A Comment on English teaching in China

    【Abstract】Along with the globalization economy and the internationalization of information， the exchange between the west countries and the east is more and more frequent. As an international language， English sets up a communication bridge between countries in the world， playing an indispensable role in international exchanges. Most of countries especially China attach great importance to English learning. Thus， this paper mainly describes the English teaching in China and provide reference value for English learning.

    【Key words】English teaching; importance; method

    【作者簡介】李文玲，山东科技大学。

    1. The importance of English learning

    In recent years， English learning has become prevalent in Chinese schools. English has become a compulsory subject in all schools from primary school to university stages. The importance of English is mainly reflected in the following two aspects：

    Firstly， as a global language， English is the most widely used language in the world today. According to statistics in 1986， there were nearly 400 million native English speakers in the world， almost one in ten people speaking English. About 20 countries in the world use English as their second language， and about 800 million people use English for communication daily. English has been used in many fields. For instance， there are more than 70% of the worlds mail is written or addressed in English， and majority of international information is published in English. Besides， English is one of the official working languages of the United Nations and most international conferences.

    Secondly， the implementation of reform and opening-up policy led to the omnidirectional and staged opening pattern in China. Since then， China has more chances of global communication and cooperation in all kinds of areas. English is becoming an important language for us to communicate with the rest of the world. Nowadays， China has developed into an important part of the world， and the communication between China and English-speaking countries has been enhanced. The importance of English language has been further highlighted by the development of international politics， economics and cultural communications and cooperation.

    In a nutshell， English is a major vehicle of the development of science， technique， economy and cross-culture communication all around the world.

    2.English teaching in China

    In China， pushy parents who want their children to win at the starting line. Thus， they pay much more attention to the study of their children， especially in terms of English learning， which reflects the importance people attach to English.

    So here is a question： What is the best English teaching method for China student to learn English well？ As far as Im concerned， three aspects should be focused on. First of all， Innovative pedagogies in schools play an important role in the way of innovation education cultivating creative character of students， so English teaching should diversity rather than “the full house fills”. This reason is that traditional English teaching methods cant meet the needs of the social and economic development. We should manifest teachers leading role and students main body function in English classes. In addition to teaching students how to learn English， teachers should encourage every student to actively study in the learning process， search information through various channels and absorb knowledge by themselves， which will benefit to the students and increase their motivation and confidence for studying well. In addition， the optimization combination of multi-media and traditional teaching can not only improve the teaching efficiency， but attract students attention and interest in learning English.

    English learning is a process in which study and relax should be combined， only in this way can students have a good condition to study better. For teachers， the English teaching should focus on students learning process， learning methods rather than only the learning outcomes which is the scores. For scores are not the only standard to measure ones intellectual accomplishments. The teachers should attach much more importance to students ability to communicate with others in English， encourage them to use English in their daily life as much as possible. Students should be encouraged to participate in English clubs such as English singing， English stage play， English poetry recitation， English debate competition. Through these clubs， they can build up their interest and enthusiasm in learning English， improve their ability to speak English， and enrich their life.

    Last but not least， teaching and learning environment is also an important factor. The best way to learn English is actually to learn or speak English more frequently. Thus， an environment with your peer or people surrounding who speak English will boost the English learning process. In school， teachers can make full use of the classroom space of English teaching to create a rich language environment for students actual learning of the language. They can adopt English immersion approach that is to teach the whole class in understandable spoken English. The first English Immersion project in China began in 1997 in Xian. Through the practice and observation of children in the immersion program， it is found that English Immersion has some impacts on children. The program showed that adopting the mode of English immersion education is feasible， which provides a new approach for the English program. Moreover， there should be interaction between teachers and students to replace the boring and monotonous atmosphere of classroom， because monotonous classes cannot arouse the students interest of learning.

    3. Conclusion

    In conclusion， it is important for the people to realize that English studying is a two-way process. Students should take initiative in English learning with high learning motivation and enthusiasm while teachers create different kinds of activities and English learning platforms for students to learn English effectively. English studying is also a long and arduous process， and only those who stick it out can feel the successful taste. Just as no one grows fat at one sitting， English learning cannot be with one single effort.

    References：

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    [2]王蔷.英语教学法教程[M].北京：高等教育出版社，2000.

    [3]肖禮全.英语教学方法论[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社， 2006.