the students always have the concept that to memorize English words is the most important and useful. And much vocabulary is taught in the form of list of isolated words. Then the wholeness of English learning is broken. 9. CET4 and CET6 for university students can help people recognize the level of a university students English. If they pass the exams, it will be very helpful to them in job hunting. Just because of this, students study for it, while ignoring the real English practice. When they have finished the exams, they will find that they gain few. Therefore the exams also lose its real meaning.10. The kind of teaching and learning pattern is oriented to the tests and the examinations (Mei Deming, 2004). That is to say, they can take any measure to ensue the students to gain good marks in the tests and examinations. This kind of traditional English language teaching and learning is just like a factory which produces so-called talents. Teachers teach English not for students mastery of the language, they just for students performance in examinations. For the language teachers, they will teach whatever comes up in the examinations, their responsibility is to enable the students to pass various language tests and examinations, if so, and they may be considered as good teachers. Though many people have realized the severe consequences caused by this sort of examination-oriented education in the process of English language teaching and learning, the overall situation is not greatly improved (Zhao Huafa