Teacher Development for English Language Teaching in China: Based on English Language Teachers' Beliefs and Practices in New Zealand

摘要

This study inquired into English language teachers’ beliefs and practices in China and in New Zealand, and explored the process of using New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices as a stimulus in promoting and developing Chinese English language teachers’ understanding of English language teaching and their practices in the classroom. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted respectively in both China and New Zealand from May, 2007 to November, 2007. An action research was conducted in China, which lasted about four months with three cycles from March to July in 2008. Two English language teachers with the students in their class participated in the action research. The goal of the study was to identify the role that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played in helping Chinese English language teachers develop their teaching beliefs and practices so as to promote their students’ communication competence in the target language. On investigation, it was found that New Zealand English language teachers’ beliefs and practices played a positive role in helping Chinese English language teacher participants develop their teaching beliefs and practices. They provided Chinese teacher participants with new angles to think and reflect their own teaching beliefs and practices, and provide teacher participants with implications to be creative in the construction and reconstruction of new beliefs and practices. However, it was also found that in learning and using New Zealand teachers’ beliefs and practices, Chinese teacher participants had to consider the contexts within which their teaching occurred. It was proposed by this research that during the cross-cultural transplantation of teaching beliefs and practices, cultural congruence and pedagogical reconciliation had to be achieved. Without regard to the Chinese educational culture, values, expectations, and Chinese teachers’ expertise, the change would be superficial. This study embraced a positive attitude toward using beliefs and practices from other culture(s) in Chinese English language teacher development and proposed it as an effective teacher development mode for China’s English language teacher education programme.