With the increase in international communication
and the growing demand for foreign language professionals
in the last decade, the teaching of foreign languages,
especially English, has gained considerable prominence in
Chinese education. Despite the long history of English
teaching in China, there are still significant deficiencies
in this area. If these deficiencies are to be addressed,
then methodology is a crucial variable worthy of
examination.
Many of the TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign
Language) methods developed in the last twenty years are
unknown to the Chinese teachers, although they may be
introduced to China in the future. Since these methods are
products of Western experience, a scrutiny of their
relevance to the Chinese teaching situation is necessary.
In particular, it is important to focus on the
psychological appropriateness of these methods to the
Chinese setting.
A number of the most crucial psychological
issues, such as learner's motivation, aptitude, personality
and learning style, are discussed in CHAPTER 2, together
with those social and cultural influences which may affect
the learner's psychological attributes.
CHAPTER 3 provides a detailed, yet not exhaustive,
description of a range of TEFL methodologies, which may
provide potential solutions to the deficiencies that have
been identified. Here the emphasis is on psychological
theories that underlie these methods and on their
psychological impact on the learner.
CHAPTER 4 moves to a specific investigation of
the psychological attributes of Chinese students. To this
end, data have been obtained from a study specifically
designed for this paper, and used as a basis for evaluating
the motivation, personality, affect and learning style of
English majors at ERWAI (Peking Second Foreign Language Institute). This evaluation is further supplemented by the
views of foreign visitors to China and by the results of
some published studies of Chinese nationals in America.
Based on the discussion in the previous chapters,
the fifth and final chapter concludes with an overview of
the appropriateness of TEFL methodologies to the Chinese
situation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219328 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Zhang, Shou-Juan, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Liberal Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Shou-Juan Zhang |
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