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Teaching Practices of Foreign Teachers of English in China and

Students’ Responses

Zhou Luole, Xingjian College, Guangxi University, The People Republic of China

Zhang Baoqi, Xingjian College, Guangxi University, The People Republic of China

Abstract: Chinese students were found to be confused by some foreign teachers’ methods and

teaching practices. This research explores motivations and methods of teaching English in the

Asian context. This study is based on interviews conducted with foreign teachers and local

students at a private college in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China. 10 foreign teachers at

the college were interviewed and 10 students in different classes were surveyed. From the

analysis of the data, some conclusions were drawn for potential foreign teachers in

China/Asian countries. Teachers should make some extra rules and regulations related to

teaching itself. Teachers should also set up clear guidelines for curriculum and exam

requirements. The findings also revealed that foreign teachers should provide opportunities

for students to communicate in an informal setting and help students speak authentic English,

so they can meet international standards, and at the same time, learn English at their own pace

and ease.

Keywords: Teaching methods, Foreign teachers, Chinese students

Introduction

This paper explores the role of culture in the teaching of English as an international language

in the Asian context. The teaching of English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL/ESL) in

China has become a nationwide endeavor pursued at all academic levels, from the

kindergarten to the university. China annually recruits about 100,000 foreign experts to teach

English as a foreign language. According to one Internet recruiting website，there are more

than 150,000 foreign TEFL teachers working in China.

(http://teflchina.org/jobs/intro/Niu_and_Wolff.htm) I found approximately 2,150,000

references to websites with advertisements recruiting foreign teachers to experience China,

travel China, learn the culture of China before ever mentioning that their certain certifications

and responsibilities to be a qualified teacher. Here are the two examples of advertising of

China’s English teaching jobs on recruitment websites:

Example1: “Teach English in China and immerse yourself in one of the most fascinating and

fast changing countries on the planet, while at the same time making a positive difference to

the lives of thousands of students. Teach English in China and begin an immensely enjoyable

and rewarding experience.” “Learn to speak Mandarin Chinese, stroll along the Great Wall of

China, visit the pandas in Sichuan, soak up the sun on an east coast beach, enjoy a delicious

cuisine and engage yourself in the fast paced, cosmopolitan lifestyle that is modern China.

Our wide variety of high paying English teaching jobs in China offers you rewarding work

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and the chance to discover a fascinating culture.” (Retrieved from

http://goldstarteachers.com)

Example 2:

“As we can see, the message in the advertisement being conveyed to prospective foreign

teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China is that China is a wonderful place

for a well-paid and enjoyable vacation. Unfortunately, there have been cases in which native

English speakers have turned out to be poor teachers in oral English classes because they have

no teaching experience or teaching training. In these cases, the students may simply have

some listening practice or gain little at all. The reason for this is simply that there is an

unfounded belief in China that anyone who can speak English can teach English. Teaching

English is not considered a profession.” (Wolff, 2003)

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It seems that some foreign teachers have no interest in teaching English and do not take

responsibility. Some even do not have any teaching experience. They come to China with the

primary purpose of traveling and experiencing Eastern culture rather than a dedication to

teaching. They regard China as a stepping stone for their future career development. The

quotations from non-academic papers above show critical attitude towards the recruiting

industry and advertisements.

Literature Review

The academic articles below analyze the controversy between foreign teachers’ teaching

methods and Chinese students’ way of learning; existing difficulties in teaching in China;

different attitudes between foreign teachers and Chinese students. “China is one country for

which there exist many such descriptions of the culture of learning. Cortazzi and Jin (1996),

for instance, maintain that Chinese children are socialized into a culture of learning in which

there is a strong emphasis on memory, imitation, and repetitive practice…This motto “think

globally, act locally” is particularly important for the teaching of English as an international

language. English educators today need to recognize the use of English as a global language,

where English is used for a wide variety of cross-cultural communicative purposes.” (McKay,

2004)

In most of the existing literature, foreign teachers may encounter many difficulties in English

teaching in China. “Chinese student and foreign teacher rarely share the same views on the

nature of the teaching process. Even now the most widely accepted view of learning in China

is that it is memory-based. The teacher, or the textbook, has the knowledge. In order to

acquire it, it is sufficient for the student to commit it to memory…This inevitably condemns

both teachers and students to the use of non-meaningful approaches, in which grammatical

form (usually devoid of contextual meaning) takes precedence over meaningful

communication.” (Maley, 1986, quoted in Gui ,2005)

“In English teaching in China, the learners have special learning tasks, special learning

motivation and special learning environment. They have particular basis in their mother

tongue and Chinese culture. They have particular cognitive basis, cognitive habit, cognitive

style, cognitive developing rules in English language learning and culture acquisition. They

have special regular patterns in developing their foreign language skills…The Western

scholars advocate happy learning. But in contrast, diligence is the due attitude towards

learning in the Chinese tradition. Chinese people usually look on learning as a serious job or

thing instead of regarding it as a trifling matter…TEFL in China with its uniqueness involves

people’s outlook of human nature, of language, of teaching and different views about the

teacher’s role as well. To introduce the Western TEFL theories and models blindly may not

work for us since internationalization and modernization can easily turn into Westernization.”

(Gui Qingyang, 2005) Hiep (2006) concludes that “ESL/EFL teachers anywhere may

encounter moral, pedagogic dilemmas and conflicts in their efforts to work towards resolving

the two conflicting forces: internationalism and national/cultural identity − that is, helping

students to be able to communicate with the others in the global market while maintaining

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their national/cultural values.”

The learning methods of Chinese students are different from those of the English-speaking

countries. So are the learning background and environment. Therefore, foreign teachers in

China should adapt their teaching methods to Chinese students’ preferences. Foreign teachers

can communicate with Chinese teachers of English. They can get some useful and practical

ways to teach English which is more acceptable to Chinese students.

This Research is

1. Useful for potential teachers (foreigners) in China and other non-western countries that

plan to teach outside their country.

2. Useful for EFL/ESL teachers to realize the existing problems adopt and optimize their

teaching methods

3. Useful for Chinese administrators to take corresponding measures to prevent and solve

these problems. Hiring the most suitable foreign teachers and enhance the English teaching

worldwide.

Teachers Motivations: to Teach or not to Teach, that is the Question?

The author has interviewed 6 foreign teachers (teachers A, B, C, D, E and F) from a private

college in China:

Teacher A, a fresh college graduate who came to China to make a living.

“It’s the first job I’ve got. I graduated in 2006. I stayed in the same city for 4 years studying.

At some point I’ve got really tired, bored, the same place, the same people. I wanted a

change, to begin a fresh start. I though I needed to go to the other side of the world. At

university, I started to read about Taoism, you know, Zhuangzi, Laozi…Before I graduated,

my father’s cousin who I did not know before came for dinner. I learned he was teaching in

China. Nobody in my family was outside the province, and now I have an uncle in China. I

stayed in touch with him and as soon as I graduated I asked him to get me a job there. I

could run away and leave my old life. If my uncle was in India, probably I’d have gone to

India. I could have ended up at another place...”

Teacher A’s choice of China as the first serious work place is determined by a new place and

an interest in Asian custom and culture, a relative who has already taught in China and a

general accessibility of a Chinese college teaching job for a western graduate. He had not

any goal, motivation or experience in teaching. The foreign teacher just takes it for granted

that teaching English as a native speaker in China. Therefore, this response reflects: a

"low-achiever’s attitude and extreme cultural blindness ". His motivation for teaching in

China is just based on a random factor-"for a change" factor. It is a stereotypical, superficial

and not serious motivation.

Teacher B, an experienced teacher (around 60 years old) who tended to analyze his

motivations and goals: “I went back to school at an older age and completely changed my

major. When I was a young man, my first degree is Speech Communication, but then I never

541

actually worked in that filed. When I was almost 50, I decided to go back to school and get a

new degree. Because I knew I could not continue always working physically. I needed to do

something more mental. When I was 18 years old I spent two years in Japan which led to a

high degree of interest in Asian culture. I also had an interest in teaching English as a Second

or Foreign Language. I ended up working at three different colleges at the same time. I was

getting a lot of experience. I did it for 3 and half years. I needed still to have the joy of

learning more about Chinese culture, not the college environment, but actually experiencing it.

After I graduated from college for the second time, before I started working, I went to Seattle

University to work on my masters in Teaching English as a Second Language Methodology

and Applied Linguistics.”

Here we can see a much more serious teaching motivation: Beside the wish to help Chinese

students, he wants to follow the innovative approach in ESL teaching that his Chinese-born

professor in the US introduced to him. He realizes that there is a huge difference between ESL

teaching in the US, where students are all immigrants coming from different countries, and

teaching in China where students speak the same language amongst themselves and have

practically the same cultural background. We can figure out how much courage did he need

and steady faith should he have and how valuable is this goal to him if he went back to school

at the age of 50. He had self-knowledge and had a clear perspective for his career. This means

he is serious about his teaching and he will treat it as his life-long career. This is a typical

"delayed self-actualization". He still had a much better motivation rather than just a

superficial cultural interest. To sum up, he is actually a high-achiever with a serious attitude.

Teacher C, he worked for the college for 2 years, but eventually was fired for violation of visa

rules.

“Actually I came to China the first time in 2003 to learn more about the Chinese culture and

to meet a girl that I eventually married. I was very nervous about teaching English in a college.

I am not a teacher by profession, I was a computer programmer and consultant for many years

but I did have a lot of experience teaching computers in businesses. I also felt confident that

my English ability was good enough to teach English as a second language and I love a new

challenge, so in 2003 I came to teach in China. In 2007 I kept thinking about how much I

loved my students in China and how much I loved this country, so I decided to change my

career and become an English teacher and to leave my country and my previous career.”

This teacher C taught the author for the whole year. What he did in class was quite different

from what he said here. He talked in a serious way but acted in a totally opposite way. He

often showed students his girls’ pictures in class and said “these are all my Chinese girlfriends

and so on”. However, his students could not see any other serious motivation from him, not at

all. This case should have been solved at the level of recruitment. Trouble makers should not

be hired in the first place.

Overall, he had no interest in teaching and set a bad example to his students. He is a pretty

“low-achiever’s attitude.”

Teacher D was a career teacher of English in his own country

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“I became a teacher before I came to China. In England I taught in primary school, which is

always I want to do. When I was 24, I did my training in England, but the course was difficult

and I didn’t finish it. So I ended the course and then started to teach EFL. I taught English to

foreign students who came to England. I found I enjoyed that. I met a Chinese English

teacher and she happened to know about Guangxi University and she said that there was a job

here. And I said why not? I like traveling. I have been to Asian before. I like to go to China,

and it’s good for my teaching as well. So I came here with my best friend and I have come

here for 6 months and I really like it. Everyone has different backgrounds. For example, I

think my traveling experience is just as useful as my teaching one. It’s very important for

living in different culture, able to tolerate things that other people may find difficult if they

haven’t been traveling before.”

Teacher D used to be a teacher of English in his country. That means he has an experience in

teaching. Therefore he knows what to teach and what students expect to learn from him. He is

a foreign teacher with patience and passion. He regards traveling as an enhancement and

improvement to his teaching career. What’s more, he shows great passion in his English

teaching in China. As a result he leaves an energetic, approachable and responsible impression

to his students and enjoys popularity among them. I’d classify him also a “high-achiever”

with responsibility.

Teacher E found China was the exact place which he was longing for.

“I stayed at Turkey for 5 years and the money was excellent. In Canada, it is very difficult to

get a job at a certain age. In the technical industry after you are forty years old, the company

did not want to hire you anymore because it’s too expensive. Somebody who has my years of

experience in this field and in teaching, they have to pay large salary. So they prefer not to do

that. So there are not lots of jobs.

The administration was not good in Turkey school. There are little things people do not talk to

each much. Teachers don’t share. There are barriers within the staff. So I am going to go to

China. I love China. I love Chinese women. I found a Chinese wife and I am going to settle

here. Everything is exactly what I planned. Everything I want is here. The salary relates to the

economy is good. The kids here are great. The job is great. The administration doesn’t bother,

and it is not too controlling and too intrusive. Good teachers are adaptable to what the

students need.”

Teacher E became an English teacher when he found that nobody wanted to hire him in the

technical industry. He was not satisfied with the schools in Turkey so he moved to China. He

then found China an exact place what he longs for. He found a sense of freedom and

belonging in China. He is a type of people who want to seek for better opportunity and

explore a new whole world. He just takes his teaching job as a ticket to China and a living.

His teaching motivation is not that strong.

He has a “middle-achiever’s attitude”.

Teacher F came to China in 2002 hoping to stay for 2-3 years and latter teaching English

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became his career.

“I came to China in 2002 hoping to stay for 2-3 years (this will be an achievement as the

Chinese schools need native speakers to talk to students, but I'm obviously not), but I'm still

here. So it became a career in China. First, it turned out that in China I invented and fine

tuned my teaching method. I'm sure I could have done it if I had taught in my own country,

but it would be a different method as in Russia teaching of English is less exam oriented

compared to China, but more academic. So you need to be a professor in English study to

teach English at the university level, I'm not a professor in English study, just a PhD in

Philosophy, so I'm qualified to teach other subjects at the university level in my country.”

It is obvious that Teacher F is a teacher who has a high-motivated intention. He has a clear

plan in terms of teaching purpose and teaching methodology. That is to say, he has a

high-achiever’s attitude due to the fact that he invented and fine tuned his teaching method

according to the exam-oriented study in China. Teacher F hopes to devote himself to the

English teaching and make a contribution to improve Chinese students poor English.

Therefore, he is responsible and dedicated.

Table1. Comparison of the foreign teachers

A B C D E F

Background Canada USA USA/

Australia

UK Canada Russia

Personal

Features

Fresh

graduate,

curious

Aged,

experienced

Aged,

double-face

Moderately

experienced

Aged,

experienced

Moderately

experienced

Teaching

Experience

Non More than 5

years,

gained in

China

Non when he

came to China,

experience was

gained in China

Limited

teaching

experience in

England before

he came to

China

Several

years of

teaching

before he

came to

China

Many years

of teaching

before he

came to

China

Attitude Low-

achiever

High-

achiever

Low-

achiever

Middle-

achiever

Middle-

achiever

High-

achiever

Discussion

Interviewees A, B and D represent the three different attitudes towards a teaching job in China

and life in general. Teacher C is just not serious and cannot be taken seriously.

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All other teachers (C, E, F) who the author interviewed can be placed between these two

extremes of A and B from the very serious attitude to the choice of teaching profession to the

lower achiever with superficial attitude.

Through surveys, studies and interviews with the foreign teachers and students in Xingjian

College Guangxi University, I found that some foreign teachers have serious attitude towards

teaching while some hold low motivation.

Students were confused by some foreign teachers’ teaching methods and realized they learnt

almost nothing in the foreign teachers’ classes at the end of the semester.

Moreover, NSETs (native speaking English teachers) are from different countries with

different cultural backgrounds, different personalities and experiences, the college

administration is also facing problems in managing such a mixed team.

The foreign teachers do not perform the function of role models for the Chinese students well.

At the level of a non-ambitious student who is just happy to be enrolled at a Chinese higher

education institution it has worked well, but at the level of ambitious students the examples

set up by the foreign teachers are based on the fact and privilege of birth in an English

speaking country, that fact about which most of the teachers are not even aware.

Survey of Students’ Responses

In order to make a clear understanding of students' opinions of the foreign teachers and their

identification to themselves, I did this survey.

There are 10 big questions in the questionnaire and each one has 4 to 8 choices.

10 students in different classes joined in this survey and chose the answers with their personal

ideas.

Table 1: Q1.Teaching methods you prefer

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Analysis of Table 1

Students valued “playing games” pretty high among the teaching methods they prefer – 5 out

of 10, which makes it 50 %. So even the college students are keen on playing games in class,

and the teachers should not be shocked by these results but can use this method now and then

in order to enliven the class.

Table 2. Teaching methods you prefer in the Communication Course

Table 3. Teaching methods do you prefer in the Comprehensive Course

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Q4. Teaching methods you prefer in the Writing Course

Q5. Teaching methods you prefer in the Reading Course

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Q6. Teaching methods do you prefer in the Literature Course

In the skill-based courses, group discussions gained the highest rate (up to 70 % in the case of

the Communication course, 50 % in the Writing course). In the content-based course domain,

the teacher’s lecture acquired the highest rates (up to 70 % in the case of the Literature course,

40% in the case of Comprehensive course)

Q7. Features of foreign teachers you like most

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Q8. Problems you think that foreign teachers have

Q9. What you expect from foreign teachers

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Table10. What you think of the foreign teachers’ teaching methods

The students hope to have relaxed class atmosphere. And they expect to have foreign teachers

with humor, responsibility, standard accent, vivid gestures, focused explanations, competence

and tolerance. While the main problems that foreign teachers have in China are the contents

they teach are too easy and many aspects but lack of focus.

From Table 10, we can see advanced foreign teachers’ teaching methods are consulting with

students and student-centered compared with prevalent teacher-centered used by Chinese

teachers of English.

Discussion

Students valued “playing games” pretty high among the teaching methods they prefer.

In the skill-based courses and the content-based courses, different teaching methods are

chosen. Students’ opinions, what they have learnt in the foreign teachers’ classes are lacking

in unification and focuses. Besides, most contents are from the teachers’ personal ideas that

are not related to the books. This makes those Chinese students who get used to studying with

books step by step confused and at a loss. In China, it is defined clearly in the syllabus that

teachers should teach and make exams in accordance with the textbooks.

Not everything is bad: Positive aspects of the foreign teachers’ classes

Firstly, foreign teachers often set some practical, informative and highly culturally-inclusive

scenes in order to draw students’ attention.

For example, in Business English class, the scene would be about how to make the

interviewer feel that you are just the person they are looking for when having an interview

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and how to behave well in the public.

Secondly, through interactions with students, some funny slang words and vivid body

language, they create a humorous and relaxed classroom atmosphere, where students could

get rid of their nervousness and shy minds involuntarily. In such classes, students answer

questions actively and enthusiastically, especially the Grade one students, although their

English is not fluent yet.

Students’ expectations of foreign teachers are high. They wish to have responsible, humorous,

knowledgeable, competent, tolerant and patient foreign teachers. The fact is that seldom

foreign teachers in China have all the above qualities, and nor do Chinese teachers. Foreign

teachers may adopt and adapt their ways of teaching according to the students’ expectations.

Conclusion

Advertisements in China recruit foreign teachers to experience China, travel China, learn the

culture of China before ever mentioning that their certain certifications and responsibilities to

be a qualified teacher. There are several problems in the recruiting industry and

advertisements. There are also the controversy between foreign teachers’ teaching methods

and Chinese students’ way of learning. Some foreign teachers have serious attitude towards

teaching while some hold low motivation. Some of he foreign teachers do not perform the

function of role models for the Chinese students well. Students’ expectations of foreign

teachers are high. Through the survey in the college the author found that not all the foreign

teachers’ teaching methods are welcomed by the students. However, the majority of foreign

teachers activate Chinese students’ interests for learning English by their novel, vivid,

humorous and democratic classroom environment, and really make a great contribution to

Chinese English teaching. It is believed that native speakers could provide students a more

authentic learning environment and students can benefit from more accurate pronunciation,

intonation and tones, quotations, and they may get more cultural influence due to the teacher’s

background. What is more, these foreign teachers brought some brand-new teaching styles

which are quite different from those of Chinese teacher’s.

Suggestions for further teaching

NO 1. Make some extra rules and regulations related to teaching itself. Colleges should set up

clear requirements with regard to teaching details in the appendixes or additions to the

contract (the contract is the same all across China). This sort of regulations and requirements

should be expended well into the teaching practices to show that the college is serious about

those providing examples of good teaching methods, particularly bad teaching practices in

order to avoid common mistakes. The administration should tell the foreign teachers more

details about how to teach in a Chinese classroom environment and what kind of materials to

use or not to use and examples of lesson plans, syllabi, marking criteria just like the IELTS or

TOEFL program provide. If the IELTS has very clear requirements how to teach and grade,

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why shouldn’t Chinese colleges have them?

NO 2. Set up clear curriculum and exam requirements.

In order to keep classes running well and exams equal and meaningful, colleges should tell

foreign teachers which parts in the textbooks must be mentioned in class and which might be

taught by using their personal methods. This would prevent some foreign teachers from

teaching totally by using their own ways and leaving the textbook far away. As to

examinations, since one course may be taught by more than one teacher in different classes, it

is highly necessary for them to reach a moderate work to the standard of the scoring.

References

Banks, J. A., & Lynch, J. (1986). Multicultural education in western societies. Eastbourne:

Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L. (1996). Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in China. In H.

Coleman (Ed.), Society and the language classroom (pp. 169-206). Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Hiep, Pham Hoa (2006). The Global Spread of English: Ethical and Pedagogic Concerns for

ESL/EFL Teachers. In The Journal of Asia TEFL, Vol. 3, No. 1, 21-37.

Gui, Qingyang (2005). Beware of Blind Westernisation of TEFL in Asia: A Chinese Case

Study. In The Journal of Asia TEFL, Vol. 2, No. 2, 23-33.

Li, M. (1999). Conflicts in teacher-student role beliefs and expectations: A study of expatriate

teachers teaching English in China. The weaver: A forum for new ideas in educational

research.

Maley, A. (1986). A miracle of rare device: The teaching of English in China. In

Valdes J. (Ed.), Culture bound: Bridging the cultural gap in language teaching, 102-111,

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McKay, S. L. (2004). Teaching English as an International Language: The Role of Culture in

Asian Contexts. In The Journal of Asia TEFL, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1-22.

Wolff, M. (2003) China EFL: An Industry Run Amuck? In China TEFL Network. Retrieved

1st from http://teflchina.org/jobs/intro/Niu_and_Wolff.htm.

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Appendix

Survey: Foreign Teachers’ Methods and Ways of Instruction:

This questionnaire is aimed at assessing Foreign Teachers’ Methods and Ways of Instruction.

Please tick answers (no limit) you prefer, in order to determine the most suitable ways of

teaching and the results of this questionnaire will be used for adapting the teaching methods at

this college. Thank you for your participation.

1. Which teaching methods do you prefer?

A. Teacher’s Lecture B. Individual Consultations C. Group Discussion D. Playing

Games E. Socratic Dialogue F. Students’ Presentations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

2. Which teaching methods do you prefer in the Communication Course?

A. Individual Consultations B. Group Discussion C. Playing Games D. Socratic

Dialog E. Students’ Presentations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

3. Which teaching methods do you prefer in the Comprehensive Course?

A. Teacher’s Lecture B. Individual Consultations C. Group Discussion D.

Playing Games E. Socratic Dialog F. Students’ Presentations

Comments:__________________________________________________________

4. Which teaching methods do you prefer in the Writing Course?

A. Teacher’s Lecture B. Individual Consultations C. Group Discussion D. Peer

editing E. Teacher’s Error Corrections F. Students’ Presentations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

5. Which teaching methods do you prefer in the Reading Course?

A. Teacher’s Lecture B. Individual Consultations C. Group Discussion D. Playing

Games E. Socratic Dialog F. Reading aloud G. Testing H. Students’

Presentations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

6. Which teaching methods do you prefer in the Literature Course?

A. Teacher’s Lecture B. Individual Consultations C. Group Discussion D. Playing

Games E. Socratic Dialog F. Students’ Presentations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

7. Which features of foreign teachers do you like most?

A. Relaxed class atmosphere B. Vivid gestures C. Humor D. Combining the

culture E. Interaction with students F. Socratic Methods

Comments:___________________________________________________________

8. Which problems do you think that foreign teachers have?

A. Too many personal ideas, not formal

B. Many aspects but lack of focus

C. The content is too easy

D. Speak too fast

E. Seldom use textbook

Comments:___________________________________________________________

9. What do you expect from foreign teachers?

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A. Standard accent B. Responsibility C. Humor D. Competence E. Tolerance

F. Patience G. Focused explanations

Comments:___________________________________________________________

10. What do you think of the foreign teachers’ teaching methods?

A. Following the Syllabus B. Sticking to their own style C. Combination of A and B

D. Consulting with students E. Student-centered

Comments:___________________________________________________________