From contraband to state mandate: A twenty-year metamorphosis of English language learning and teaching in the People's Republic of China from 1979 to 1999.

摘要

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine a phenomenon in the People's Republic of China known as English language learning and teaching . The English language has influenced China's political, economic and social systems greatly in the past 20 years. This historical, descriptive study analyzes and discusses the circumstances and events that have brought English into this realm of influence at the nation's forefront.; During the Cultural Revolution, 1966–1976, many teachers and students of English were beaten and ostracized as counterrevolutionaries (Pepper, 1990; Agelasto & Adamson, 1998). Today, more than 20 years later, China's State Education Commission has mandated that every student in China study English from first grade to university fourth year. What brought about these changes? What does this mean to China's EFL teacher training? What is the impact on China's student population? And what has happened to China's relationship with the Western world as a result of this English language mandate? It is the goal of this paper to effectively answer these questions.