Francesco Michael Scaringella
Adjunct Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and Chinese Specialized Translation
Afilliation
Università degli Studi di Milano
Country
Italy
Professional URL
SHORT BIO
Francesco Michael Scaringella is an Adjunct Professor of Chinese Language and Culture and Chinese Specialized Translation at the Department of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Mediations, University of Milan. He holds a PhD in Linguistic, Literary and Intercultural Studies in European and Extra-European Perspectives from the University of Milan. His doctoral dissertation, entitled ELT in Chinese General Senior High School: An Analysis of Contemporary Chinese ELT Textbooks, examines English language teaching in Chinese general senior high schools, with a particular focus on the textbooks currently adopted in these schools. His main research interests include foreign language teaching, textbook studies, linguistics, and critical discourse analysis.
PRESENTATION TITLE
PRESENTATION TITLE
“Activity-Based English Learning” in the Chinese Educational System: The Gap Between Theory and Practice
ABSTRACT
According to the latest English language teaching curricula for both compulsory and upper secondary education, the teaching method currently promoted in the Chinese educational system is known as Activity-Based English Learning. It is defined as a teaching approach oriented toward the cultivation of students’ core English competencies, aiming to enable learners to use the language to understand and express meaning, develop cultural awareness, foster multifaceted thinking, and acquire learning abilities, while achieving an integrated alignment of goals, content, and methodology. However, when ELT textbooks and actual classroom practice are examined, an inconsistency emerges between these and the official documents issued by the MOE, with limited emphasis placed on the development of students’ speaking skills. This study aims to discuss the gap between theory and practice in ELT in China and, in doing so, to contribute to the scholarly debate on linguistics and foreign language teaching.
ABSTRACT
PRESENTER INTERVIEW
1. Your research examines the relationship between official ELT policy and classroom realities in China. What motivated you to explore this gap?
I originally studied Chinese and English during my BA and MA. When I applied for the doctoral programme at the University of Milan, I came up with the idea of combining these two fields of study, especially because I was working as an English teacher at the time. I therefore decided to focus on the ELT textbooks used in Chinese state schools, as I discovered that this was an understudied topic. While conducting my doctoral research, I realized that there was a gap between what is stated in the Chinese curriculum and actual classroom practice, and I consequently decided to explore this issue further.
2. Activity-Based English Learning places emphasis on communication and core competencies. Why does implementation remain challenging in many classrooms?
Activity-Based English Learning lies at the heart of this gap between theory and practice. In the official curriculum documents, it is presented as a teaching method that aims to develop students' core competencies and communicative competence through the integration of learning objectives, content, and methodology. However, this objective inevitably clashes with the structure of the National Matriculation English Test (NMET), the English component of the National College Entrance Examination, which represents the ultimate goal of primary and secondary education in China. In fact, the NMET is, in essence, a language knowledge-based examination.
3. Your research highlights concerns regarding limited opportunities for speaking development. What factors contribute to this situation?
As I have just mentioned, the main obstacle to the effective implementation of Activity-Based English Learning and the development of students' speaking skills is the structure of the NMET, whose nationwide version does not include a speaking component. Moreover, the listening component was only introduced in 2000 and carries the least weight in the examination. Therefore, since the primary objective of English education in China's primary and secondary schools remains to prepare students for this examination, it is understandable that developing students' speaking skills is not considered a real priority.
4. How can teachers and educational institutions better bridge the gap between curriculum expectations and classroom practice?
This is a very delicate issue, as, in my view, it is not even a matter of teacher training. I believe that the only way to bridge this gap is to reform the NMET by introducing a mandatory speaking component. This proposal has been put forward by the Ministry of Education since the beginning of the twenty-first century, but it has faced opposition from local governments because of the disparities between wealthier areas, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and other provinces where schools still struggle to recruit qualified English teachers. Consequently, local governments argue that making a speaking component mandatory would further widen the educational gap between China's provinces.
5. What lessons can other educational contexts learn from the Chinese experience of ELT reform?
One lesson that other educational systems can draw from the Chinese experience concerns the washback effect that high-stakes examinations such as the NMET can have on classroom practice, giving rise to phenomena such as so-called "Mute English" and "Exam-oriented English". Another lesson is the importance of ensuring an equitable allocation of educational resources across the country. Otherwise, persistent inequalities may continue to hinder educational reform, as illustrated by the ongoing opposition to reforming the Chinese NMET by introducing a mandatory speaking component.