Teaching Across Cultures: Considerations for Western EFL ......critical attitudes and their assumptions that they were in China to pass on new approaches to a grateful audience, Western

Teaching Across Cultures

Teaching Across Cultures: Considerations for Western EFL teachers in China

Tang Degen, Doug Absalom, Xiangtan University, University of Newcastle,

China Australia

Abstract

This paper aims to identify some communication difficulties which arise when Eastern and Western cultures meet in the context of language teaching and learning. Despite increased interaction between Chinese and Western academics, it is evident that misunderstandings and even antagonism are a regular feature of cross-cultural discourses. This is particularly true of Australian and other Western teachers entering China for the purpose of teaching English. This paper attempts to make explicit some of the underlying assumptions held by such teachers and to contrast these with the expectations of Chinese students. An understanding of this contrast in terms of cultural awareness and justification is intended to overcome many of the stereotypical attitudes which arise out of individual instances of culture clash and which may go on to constitute communication barriers in themselves. We first examine some relevant Chinese cultural perspectives, then look at how those perspectives produce constraints on Western methodological procedures and finally offer some strategies and suggestions for compromise. In this way, a set of guidelines is formulated to allow Western teachers to

work comfortably and effectively in a Chinese context.

Introduction

The content of this paper is partly motivated by two comments from students about teachers that they had studied under. The first is from an Australian student studying in Shanghai in 1988, who remarked that:

The trouble with Chinese teachers is that they’ve never done any real teacher training courses so they don’t know how to teach. All they do is follow the book. They never give us any opportunity to talk. How in the world do they expect us to learn?

D. Tang & D. Absalom

The other comment is from a Chinese student in Sydney in 1990, who said:

Australian teachers are very friendly but they often can’t teach well. I never know where they’re going; there’s no system and I just get lost. Also, they’re often badly trained and don’t really have a thorough grasp of their subject.

This type of cultural myopia, whereby a second culture is judged from the uncritical, intuitive basis of the first, can often cause severe quality limitations to the teaching of even the most culturally experienced teachers, as has been shown in Chen & Absalom (1996) and Absalom (1996).

Despite the “opening up” of China over the past decade or so, comparatively few Western educators have had the opportunity to observe English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching in China for themselves, and have had to rely on reports from EFL teachers who return from China after teaching there for a period usually not exceeding twelve months. However, this brief period is rarely sufficient to acquire full cultural understanding. As Ballard & Clanchy (1997, p. ix) note “they must undergo an intellectual and cultural sea-change if they are to succeed” (Ballard & Clanchy, 1997: ix). Much of the reporting concentrates on the “backwardness” of Chinese EFL in the eyes of critics who contrast it with Western methods often applied in ESL and second language teaching e.g. Paine (1992), Mcknight (1994), Maley (1984), Mullance (1985), Pizhu Hong (1994) and Price (1984). Because of their critical attitudes and their assumptions that they were in China to pass on new approaches to a grateful audience, Western EFL teachers rarely consider the Chinese cultural context or the structural constraints that limit the opportunities for Chinese students to adopt Western approaches (Orton, 1990, p. 17).

Much of the available literature on EFL in China reflects Western teachers’ frustrations with their experiences of EFL teaching there. Some have been asked to give Chinese students an experience of new Western approaches (Muehl & Muehl, 1993). Some have tried out Western approaches but have found that their Chinese hosts have been concerned about departing too radically from methods that would create tensions in relation to existing procedures for assessment or acceptable roles of teachers and students (Orton, 1990). Others have reported that students themselves have provided the major source of constraint on the introduction of any new methods, expressing concern at the absence of written material for memorisation or the Western teacher’s expectations about individualised communicative activities requiring independent opinions (Muehl & Muehl, 1993; Ross, 1992). Rarely has the

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possibility of adapting Chinese learning habits into the framework of Western methodologies been considered, but on these rare occasions, e.g. Allen & Spada (1983), the innovation has been treated with suspicion, and has not become popular.

Since most of the publications have been for the benefit of Western educators, much of the material has become polarised, focussing on the contrasts between the “traditional” aspects of Chinese EFL and the “progressive” aspects of Western second language teaching. It has reflected elements of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the inevitable frustrations at not being able to see much change in the students’ learning style within the relatively short time that most Westerners are able to teach EFL in Chinese universities (Zhang, 1995). Hence the main purposes of this paper are:

a) to provide clear perspectives on Chinese methods of EFL teaching so that Western EFL teachers can become more fully aware of the role played by Chinese cultural background in this area and perhaps adopt a more cross- culturally communicative attitude toward their EFL teaching practice and their Chinese students;

b) to explicate that the Chinese cultural contexts surrounding the conventional EFL teaching approach have until relatively recently produced major constraints on the introduction of Western methods of EFL teaching into Chinese universities and schools. Changes will inevitably occur, but Western EFL teachers in China would benefit by recognising the nature and strength of the constraints and by trying to adopt a more tolerant perspective on the pace and nature of change in this area; and

c) to suggest some practical strategies for Western EFL teachers in China to help develop their cultural capacity in order to cope better with their Chinese students and make their EFL lessons more effective. These strategies are also likely to be applicable to the situation facing Western teachers of ESL to international students from Chinese and Confucian- heritage cultures.

Perspectives on Chinese methods of EFL teaching

M&night’s (1994) comment on Chinese methods of EFL teaching seems to sum up the type of approach that might be regarded as typical of Western viewpoints:

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While the currently fashionable Western ‘communicative approaches’ to English language teaching are known and used in some [Chinese] institutions, the dominant teaching strategy remains the “grammar translation approach.“... Our [Western] methodology textbooks reject this as an outdated and discredited approach to language teaching and learning. It is perhaps surprising, therefore, that so many Chinese students of English have achieved such a good command of the language using this approach (M&night, 1994, p. 46-7).

It seems apparent that this comment has not taken the Chinese cultural background into consideration. The aim of this section of the paper is to provide an overview of the most common approach to university EFL teaching in China during the last two decades. For the sake of brevity, the term, “grammar translation approach” employed by McKnight above will be called the “traditional” approach. The empirical dominance of this approach cannot be statistically proven, since national surveys of methodology have not been conducted or made public. It is not mandated by Ministries of Education or by university authorities because there seems to be no need. It is the “taken for granted” approach in many, probably most, EFL programs across China, though the timely warning of Cortazzi & Jin (1996a) should be kept in mind, when they describe China as:

A huge rapidly developing country with an enormous population of over 1.2 billion. There are significant differences in language teaching developments between the major cities and small cities, between rural towns and countryside, between coastal and inland areas, between north and south, between key and non-key schools and universities. There is wide variation in teaching quality. At the same time, there are clear centralising tendencies of national syllabuses and exams, widely used textbooks, and clear perceptions of common practice among teachers. While recent economic development in China has been remarkable and there is much evidence of social change, the perceptions and expectations in the education system have been relatively slow to change. This is particularly reflected in the beliefs of teachers, students and their parents about how teaching and learning should be carried out and what they expect students to achieve in their education (p. 61).

Obviously there are variations between individual teachers and between institutions, and some universities with EFL programs are adopting approaches that owe much to the West in both methodology and content (Mcknight, 1994; Ross, 1992). However, in a sense, the empirical question is not of major importance for the purposes of this paper, since it is the “traditional” approach

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that is perceived by Western commentators to be currently still supreme in China.

The following characterisation of EFL teaching in China is intended to offer a description of Chinese cultural background that Western EFL teachers in China can scrutinise and evaluate in relation to perceived differences in Chinese student reaction to Western teaching methods.

The good teacher The good teacher is (ideally) an older person with the mastery of a body

of knowledge to be handed on to younger students. The teacher has a double role of jiaoshu yuren, i.e. teaching books, and cultivating the personality of the students (Pizhu Hong, 1993; Brick, 1991). The good teacher is well prepared, keeps the students busy, demonstrates mastery of teaching techniques and resources, provides a clear outline of the teaching plan and the material to be covered in each class, maintains strict discipline, praises the diligent students and punishes the lazy or ignorant, gives clear explanations, provides frequent tests and returns marked assignment and test papers promptly (Muehl & Muehl, 1993).

The good student The good student is supposed to be diligent, persevering and well behaved,

obedient to authority and in theory modest and oriented to serving the needs of the group rather than the individual. The student is expected to learn from traditional authorities (the ancients, the teacher, the parents, the leaders, the textbooks) by internalisation of their wisdom and by emulation (Pizhu Hong 1993). The student is not expected to present his or her own ideas at least until he or she has mastered sufficient of the body of knowledge to be able to make informed judgments (Brick, 1991; Paine, 1992; Muehl & Muehl, 1993).

Learning and teaching Learning has traditionally been a process of emulating the wisdom of the

ancients and/or the authorities. Teaching has traditionally been thought of as inserting something in students’ minds without them being aware of it (buzhi bujuede - painlessly) (Brick, 1991; Mcknight, 1994). Learning and teaching are often seen as involving reading, memorisation and repetition of discrete, incremental chunks of material and the practice of small tasks until mastery of the whole has been achieved. This requires attention to detail and the continual exercise of individual diligence. Learning is best achieved by mimicking the

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teacher and the text, not in group work or discussion between students. It is displayed by the repetition or regurgitation of learned models, especially in written tests or oral recitations (Ballard & Clanchy, 1991; Brick, 1991).

Consequences for EFL teaching and learning Lessons tend to be organised into a typical format of five stages, described

by Pizhu Hong (1994, p. 253) as “the five links of a lesson (initiation, revision, lecturing, classroom work/activities focusing on what has been taught in order to reinforce it, and homework assignment)“.” Lessons are teacher centred. Typically the teacher would give instructions, lecture or read with the students taking notes or copying, provide a model for pronunciation that the students would copy, supervise written exercises and answer questions only in the time set aside. Lessons are text based. Exercises, examinations, models, passages for memorisation, grammar and vocabulary learning are all based on the texts. EFL teachers sometimes describe themselves as teachers of intensive reading, which is a difficult concept for Western educators to understand. Intensive reading, compared with extensive reading, means to read less but extremely thoroughly the models intended for mastery of vocabulary, structures, styles and pronunciation (M&night, 1994; Pizhu Hong, 1994). Lesson focus is on vocabulary and grammar, aiming at written translation from Chinese to English rather than communicative competence in everyday oral discourse. Translation skills are important in China because most of the written material relevant to scientific and technical modernisation is produced in Europe and America.

Tests and examinations are an important part of EFL teaching. They are frequently conducted and have a strong influence on aims, content and methodology. Small increments of learning are measured by frequent classroom tests. Written examinations are an important mechanism for the identification of talent, the allocation of people to occupations, and a means of motivation for individual achievement in a country with a large commitment to economic development and modernisation (Paine, 1992; Ross 1992). The emphasis placed on testing procedures and their results is exemplified by the fact that teachers of classes achieving high scores may even receive a salary bonus (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996a, p. 63). This system has been in place for generations and appears to its adherents to contain merits relating to diligence and logical outcomes. Academic, economic and social successes have attended those who have conformed with excellence to the system, and there is little perception that it contains severe faults. With this general characterisation of EFL teaching and learning in mind, Western EFL teachers in China are likely

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to have much more cultural tolerance when variations from their expectations occur in their EFL teaching practice.

Constraints on changes in EFL teaching in China

Each educational system evolves and operates in a cultural context, and educational procedures and approaches are relative to that context. To teach successfully in a system one has to know what works for that system, and what is alien to it (Biggs, 1997). It is thus very important for Western EFL teachers to realise that the traditional approach in EFL teaching and learning in China has strong historical, cultural, economic and political supports or demands, It has some benefits and advantages in the Chinese cultural context that are not necessarily obvious to Westerners since these benefits are not as relevant in a Western situation of second language teaching.

The cultural supports of traditional pedagogy include Chinese attitudes to knowledge and the roles of the teacher and the student. Philosophies of the nature and purpose of knowledge have varied in importance in Chinese history, but the Confucian emphasis on learning from one’s ancestors and from the ancients is still important in contemporary China. In this emphasis (and in current Chinese educational thought) the role of the teacher is to transmit knowledge, wisdom, culture, virtue, respect for learning and obedience to authority. The role of the student is to master the knowledge that the teacher presents and learn by following the example of the teacher. A widely respected concept of intelligent behaviour in China emphasises learning by copying, not by making mistakes. More value is placed on reticence and humility rather than on the Western practice of guessing out loud or demonstrating individualism in learning style.

Written translation has traditionally been supreme in the transfer of information (i.e., wisdom) and its importance is supported by governmental emphasis on the learning of Western technical and scientific knowledge. In EFL teaching this produces a concentration on the relationship between form and function, on structural features such as grammatical rules and vocabulary, and on the tests of those aspects in written examinations.

There have also been economic supports for the traditional approach to EFL teaching that are still important factors in contemporary China, Resources other than texts for EFL teaching (e.g. videotapes, satellite reception of current

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affairs materials, realia in the form of English language books and magazines) have not been abundant outside the major cities. Native English speakers are not common among the teachers of EFL and teachers with near-native competence are still not in the majority. Native English speakers are not easily accessible by most students outside the major urban areas. The English language speaking environment thus is still seen as being characteristically ‘poor’. Class sizes in schools and universities have historically been large (usually from 50 to 70 students) and continue to be so, restricting opportunities for oral practice and the development of conversational skills.

Political constraints on changing traditional pedagogy have also been strong. Government policy traditionally did not encourage the mixing of Chinese students and foreigners. Nationally competitive examinations for the provision of an educated bureaucratic elite and as a sorting mechanism in a highly competitive society have historically been important in China and are still important for nation building and the implementation of economic and social policies. Centralised examination systems, curricula, provision of teachers and educational aims all combine to support the traditional approach.

At the individual level an important pragmatic support of the conventional approach to EFL teaching in China is that such an approach has been in place for a long time. Many people have been trained in it and they have philosophical, professional, economic, and emotional commitments to its form and function. Millions of Chinese have learned to read and write, and to speak with varying degrees of effectiveness, in English using the traditional approach to EFL. Hundreds of thousands of EFL teachers have been “successful”, according to their criteria, and are familiar with this approach. It is cheaper, more convenient, less time consuming and more accepted than any other approach currently known by many Chinese. Attempts to change methods of EFL teaching in China will therefore require attention to those cultural, historical, economic, political and personal supports for the traditional pedagogical approach.

It is necessary to emphasise that this paper is not claiming that such a change is impossible, impractical or undesirable. In fact, the change is taking place and will increase in tempo, as Western methods become attractive to more EFL teachers in Chinese universities and schools. The reader is directed to Chen Shen (1990), Ross (1992), Muehl & Muehl (1993) and Cortazzi & Jin (1996 a, b), for recent discussions of the nature and direction of the change in EFL teaching in contemporary China. However, what is being emphasised here

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is that, although the change of the traditional Chinese EFL pedagogy is occurring, it will not necessarily come about just to please Western teachers of EFL in China. Unthinking criticism by Western educators could be counter- productive and create resentment, possibly even slowing down the adoption of Western methods.

Some implications for Western EFL teachers in China

What might be more productive is some recognition by both sides of the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches and the cultural constraints on the wholesale exporting of ‘Western EFL approaches to the Chinese cultural context. For example, it could be recognized that changes of pedagogy would create strains in the characteristics of the Chinese educational system that sponsors the pedagogy. These characteristics include:

(a) the centralised structure of authority; (b) the pivotal role of the written text; (c) the intellectual and moral authority of the teacher; (d) scepticism about the trial and error aspects of the inquiry method of

learning and about the focus on communicative activities emphasising function rather than knowledge of form;

(e) the over-arching functions of a prescribed national curriculum; and (f) the authority of the national competitive examination system in

political sociahsation, economic modemisation and nation-building.

While helping their students to adapt to the new way of learning, Western EFL teachers might profitably recognise that changes in Western theories of how people learn and the nature of language learning that have given support to communicative approaches to learning have only been relatively recent. Until the 1970s, much of Western second language learning was based on theories supporting memorisation and structural-functional approaches emphasising the relationship between form ( grammar) and function (meaning). Only in the last two decades have the philosophical bases supporting communicative language learning approaches been widely accepted in the West, and even today there are strong debates about the applicability of communicative theories of language learning to practical classroom situations.

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Teaching EFL in the Chinese cultural context also implies that EEL teachers should endeavour to develop learners’ cultural capacity, which means helping students gain knowledge about the foreign culture and cultivating their competence in the interactions between the foreign culture and the home culture (Chen Shen, 1990, p. 13). This is because of the interrelationship between language and culture. One cannot thoroughly learn a foreign language without learning its cultural context. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for Western EFL teachers to introduce to the Chinese students some values, beliefs and attitudes from the cultures of Australia, Canada, the United States, Great Britain and other English-speaking countries, SO that the Chinese students might have a social context for English language and learn the language more effectively. What is more, through critically adopting foreign cultural concepts within the Chinese cultural context, the Chinese students are likely to develop their own cultural capacity. This is far from easy, however, as illustrated in Chen & Absalom (1996). Generalisations about cultural knowledge and even specific information about individual differences in approach have both been found to be inadequate unless students and teachers can become intuitively aware of such interactions as sets of processes, in the same way as they acquire the ability to respond automatically in the second language.

For Western educators to teach EFL in China is in fact a kind of intercultural communication. This being the case, there are certainly stumbling- blocks such as assumption of similarities, language differences, nonverbal habits and misinterpretations, preconceptions and stereotypes, tendencies to make value judgments and culture shock. (Absalom, 1996; Chen & Absalom, 1996). In stereotyping for example, some Western EFL teachers in China tend to label Chinese students as “rote learners”, meaning people who learn in “a mechanical way without thought of meaning”. In relation to this, Biggs (1997, p. 3) has pointed to the fact that [Chinese] students from Confucian-heritage cultures (CHC) achieve at consistently higher levels than do Western students. He argues that such outcomes could not be achieved through rote or “surface’* learning. He points out that CHC students adopt more meaning-oriented approaches to learning than do Westerners. If a Western EFL teacher develops his or her lecture strategies based on the stereotype above, it should perhaps not be surprising that many frustrations occur and his or her lecture is ineffective. In a word, it is very important for Western EFL teachers to be aware of those

stumbling blocks in their practice of teaching across cultures.

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Some practical strategies for EFL teaching in China

How can Western teachers cope better with their Chinese students and Chinese colleagues? The following suggestions offer some practical strategies For teachers to consider. These have been developed both from the authors’ own experiences of teaching EFL in China and from the theories and practice of teaching international students from Chinese and Confucian-heritage cultures.

Firstly, teachers should take account of the possibilities and constraints on change identified above. Change in society is rarely easily accomplished, as may well be witnessed by the large numbers of Western teachers who still adhere to traditional methods. EFL teachers in China should attempt to provide some tangible evidence of advantages that would result to Chinese educators and students by their adoption of specific Western approaches. Presumably this would be in the form of enhanced communicative abilities, though this initially may come at the expense of high marks in exams designed to reward aspects of the traditional approach.

Secondly, teachers should try to start with approaches designed to cause minimal changes to authority structures and that will cost relatively little to implement. Whatever approach is chosen, proceeding slowly with small steps at the very beginning is more likely to succeed than the immediate introduction of radical change.

Thirdly, providing tangible support and public encouragement rather than criticism when difficulties arise is part of the essence of any good teaching practice. Understanding of and empathy with student commitment to past learning procedures will help teachers to associate with the struggles that students endure in such a situation.

Oral communication sessions should be introduced into most lessons. It is likely that teachers will be required to speak more slowly and clearly than normal in the initial stages, but as student abilities improve, normal rates and modes of speech will gradually be adopted. Colloquialisms unfortunately provide difficulties and should probably be avoided initially. They will undoubtedly occur since most native speakers incorporate them subconsciously, often to a far greater extent than they realise. Trying to explain the meanings of many such expressions is also fraught with difficulty;

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explanations of expressions like “just off the top of my head” or “I’m flat out like a lizard drinking” can become quite complex.

Cross-cultural audiovisual and written materials, realia and authentic texts are likely to have many hidden benefits. They tend to promote realistic, everyday English rather than the stilted ‘Chinglish’ that many current learners acquire and the visual mode can elicit a greater commitment to a model than can less complete forms (Pillar, 1998). Associated body language and nonverbal communication is often picked up, i.e. "caught” rather than “taught" when students are presented with such authentic material and comparisons of such aspects across cultures usually provides an atmosphere of intrigue as students become more aware of their own subconscious cultural behaviour.

A sense of security for students in their learning situation will usually provide positive results. Thus it is a good idea to present procedural rules and lecture expectations explicitly and possibly even in writing. This has the benefit of providing an objective framework and specifying what may have been subconscious expectations on the part of the lecturer and totally unknown procedures on the part of the student. Written course guides and lecture handouts help to supplement material that is presented orally and are probably doubly functional when the recipients of the oral material are second language speakers. Allowing lectures to be taped and having lecture notes available for student perusal both before and after lectures can add to a student’s sense of security. A student can thus know what to expect in advance, what is expected of him or her during a lecture, and that there can be further access to the material after the lecture if something is missed during class time. A lecture summary at beginning and the end, and some links to previous work and topics that will follow in ensuing lectures can also provide a very workable structure in which students are able to find direction. This type of procedure is not really pandering to an Eastern craving for system, since most Western students also feel disoriented until they manage to “work out”, by questioning, progressive elimination and trial-and-error methods, exactly “what the teacher wants”.

A knowledge of and empathy with one’s students is always an asset when attempting to communicate. Because of Chinese students’ tendency to reticence and politeness, questions couched in such terms as "Can anyone tell me...” or “Does anyone have any questions?” are unlikely to produce responses. It is probably more functional to direct questions to particular students or ask a specific person to offer an opinion on a topic. This type of understanding and association can often be reciprocated as students identify with a teacher who

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models an approach to a problem, using ‘think aloud’ procedures such as “This is the way I would do it...“. An “embodied” personal model like this can help Chinese students to come to terms with critical, evaluative and problem-solving approaches to learning, using techniques in which they are often almost totally inexperienced. Opportunities for students to experiment with such approaches in homework that emphasise synthesis and analysis are likely to produce better results than work based on “memorisation”, wherein the meaningful, in-depth nature of the Eastern approach is rarely transparent to the Western teacher, despite an often misplaced confidence in what seems a simple, surface task to the Westerner. Finally, a further way of getting to know students and their needs, expectations and problems is to have regular weekly office hours when the teacher is available to talk with students and answer their questions.

Conclusion

The framework for this article is based on the assumption that a mutual awareness of and respect for differing cultural learning contexts will improve the outcomes of second language learning procedures. The question of “whether the communicative approaches (perceived by many Western ELT teachers and by some Chinese ELT teachers as a forward move for language learning) are necessarily suitable for Chinese learners in a Chinese culture of learning context” is addressed by Cortazzi & Jin (1996a, p. 65). They offer as a possible solution a Cultural Synergy model which:

emphasises the mutual awareness, understanding and acculturation of both British and Chinese academic cultures..., cultural synergy encourages conscious awareness of differences in learning and teaching through explicit discussions so that both participants are clear about their expectations of each other. Therefore neither side loses and both sides gain (ibid. p. 74).

If such a compromise is to be taken seriously then it requires greater awareness by all participants of both Chinese- and English-speaking cultures of learning languages. This may well be the fulcrum on which a suitable balance can be found (ibid. p. 75).

The perspectives on Chinese traditional approaches to EFL teaching offered in this article have identified some specific Chinese cultural aspects that greatly influence EFL teaching procedures and approaches within a cross-

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cultural environment. The analyses of the constraints on change of EEL teaching in China from a cross-cultural communicative viewpoint have attempted to highlight some important implications for Western EFL teachers in China. Finally, a number of concrete suggestions and strategies have been put forward in relation to the overcoming of some of the cultural frustrations in EFL teaching in China. It is envisaged that a well-ingrained acquisition of such cultural features by Western teachers, when matched with a similar awareness of the purposes and outcomes of Western methodology by Chinese students and teachers, will go some way towards determining the nature of the fulcrum required, and will lead to such remarks as those illustrated at the beginning of this paper being less detrimental to language teaching procedures across cultures.

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Documents

Teaching Across Cultures: Considerations for Western EFL ......critical attitudes and their assumptions that they were in China to pass on new approaches to a grateful audience, Western