I wanted to introduce my the one-on-one research course that I'm taking through the CET course as it basically is helping to prepare me to do the bulk of my Fulbright research fieldwork when I'm in Kunming.
Each student in the CET program gets to choose an academic subject related to China that they want to explore in depth in Mandarin with a professor at Harbin Institute of Technology (at least most of the teachers in these courses are research professors here). It's a unique learning opportunity and, for me, one of the main attractions of the CET program. The students have chosen a broad array of topic including Chinese modern art, Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, and Chinese film-making. The end result of the course is to present a research paper written in Mandarin (hand written and typed *GAG*) to a group of professors.
Writing a research paper in Mandarin seems like a tall order especially since I have little to no experience using Mandarin in an academic context. Formal written Mandarin can get tricky as the vocabulary and language structure differs significantly from oral Mandarin. For example, there are various formal ways to say "I" or address yourself in Mandarin that would never be used in everyday oral contexts.
So far my experience in the one-on-one research has been good. My teacher is a professor in education at HIT (Harbin Institute of Technology) who is quite lighthearted, friendly, and encouraging. She frequently laughs throughout class. Each week I read two articles about China’s English Language Teaching (ELT) policy and I have to summarize and give an oral presentation about each one. In the first three weeks I have been reading about the history of English language education policy in China since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. A lot of the information I'm largely already familiar with as I have come across it during the research I did in the US before I came to China. The important part is learning more about the language to talk about ELT Policy in Mandarin. In that respect I find the class invaluable so far. The hardest part is learning to use the more formal language orally which is progressing slowly.
Essentially the history of English language education policy since 1949 as I've read in the articles for this class goes like this:
In the 1950s, because of its close ties with the USSR and the isolation it faced by Western countries at the time, China mainly embraced Russian as the main foreign language over English in its education system. When relations with the USSR turned soured in the early 1960s, China attempted to diversify its the foreign languages taught in its education system including a greater emphasis on learning English. This corresponded with China's greater effort to develop ties with and get aid from Western and Third World countries. But with the Cultural Revolution, a tumultuous, traumatic, complex social upheaval, which began in 1966 and officially continued until 1976, the teaching of foreign languages in China largely ceased. With China's market reforms under Deng Xiaoping beginning in 1978, English became the country's most important foreign language. Since then the central government has vigorously promoted the language in every level of the country's education system. Two of the country's major exam (to get into high school and university) both heavily emphasize English as a tested subject and most universities require students to pass a national English exam to get their undergraduate and graduate degree. Political leaders see English as a key tool for spurring China's modernization and growth as well as its integration into the global economy and many employers favor English proficiency as a key skill for white collar positions (regardless of whether they use the language during in the job).
Though this history, from what I've read in previous research, is a bit more complex it's clear that China's embrace of English language in its education has served a largely pragmatic need for the country and its degree of importance has fluctuated in different times based on perceived political and economic needs. As an instructor at Guangxi University, I found this utilitarian view of English reflected in many of the students I taught there. Often they saw the language as something they needed to memorize and regurgitate for exams so that they could advance in their education and obtain the jobs they wanted in the future. Some students did have a genuine interest in developing communicative English skills as well as learning about other cultures through English but I would say that they were a significant minority. Thus in my opinion China's government policy that promotes English learning through an exam-driven education system helps to perpetuate a utilitarian view of the language among its students.
Each student in the CET program gets to choose an academic subject related to China that they want to explore in depth in Mandarin with a professor at Harbin Institute of Technology (at least most of the teachers in these courses are research professors here). It's a unique learning opportunity and, for me, one of the main attractions of the CET program. The students have chosen a broad array of topic including Chinese modern art, Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, and Chinese film-making. The end result of the course is to present a research paper written in Mandarin (hand written and typed *GAG*) to a group of professors.
Writing a research paper in Mandarin seems like a tall order especially since I have little to no experience using Mandarin in an academic context. Formal written Mandarin can get tricky as the vocabulary and language structure differs significantly from oral Mandarin. For example, there are various formal ways to say "I" or address yourself in Mandarin that would never be used in everyday oral contexts.
So far my experience in the one-on-one research has been good. My teacher is a professor in education at HIT (Harbin Institute of Technology) who is quite lighthearted, friendly, and encouraging. She frequently laughs throughout class. Each week I read two articles about China’s English Language Teaching (ELT) policy and I have to summarize and give an oral presentation about each one. In the first three weeks I have been reading about the history of English language education policy in China since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. A lot of the information I'm largely already familiar with as I have come across it during the research I did in the US before I came to China. The important part is learning more about the language to talk about ELT Policy in Mandarin. In that respect I find the class invaluable so far. The hardest part is learning to use the more formal language orally which is progressing slowly.
Essentially the history of English language education policy since 1949 as I've read in the articles for this class goes like this:
In the 1950s, because of its close ties with the USSR and the isolation it faced by Western countries at the time, China mainly embraced Russian as the main foreign language over English in its education system. When relations with the USSR turned soured in the early 1960s, China attempted to diversify its the foreign languages taught in its education system including a greater emphasis on learning English. This corresponded with China's greater effort to develop ties with and get aid from Western and Third World countries. But with the Cultural Revolution, a tumultuous, traumatic, complex social upheaval, which began in 1966 and officially continued until 1976, the teaching of foreign languages in China largely ceased. With China's market reforms under Deng Xiaoping beginning in 1978, English became the country's most important foreign language. Since then the central government has vigorously promoted the language in every level of the country's education system. Two of the country's major exam (to get into high school and university) both heavily emphasize English as a tested subject and most universities require students to pass a national English exam to get their undergraduate and graduate degree. Political leaders see English as a key tool for spurring China's modernization and growth as well as its integration into the global economy and many employers favor English proficiency as a key skill for white collar positions (regardless of whether they use the language during in the job).
Though this history, from what I've read in previous research, is a bit more complex it's clear that China's embrace of English language in its education has served a largely pragmatic need for the country and its degree of importance has fluctuated in different times based on perceived political and economic needs. As an instructor at Guangxi University, I found this utilitarian view of English reflected in many of the students I taught there. Often they saw the language as something they needed to memorize and regurgitate for exams so that they could advance in their education and obtain the jobs they wanted in the future. Some students did have a genuine interest in developing communicative English skills as well as learning about other cultures through English but I would say that they were a significant minority. Thus in my opinion China's government policy that promotes English learning through an exam-driven education system helps to perpetuate a utilitarian view of the language among its students.