TEFL Holdrege Nebraska

With a population close to 1.3 billion in china, the majority of students start learning english at a very young age. The major factor that affects chinese students to study english is the mastery of the language leads to opportunities (Walker, Jay Walker on the World's english Mania, 2009). The ability to communicate globally is believed to open up a brighter future. However, due to cultural and spatial constraints, there are three main problems for learners in china; passive learning process, direct translation from local language to english, and the excessive focus on lexical and grammatical features of the english language. In classes, it is common to see chinese students sit and listen. chinese students rarely take active roles in participating in interactive activities during the learning process. This may be due to collectivist culture and high power distance characteristics in Eastern education (Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions). This means students perceive themselves as group members who respect and obey authority figures. Such results in students highly dependable on the teachers' guidance, which could hamper their learning results especially when they are learning a second-language that requires plenty of spoken communication exchanged. The most effective learning is student-centered education as opposed to teacher-centered education. As cultural factors play a major part in english learning and teaching in china, esl teachers need to be active, establish rapport by sharing common interests with students, and show respect towards students. In speaking exercises, chinese students tend to translate from their native language into english when they speak with each other in english (Wu, 2007). This imposes a problem for teachers because students treat the language as acquired artificially but not absorbed naturally. Generally, it is easier for younger adults to adapt to the natural learning of english compared with older adults who come to lessons with habits from past learning experience. esl teachers should introduce methods to encourage students to adapt to the language, i.e. search for news articles, TV shows, and fun travelling facts to stimulate learning interests. Also, lessons should also be designed to maximize student talk-time and group work settings. In written exercises, textbooks and resource books lack semantic and detailed explanation of the situations in which english language is used, rather, it focuses on the technicality of the language, i.e. the lexicons and grammar structure of the language. Therefore, chinese students tend to write very well but they cannot speak well. A general understanding and some foundation of english is demonstrated by most chinese students with high school or post-secondary education. This attributes to preparation undertaken for Gaokao, the national exam that demands proficiency in english and other subjects, where students spend more than ten hours each day preparing for the exam. However, despite the hard work in studying the syntactical features of the language, most chinese students cannot speak proper english. The lack of oral english practice prompts esl teachers to explain and familiarize the situations in which usage and repeated spoken practices is more important than grammatical and lexicon structures. Moreover, giving clear and thorough instructions would clarify the purpose of engaging in interactive activities. The key is to be innovative in class exercises that changes students' attitudes in studying english. The above problems for learners in china may also apply to esl students worldwide. esl teachers should pay close attention to the needs and wants of students. The delivery of a successful lesson is not only educational but entertaining and suitable for students' interests to yield maximum learning results. Bibliography Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2, 2011, from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm Walker, J. (2009, May). Jay Walker on the World's english Mania. Retrieved November 2011, from Ted Talks: http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania.html Wu, M. (2007, November). Problems Faced by chinese esl Learners in the Acquisition of english Passive and Recommendations for Teaching. Retrieved November 2011, from Karen's Linguistics Issues: http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/chinesepassive