| The principles of "contrastivity" and "mutuality" |
In the following, I would like to recount some of my experiences in China and suggest some topics for future intercultural teacher training that may lead to improved results in language teaching.
| Cultural differences between China and the western countries |
b. Due to cultural differences, one should not expect that texts written by students whose mother tongue is not German are comparable to texts by native speakers with respect to rhetoric, inner logic, paragraph organization, or stylistic features (Clyne, 1985).
c. Linguistic and cultural differences lead to problems in developing reading and writing skills. Let's take reading, for example: Linguistic differences in German, such as the constitution of a text through function words, account for difficulties in reading comprehension.
d. Reading habits, the amount and intensity of information processing, and the understanding of what are relevant topics may account for the difficulty which students experience in acquiring academic work habits while using the German language (Liang, 1987).
| Differences in teaching and learning a foreign language in China and the western countries |
I observed that students like to take a foreign language text away from class in order to memorize it in its entirety. Memorization seems to be the students' favourite way of getting prepared for the next class. By reading the text out aloud they practise phonetics; reading aloud is also thought to facilitate memorization. The head of the Institute's Spanish Department explained to me:
"Although the question of which method is best is now being discussed in China, it is widely believed that the memorization of texts is important. Memorizing texts may help beginners to become acquainted with the target language which is structurally completely different from their mother tongue. That way the student acquires a model which will serve him later as a point of reference or orientation. At the advanced level, memorization becomes less important" (Chen, 1987).
b. Grammar
In one teacher training seminar for the presentation of communicative teaching methods, the prevailing conviction among my Chinese colleagues was that the first didactic step in foreign language teaching must be the explanation of grammar. It was assumed that students want to have an explanation of grammatical structures because they feel uneasy when facing language material that is completely different from everything they have known so far. The acquisition of foreign language skills was considered a rational approach like learning a technique.
c. Imitative learning
According to traditional opinion in China, the second didactic step is the presentation of texts that serve as models for imitation (dialogues, taped material, paragraphs etc.) Learning at this stage is considered imitative, and the teacher is supposed to facilitate it by creating a good classroom atmosphere.
d. Practical application
The third didactic step may be labelled application. The student is asked to demonstrate his foreign language skills in situations like writing a letter, participating in a discussion, talking with a native speaker, writing a translation etc.
e. Adapting methods (for example, a communicative methodology)
Modern communicative classroom methods have been assessed by several Chinese teachers. Gu Yunying (Professor of German at the Shanghai Foreign Languages College) asks: "Kann der kommunikative Ansatz in China wirksam sein?" His answer is "yes," but the best way for improved teaching methods is seen in the combination of the so-called communicative methods of western countries with Chinese teaching practices. That would entail the development of a corresponding Chinese methodology.
| Adapting western methods to the Chinese situation |
Thus, having learnt from each other, I should say that the principal of mutuality may lead future teacher training seminars beyond the presentation of one specific method or one particular theoretical approach to a common attempt at finding out what is best in view of all relevant scientific research results. Richards and Rodgers (1986) have listed the eight major methodologies of learning and teaching a foreign language today as follows:
However, taking the road to modernization in language teaching cannot mean to select only one or the other method. All methods have to be put into perspective, that is, they have to be assessed according to their applicability, effectiveness and scientific foundation, of which the last two are the most important criteria. We must look for teaching approaches that are based on modern scientific research in psycholinguistics, cognition theory, and neuropsychology. It may well be true that there are traditional approaches which are suitable to a specific cultural environment and agree as well with modern ideas; we should feel free to discuss them and to experiment with them. The principle of contrastivity may help when traditional methods and modern approaches are compared.
Since every theory should stand the test of useability, teacher training seminars ought to incorporate micro-teaching sessions. Teachers who are experienced in a particular method should give demonstrations of their teaching skills, and their colleagues should feel free to try them out. Some very encouraging attempts in training seminar in China have shown that such initiatives are fruitful. Here, again, we find the principle of mutuality.
| Opportunities for future work in teacher training in China |
In future seminars with Chinese teachers of German, model lessons should be analyzed in order to reveal their underlying approach to language learning and its methodological consequences. Learning and teaching habits should be analyzed and possibly changed through practical exercises. New media like video may be helpful for us.
b. Testing and diagnosing
Testing and diagnosing of student progress and teaching success alike may be developed further in order to increase teaching and learning effectiveness. Testing is a form of control; diagnosing in contrast is a means to understanding THE difficulties that students may have in learning. Test materials such as that of the Goethe Institute (e.g., the Zertifikatsprüfung) or the German universities' language entrance exam for foreign students (PNdS) or the Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz should be helpful in comparing the achievement standards of foreign students.
c. Linguistic and educational research
There are many research topics that are both of linguistic and educational relevance, e.g., the function words play an important role in German texts. How do Chinese students cope with the problem of mastering these structural differences in reading? Or: Is there a language acquisition process typical of Chinese students with a specific interim (= learner's) language?
d. Preparation and evaluation of practical job experiences
Since students at the Guangzhou Foreign Languages Institute are given the opportunity to undergo on-the-job experience in their fourth year before graduation, experienced teachers who have served as interpreters in companies should organize a special course in order to prepare and help them assess their practical training period with academic methods.
All the above could be introduced in teacher training seminars. Views of native speakers should be considered. Cooperation on various projects should help to promote the modernization and increase the effectiveness of language teaching so that the needs of an ever more demanding society may be met. The principles of contrastivity and mutuality may help solve problems and shortcomings in the right spirit and pave the way for more intercultural understanding. Thus a better international understanding will be achieved through more sensitive language teaching and learning.
1. Cf. Hu Wenzhong (1986). "Why bother about Culture in ELT," in Waiguoyu (4), 1-5. Back to document
2. Cf. also Waiyu Jiaoxue Yue Yanjiu (1986). Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 1, 52-56. Cf. also Gerhard Neuner, "Fremdsprachlicher Text und universelle Lebenserfahrungen" in Gerhard Neuner (Ed.). Kulturkontraste im DaF-Unterricht (pp. 11-32). Munich, Iudicium. Back to document
3. Cf. also Hans Jürgen Krumm (1987), "Lehrerfortbildung - Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe oder Methodenexport." In Dietrich Sturm (Ed.), Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit, Ismaning, Hueber. Back to document
Chen (1987) in Günther Miklitz, "Clases de espanol en la Republica Popular de China," Hispanorama, 46, 16.
Clyne, Michael (1985). Cultural differences in the organization of academic texts: English and German. Unpublished paper. Murdoch University: Perth, Australia.
Hayhoe, Ruth (1987). "Penetration or Mutuality? - China's educational cooperation with Europe, Japan and North America," Comparative Education Review, 30(4), 532-559.
Liang, teacher of German at the GFLI (1987). Verbesserung des Leseverständnisses chinesischer Studenten. Unpublished paper, Guangzhou. See also Heuermann/Hühn, "Fremdsprachige vs. muttersprachige Rezeption - Eine empirische Analyse text- und lesespezifischer Unterschiede. Tübingen 1983.
Project group He, Liang, Li, Chen, Sun, & G. Miklitz (1987), "Interkulturelle Differenzen oder unvollständige Beherrschung der Fremdsprache," in Info DaF, 3, 276-278.
Richards, Jack C. & and Rodgers, Theodore S. (1986). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.
Yunying, Gu (1987). "Kann der kommunikative Ansatz in China wirksam sein?" Zielsprache Deutsch, 18(1), 39.