M10U1A1 - Identifying a Research Question

Identifying a Research Question
Statement of Question or Problem
When we mention English language teaching (ELT) in China, it should be dated back to Qing dynasty. In 1903, the Qing government formally implemented the “Statutes of the Imperial Academy”, which stipulated that English classes in elementary, middle and secondary schools throughout the country. This movement meant the Qing government opened the door to the world. For a time, the tendency of translating Western languages and learning from the West has become commonplace. Till PRC was established, English language test became a core test in Gaokao, which is college entrance test in China. By reviewing history we know that English class plays an important role in Chinese education system. Chinese parents hold high expectations for their children in English language learning. Nowadays,  with the rapid economic development in China, in order to enhance students’ English competency, besides class time, most parents spend a lot of money to have their children to get extra English tutoring. And also more and more children were sent to international school or private school to get the education.
Despite tremendous efforts and resources have been expended on upgrading the various components of ELT, including curriculums, syllabuses, textbooks, teaching approaches, tests, and teachers' professional competence, the result of ELT in China is not very satisfactory, so I list the question in my research proposal below:
For Chinese students whose first language is not English, which approach is better for student learning: English immersion or a bilingual approach?


Discussion of Potential for the Research Project Proposal
Based on the current situation of English teaching in China, I plan to apply a research project proposal to solve the problem. The goal of the project proposal is to find an effective approach to enhance Chinese students’ English learning. In response to the question, I will apply the following steps.
First, analyze the reasons which may cause the problem below.
  1. There is no doubt that Chinese and English belong to different language systems, which makes it more difficult for Chinese students to learn English.
  2. Although the educational reform and diverse language teaching approaches from outside the country exert influence, ELT in China has retained some of its essentially “Chinese characteristics”.
  3. English teachers’ need more professional development opportunities.
Second, use the theory to support my research.
  1. Acquisition-learning hypothesis - According to Stephen Krashen's hypothesis, there are two independent ways in which we develop our linguistic skills: acquisition and learning. This theory is at the core of modern language acquisition theory and leads the second language teaching trend.
  2. Communicative language teaching - CLT is also called the communicative approach, which is an approach to language teaching that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of the study.
Third, use survey and collect English test data to support my research.
  1. Send the survey to public school, private school, and international school.
  2. Collect test data to analyze.
Last but not least, state the solution.
Balancing immersion and bilingual approaches, and according to the age of students, focus on different methods. In my opinion, it will be more helpful for Chinese students achieve their English learning goals.
Reference
  1. Anwei Feng, 2007. Bilingual Education in China: Practices, Policies, and Concepts. Multilingual Matters LTD.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

M9U4A3 Reflection

Image
M9U4A3 Reflection What did impact my learning the most in this module? The most impact my learning thing in this module is choosing on-level texts for reading. It makes me deeply understand the importance of choosing quality texts. I want to use my spare time to write some leveling fiction or nonfiction Chinese books for students. Share new insights about literacy learning I have. 1.       Implementing the balanced literacy program in my class. 2.       Monitoring comprehension: It is not only teachers’ job, but also students need to monitor comprehension by themselves, so I must teach students to be aware of what they do understand, and identify what they do not understand. Students also need to be taught how to use appropriate fix-up strategies when their comprehension breaks down. 3.       Using mental imagery/visualization: Mental images or pictures help students to understand and remember what they have read. 4.       Students’ comprehension improves through the
Read more

m4 u3 a2

Image
Creating High Performance Learning Environments Video Analysis - #1 Roller Coaster Physics 1. Teaching-learning situations Teaching and learning situation occurs when students and teachers with common interests come together for the purpose of developing an authentic product or a service that is an application of their common interest. Teachers are a rich resource for students when they examine their own interests in ways that reach far beyond their content expertise and general classroom experience. From the video we can see that this is a very effective STEM lesson. Through engineering design process, students learnt the academic objective-potential, kinetic energy knowledge. Students worked and at play within the design challenge. When students were involved in the engineering design process, the math and science that they were learning and applying into that design challenge kind of seamlessly come out. STEM lessons take the time to really have students buy in.
Read more
Image
M9U1A2 Whole Language Learning Theory My Current Classroom Context I am currently teaching the Chinese language in an international school (QSI). My students with different readiness levels in the Chinese language are from k1- 12 grades. Importance of Whole Language Learning Theory Whole language learning is an approach to learning that sees language as a whole entity, and writing, speaking, reading, and listening should be integrated when learned. In whole language learning, learning is built upon the real experiences and background knowledge of the learner. Since whole language learning integrates literacy within all parts of the curriculum (including science, math and social studies), I will list the importance below. 1.       Whole language learning views language as a whole. Based on it, the target language should be taught as such. The benefits of it are learners can both appreciate and comprehend the target language fully. 2.       Whole language learning e
Read more