Page 26 - ELG1806 June Issue 458

COMMENT .

Point

of View

Simon
Cox

Don’t be blinded by

the big numbers

ELT consultant Simon Cox stresses the importance
of recognising the diversity and complexity in
Chinese education

’ve noticed that many articles about China learning English in China – challenges that I
begin with big numbers. Whatever the point recognise from my daily working experience, as I
of view of the writer – whether critical, talk to a lot of Chinese teachers (I won’t say how
Iadmiring, or a bit of both – the go-to opening many – see my opening paragraph).
is often to start with scale. What struck me most was how often she
It could be how many miles of high-speed described the views of ‘the Chinese learner’ and
train lines have been built across the country ‘the Chinese way of learning’ as a single shared audio-lingualism, was probably a ‘product of
in the last 10 years, or how many millions of point of view. both native and foreign practices’ right from its
students are sitting gaokao (the college entrance This troubled me on two counts. Firstly, nineteenth-century beginnings.
examination) this June, or just how many clay because it seems to give permission to some to It seems that over time, as complex ideas
warriors the first emperor of Qin had built for make the lazy step from ‘we do this...’ to ‘they evolve, it’s easy to forget their ‘messy’ origins.
his tomb. do that…’, but also because that simplistic Another example of this can be found in Julia
Of course, very often the numbers are true – description of Chinese teaching and learning Lovell’s book The Great Wall, which explores
it really is a big country with a lot of people. doesn’t tally with my own experience of the how Chinese people’s opinions of ‘the wall(s)’
I remember first arriving in Shanghai and diversity I encounter every day. have changed over many years – and often,
being overawed by the countless rows of almost surprisingly, how this may be at least partly as a
identical apartment blocks and the crowds of There is an idea of a result of the influence of the views of foreigners.
people pushing onto metro trains. mass of people who are Not long ago, I was in a small town in the hills
Many people, and certainly the Chinese of the far west of China in Sichuan province – a
government, actively encourage the ‘wow’ factor very similar to each other great place if you enjoy spicy hot pot and panda
in the way China is represented both at home spotting.
and abroad … a uniquely ancient culture with but very different A group of teachers told me that the greatest
a relentless drive for rapid modernisation and challenge they face is that their students lack
growth, etc. from ‘us’ motivation to study English and that proficiency
I know that China is not the only place that levels are very low.
constructs a national identity in this way. I know we often crave simple answers to They said that students are often ‘naughty’
However, to my mind at least, it can seem complex questions, but often simple solutions because of demotivation – especially because
rather disconcerting for a British person who don’t serve us well. When my Chinese friends there is a perception that learning English isn’t
spends a lot of time here: whilst creating a very ask me for an easy explanation for ‘Brexit’, really useful for their day-to-day lives.
optimistic view of China in some respects, it also my attempts quickly become convoluted and Even if they work hard to achieve high scores
reinforces certain stereotypes of the place that contradictory – I certainly can’t find a simple in the college entrance exam, the competition
seem to have been lingering for a long time. ‘British people think …’ answer! against students from big cities often mean that
There is an idea of a mass of people who are I’m not saying that there aren’t many Chinese ‘small town’ candidates don’t get the plum spots
very similar to each other, but very different teachers and learners who find ‘imported’ they and their extremely demanding parents
from ‘us’. Perhaps this is leading to what ideas of teaching difficult, but I really think it’s dream of.
Ben Chu calls ‘changst’ in his book, ‘Chinese important to balance things and say that there Recently, I went to Pudong New District in
Whispers’ - ‘a growing angst about China’ based on are also many people who are passionate about Shanghai, which is full of Costa coffee shops
media representations. exploring new educational possibilities. and skyscrapers. I visited a high school affiliated
In a special ‘China edition’ of the EL Gazette Over the last 20 years, Hu Guangwei has to a famous local university, that sits between
last year, there was an interview with the head written frequently about ELT in China and two high-technology companies – Lenovo and
of teacher training at one of China’s largest ELT how pedagogical practices have developed. Huawei – which I’d never heard of five years
organizations. He points out that even ‘the Chinese way’ (to ago but I’d guess almost everyone in the world
Jocelyn Wang very clearly presented some use Jocelyn’s description), which can be seen recognises their names now.
of the challenges faced in both teaching and as a localised mix of grammar-translation and The teachers told me that the greatest
26 June 2018

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