Page 5 - ELG1707 Jul Issue 449

WELCOME .
EDITOR’S LETTER

There’s more to China than

Kung Fu Panda.

Irena Barker casts clichés aside and learns to love Chinese education theteam

I will be the first to admit that, until recently, I knew almost nothing about IRENA
China. I suffered from a kind of ‘China blindness’ typical of many Brits that BARKER, editor,
reduces a massive highly advanced nation to a series of clichés involving studied French
chopsticks and Mao’s little red book. and linguistics at
Durham, UK and
My sketchy knowledge was based – I am sorry to say – on repeat taught English in
viewings of Kung Fu Panda and, in more high brow moments, on Ang France for two
Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I wouldn’t have been surprised years. Her subsequent 15-year
at all if Chinese people were constantly engaged in one long martial arts career in UK news journalism
battle while bouncing about on invisible strings. I’m ashamed to say, I was the British equivalent includes reporting for local and
of the Chinese tourist who thinks the whole of England is like an episode of Pride and Prejudice. regional newspapers, a news
agency and a 10 year stint at the
Thankfully, things have changed. When I entered the world of English language teaching, it Times Educational Supplement
was clear China is the biggest market there is. It wasn’t enough for me to continue to confuse magazine.
Guangzhou with Chengdu. I had to get educated.
And what an education it has been. Although I am still to visit China (invitations on a post MELANIE
card please) I have enjoyed putting together our Chinese issue, learning some fundamentals of BUTLER,
business and culture on the way. editor-at-large,
started teaching
I have always had my reservations about the EFL in Iran in
I’m ashamed to say, perceived success of the Chinese education 1975, she worked
for the BBC
I was the British equivalent system, for example. All that sitting in rows World Service,
absorbing information seemed counter to any
Pearson/Longman and Modern
of the Chinese tourist good ideas about modern education. English teacher magazine before
taking over at the Gazette in
But, in her article on page 4 of our China
who thinks the whole of supplement, Jocelyn Wang provides the most 1987 and also launching Study
Travel magazine. Educated in
England is like an episode articulate explanation (and defence) of the ten schools in seven countries
she speaks uent French and
Chinese teacher-centred ‘chalk and talk’ style I
of Pride and Prejudice am yet to read. Spanish and rather rusty Italian.
Ms Wang, who is head of teacher CLAUDIA
development at New Oriental – China’s largest CIVININI, chief
reporter,
private language education provider – does
MIGUEL ANGEL ARANDA (VIPER) she calmly explains that, for all its faults, it in Australia in
won a scholarship
not sugar-coat traditional techniques. Instead,
to teach Italian
2009, where she
is a necessary approach that is surprisingly
quali ed as a state school teacher
effective.
in 2010. Bilingual in English and
While child-centred learning favoured by
Italian, she joined the Gazette
the West may be optimal when done well, it
as head of research in 2014
is something of a pipe dream if you routinely
specialises in data journalism
have a class of 50 students. She convinces me
and research news.
that a Chinese teacher’s technique of casting after teaching for ve years. She
‘seeds’ in her lessons, that students can choose
to catch or ignore, has a certain logic to it. But the large classes in Chinese schools are nothing ANDREA PÉREZ
compared to what is being proposed on other pages of our magazine this month. EGIDO, online
Arnold Fu, founder of Hujiang EdTech, explains (page 10, China supplement) that millions and production
of people could have cheap or even free access to learning, thanks to online courses that have manager,
has a BA in
been tailored to their needs by artificial intelligence. Large ‘classes’ then, but highly personalised Journalism from
lessons. Teachers, he suggests, will have to brush up on their people skills to make themselves Complutense
distinct from the robots. On page 18, Mark Steed, director of Jess Dubai, suggests that virtual University, Madrid and a Masters
in Corporate Communications
reality could create lessons with far more students than you could fit in a classroom – educating from Kingston University,
millions of the world’s poorest children. London. She previously worked
It’s all exciting and inspiring stuff. Maybe large class sizes are nothing to on the international desk at the
be afraid of. IRENA BARKER, Spanish newspaper La Razón.
She joined the Gazette as online
Time to buy my plane ticket to China. EDITOR and social media editor in 2015.

editorial@elgazette.com 5

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