WHY TRADITIONS DIE HARD

WHY TRADITIONS DIE HARD

向建光

提要：大纲在变，教材在变，为什么相当一部分教师的传统教学方法不变？本文从考试制度、教学班级、教师负担、教师外语水平等六个方面来分析传统的教学方法目前仍旧占据大部分中学英语课堂教学的原因。同时，作者从培训教师、推广新的教学方法、完善考试制度、支持教学方法改革等方面提出了四项建议。

With the coming of the information age, advanced technologies, and media including computers and internet, in which English functions as a vehicle for communication, a large number of people with good command of English are greatly needed. In order to meet the demand of the modern society, the English teachers are supposed to pay more attention to our students' development in their communicative competence and abandon the traditional methods which do not fit with the current circumstances. However, as we observe today's English classes, it is obvious that the traditional approaches to the English language teaching still dominate our classroom. Why do traditional methods remain so strong? The author of the paper would like to show the personal opinion about it and make some suggestions as well.

1. What does the traditional approach refer to ?

1.1.It mainly refers to the grammar-translation method. In grammar-oriented classrooms, all the teacher has to do is to cover the text, explain the rules, and finish the exercises. S/He spends most of the class time in long and elaborate explanations and analysis of the text and complicated grammar rules. The following is what occurs during the teaching of a middle school English language lesson:

TEACHER STUDENTS
gives some background to the text listen to T
practices pronunciation of the new words repeat after T
explains the words listen to T
explains paragraph by reading sentence by sentence ( may translate some senten- ces into Chinese.) listen to T and take some notes (in Chi- ese) read paragraph out aloud or ask T questions
asks Ss to do written exercises do exercises

1.2. Advantages and disadvantages

It can not be denied that the method has the following advantages:

1.2.1.It is effective in improving the students' reading comprehension.

1.2.2.It is not too demanding of the teacher, who needs not be a fluent speaker of the target language, nor do any imaginative work beyond passively following the textbooks.

1.2.3. It is easy to test the students, and the class is easy to control.

1.2.4.The students learn about a lot of rules and their exceptions. They become pretty adept at doing translation, though the translation often turns out to be more correct grammatically than idiomatically.

Meanwhile, the following disadvantages are also obvious:

1.2.5.The students have poor pronunciation and intonation, and are weak, perhaps very weak in oral skills.

1.2.6.Though the students may have learned a lot about the rules of the language, they cannot apply them in writing, much less in speaking.

1.2.7.The class tends to be dull, and the students are often overloaded.

2.Why do traditional methods remain strong ?

Although modern English teaching at present favors the communicative approach, a considerable portion of middle school English teachers, especially senior grade teachers still feel reluctant to give up the old ways. In my opinion, the following aspects should be taken into our consideration about it:

2.1 Examination-oriented

Many teachers hold the view that college entrance examination ranks number one among the greatest factors inhibiting teaching reform. The exams concentrate too much on knowledge of grammar rules and lay too much emphasis on memorization. Very often the teachers find themselves in dilemma. On one hand they think it necessary to break away from the traditional modes. On the other hand they fear the reform would have a negative influence on the students' test paper. In an interview with a British Council lecturer, a Chinese teacher said, "If you want me to change the method, please change the examination system first. " Exams indeed place to heavy a burden on both teachers and students.

2.2 Large classes

The second reason that is important to our understanding is that we have very large classes. As we all know, the average number of the students in each class is 50-60, or even bigger than that in the rural area schools. The English teachers complain that a big class with more 50 students inhibits their efforts to offer students more chance to talk in English, let alone the activities concerning information gap and games. Some teachers even doubt whether the communicative approach suits to the Chinese context. How to cope with large classes still remains a problem for us.

2.3 Heavy workload

The third reason for us to understand the obstacles to reform in teaching method is our teachers' heavy work load. In addition to their teaching work, some have got administration duties in their own school and some are in charge of classes in different grades. Their heavy work load and tight schedule keep them as busy as a bee. Some young teachers often complain, "To be honest with you, being busy all day long, I feel unable to do as much research teaching work as I would like to ."

2.4 Limited materials

The fourth reason I would like to stress is that in a communicative classroom, a teacher acts not as an informer but as an organizer of a great variety of learning activities. According to the new textbook compilers' suggestion, an English teacher should use different kinds of teaching materials to arouse the students' interest in English learning. Now the problem is that all those materials are very limited in most ordinary schools or even not available in the remote areas. The "chalk plus a textbook" model is still popular among the teachers.

2.5 Lack of support

The next reason I would like to discuss is what schools, parents and most students are concerned with is not a teacher's teaching method but the results the students gain on examinations, the college entrance examination in particular. It is difficult for them to support new methods because they themselves do not know about English teaching. They pay great attention to students' opinions of the teachers. As for most students, they are accustomed to the traditional ways, that is, teachers talk and students listen. They expect their teacher to explain everything in detail. The more, the better. If a teacher tries to make them work, they will feel upset. It is hard for a teacher to explain to the students the difference between learning English and learning about English.

2.6 Teachers' low level of English

The sixth and final point I wish to make about the problem is that the low level of English proficiency among many middle school teachers hinder the extent to which the communicative approach can be effectively pursued. Take classroom English for example, some teachers can hardly express themselves in English. As a result, it is difficult for them to organize a two-way communication in the target language with their students. No wonder some people say, "The higher grade you are in, the less English you will hear." Of course, we mean no complaint to our teachers here. There are many objective things that account for it.

3. Suggestions

The suggestions offered below are primarily based on my personal observations, study and experience in middle schools. They are, of course, far from complete and perfect. Nevertheless, I hope that they will contribute to solution of the problem.

3.1 Enhancing the English proficiency

As far as teachers' English proficiency is concerned, I think first we should work out the qualifications for middle school English teachers and require them to reach the minimal level at least in a period of given time. Secondly, we should provide them with varies types of courses, the objective of which is not to get diploma but to enhance the English ;proficiency.

3.2 Promoting familiarity with good approaches

Some teachers assume that the communicative approach is a kind of oral way without teaching grammar. Obviously that is not correct. In order to clear up the misunderstandings like this, I recommend that we should try our best to help broad teachers know what the communicative approach is and how to use it in the classroom by means of lectures, demonstration classes and short-term training programs.

3.3 Supporting the pioneers

Not all the teachers stick to the conventional ways in teaching English. Many teachers, young teachers in particular are active in trying the new ways. On the other hand, they are lack of experience. There always exist two possibilities in their experiment. That is failure or success. As for those pioneers in teaching reform, the department concerned should support them not in words but in deeds, understand them and show tolerance towards them if the result turns out to be failure. Only in such an easy environment are the teachers willing to join us in teaching reform.

3.4 Improving the examination system

Objectively speaking, the present examination system has been improved a lot compared with that in 1980's. But it is still far from satisfaction. The absence of listening comprehension and speaking skill in the college entrance examination still remains the biggest problems. Restricted by the objective conditions, we can't solve the problems all at once in the whole country; however, in the developed coastal arrears, the education administration should allow them to go ahead of the rest.

4.Concluding remarks

Why traditional approaches still remain so strong in our classroom? Partly because they do have their own advantages which have been proved effective in teaching English in the Chinese context, but mainly because the new teaching approaches such as communicative approach , restricted by the objective conditions, can hardly be adopted to a great ex

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