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This article was downloaded by: [University of Colorado - Health Science Library] On: 26 September 2014, At: 15:03 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Asian Englishes Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/reng20 Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China. (Series: Multilingual Education) David Deterding a a University of Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, BE1410, Brunei Published online: 17 Apr 2014. To cite this article: David Deterding (2014) Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China. (Series: Multilingual Education), Asian Englishes, 16:2, 180-181, DOI: 10.1080/13488678.2014.908018 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2014.908018 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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Page 1: Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China. (Series: Multilingual Education)

This article was downloaded by: [University of Colorado - Health Science Library]On: 26 September 2014, At: 15:03Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Asian EnglishesPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/reng20

Perspectives on teaching and learningEnglish literacy in China. (Series:Multilingual Education)David Deterdinga

a University of Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong,BE1410, BruneiPublished online: 17 Apr 2014.

To cite this article: David Deterding (2014) Perspectives on teaching and learning Englishliteracy in China. (Series: Multilingual Education), Asian Englishes, 16:2, 180-181, DOI:10.1080/13488678.2014.908018

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2014.908018

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China. (Series: Multilingual Education)

BOOK REVIEW

Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China. (Series:Multilingual Education), by Jiening Ruan and Cynthia B. Leung, Dordrecht, Springer,2012, xxii + 166 pp., (hbk), ISBN 978-94-007-4993-1

This edited volume contains 10 chapters discussing English language teaching inChina. In Chapter 1, Ran Hu and Bob Anderson provide an historical overview of theevolution of English teaching in China following the social and political changes fromthe early nineteenth century up to the present day. In Chapter 2, An Cheng andQiuying Wang consider the developments of English in education at the tertiary level,while in Chapter 3, Yongqi Gu analyses changes in the curriculum for English educa-tion in schools, and in Chapter 4, Zhenyou Yu and Jiening Ruan discuss the introduc-tion of English in kindergarten. In Chapter 5, Dongbo Zhang considers reforms in theEnglish curriculum for primary schools, while in Chapter 6, Qiang Wang and ZehangChen discuss reforms in the English curriculum in senior high schools. Chapter 7, byMeihua Li, considers the English curriculum for non-English majors in higher educa-tion, particularly the movement away from an emphasis on reading to a greater focuson speaking and active participation by students. In Chapter 8, Ping Liu describesafter-school learning of English, including the encouragement for students to readextensively in English and access a wide range of on-line materials. In Chapter 9,Andrew Feng discusses the teaching of English in the minority regions of China andusefully reminds us of the disadvantages the minority people face, especially theUyghurs living in the western province of Xinjiang. Finally, in Chapter 10, Guofang Liand Xiaopeng Ni consider the use of technology in English teaching in China, report-ing that though it often enhances the quality of teaching, in some cases it merely servesto perpetuate the central role of the teacher at the front of the class.

There is rather a lot of overlap between the various chapters in this book. Forexample, the first seven chapters all trace developments in English language teachingthrough history, so most of them discuss the widespread introduction of Russian as aforeign language after 1949, the subsequent disruption of the Cultural Revolution, andthen the emergence of a more pragmatic approach to language teaching in the late1970s. Although it is certainly true that the contributors consider different levels ofeducation, from pre-school through primary, secondary and tertiary levels, neverthelessthere is a substantial amount of common material that they address as well. But perhapsthis does not matter, as few people will want to read the book from cover to cover.Most readers are likely to read only those chapters that interest them most, so the com-prehensive and authoritative overview provided in each chapter may actually be quitewelcome.

Most of the chapters focus on the curriculum, so the focus is largely on shifts ingovernment policy rather than the actual implementation of English education in class-rooms. Although some chapters do include sections on the challenges that are faced,such as the valuable discussion by Yongqi Gu in Chapter 3 about the problems of

Asian Englishes, 2014Vol. 16, No. 2, 180–181

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assessment and issues of implementation in basic English education, we are rarely pre-sented with any actual data. As a result, while there is a great deal of informative dis-cussion about how the English curriculum has evolved, we are never shown any actualextracts of materials that occur in the textbooks, transcripts of the ways that teachersdeliver their English classes, examples of the writing that might occur with learners inChina, or descriptions of the ways that Chinese students tend to speak English. Conse-quently, we never really get to meet any of the stakeholders in the English languageprocess in China. The book therefore represents a somewhat top-down view of lan-guage education, dealing with policy rather than details of what actually happens in theclassroom, with only an occasional glimpse of the challenges that occur in the imple-mentation.

In Chapter 5, Dongbo Zhang offers us a fascinating insight into the problems ofone poorly-resourced school located in a small county in northern China where therewas no library, no Internet access, and just one computer classroom in the whole schoolwhich only the higher grade students had access to for 40 min per week (p. 76). InChapter 9, Anwei Feng reports the results of a 2007 survey in the Xinjiang UyghurAutonomous Region in western China, which showed that even at the most prestigiousuniversity, 62% of students from the minority ethnic group had had no experiencelearning English (p. 132). However, these brief glimpses into the actual issues faced inEnglish language China are rare in this book, and in reality it feels like we never get tomeet any of the students or find out very much about the actual challenges that theyface.

Nevertheless, this book does offer a comprehensive overview of the substantialshifts in policies and approaches towards English language education that haveoccurred in China, and it therefore provides a valuable insight into how the curriculumat the different levels of education has evolved and continues to develop to meet thechallenges of the modern globalised world. Although it seems somewhat top-down,reflecting government policy rather more than its actual implementation, the bookprovides some authoritative and well-written summaries of how English education haschanged, especially in the second part of the twentieth century, and also some insightsinto the issues faced today in the attempts to implement technologically-driven,student-centred English teaching in China.

David DeterdingUniversity of Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong BE1410, Brunei

Email: [email protected]© 2014, David Deterding

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2014.908018

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