ABSTRACT
English language teaching at the different levels of the Chinese educational system has been at the forefront of many recent educational reforms and language policy initiatives (Hu, 2005b). By and large, the language policies and reform endeavors have been driven by two related forces, among others. One driving force is the widespread acceptance of a modernization discourse on the importance of English for China and its citizenry that links national proficiency in English to China’s modernization. This prevalent discourse assumes that English has “a multitude of economic, commercial, technological, political, social, cultural, and educational roles” (Hu, 2008, p. 202) to play in China’s national development. The other driving force is a persistent and growing dissatisfaction with the quality of English language teaching among policymakers and other stakeholders (Hu, 2005c). It is widely assumed that the crux of the problem is the entrenched use of traditional teaching methodologies. These two driving forces, together with other factors, have led to a top-down flux of curricular and pedagogical reforms aimed at increasing English language provision and improving the effectiveness of English language teaching in the school system.
