On the Current Situation of the Rural English Teaching and Strategies

                                      浅析农村英语教学现状及策略

 

                                                      江西省 喻萃芬    

 

     English is one of the major courses in China’s middle and elementary schools. It is one of the toughest courses to the students, in particular, to those living in the vast rural areas.

     In the past, most scholars paid attention to higher English education, relatively little research was made in the middle and elementary school students and teachers in the rural areas.

     In recent years, more and more scholars are engaged in the research of rural English teaching, but the situation has still not changed a lot, still having a lot of problems in English teaching even in metropolitan areas. Some professionals in English language teaching have not felt the need to seriously consider problems in rural areas yet. Up to now, few people in China did the systematic research on rural English teaching.

     This paper analyzes the overall background of rural English teaching and put forward some available strategies. In China, the huge absolute population of those who are teaching and studying in rural schools further protrudes the importance of the rural settings in basis education. The paper first focuses on a series of factors that affect rural English teaching: such as the whole educational environment has great influence on rural English teaching, the problems in faculty is a serious headache to English teacher education, the students in rural areas themselves is an important aspect, the deficiency of teaching methods harasses rural English teaching. Then it gives the feasible strategies to overcome the impediment.

1.1 The importance of learning English

     As the social life becomes more and more dependent on informational exchange while the global economy joints as one, English shows us its importance as one language, to be an important tool, which is widely used in many fields and regarded as a most important part of citizens’ equality education in many countries which shows their comprehensive national power in some degree.

1.2 English teaching in the rural areas

     The rural residents compose over two-thirds of the whole population in China. It’s not difficult to see that the majority of pupils and the teaching staff study and work in the rural settings, which further protrudes the importance of the rural settings in the basic education.

     Therefore, educational development in rural areas is a basic, directing issue with overall significance to the establishment of a well-to-do society and is also an issue much concerned about by the incumbent administration with the context of economic globalization and knowledge economy. As a foreign language, English popularity and education attract much more attention in today’s society, thus not only the government but also all the public must be concerned about the English teaching, especially the rural English teaching, neglected by many people in a long time.

2.1 The whole educational environment

     Parents’ background has great influence on their children’s English learning. Compared with parents in cities, whose knowledge level, experience and insights into the society are generally superior; most of the rural parents are low-educated peasants and spend most time making a living. They have no idea and experiences and guidance about English learning of their children, just treating it the same as other subjects. So, it is relatively difficult for them to guide and help their children in a right direction of English learning. So most rural students are very blind and puzzled in study, especially in English study: without a good learning atmosphere in the family.     In addition, in contrast to the enormous passion, strong atmosphere and numerous kinds of facilities for English learning in the urban schools, the students in the countryside are not so lucky to immerse themselves into such social situation. The disadvantages in rural areas, such as inconvenient transportation, sparse information, sources and unenlighted ideas on English education, prevent the cultivation of the social atmosphere for English learning.

2.2 The school’s English faculty

2.2.1 Deficiency of the rural English teachers

     The biggest problem every school in China faces is the high rate of English teacher turnover and the lack of stability of the English teachers. The problem of retaining good teachers in the classroom is virtually universal since the rewards of status and income are greater elsewhere. And this problem is extremely serious in the rural areas, compared with the urban or metropolitan areas. For one thing, the living and working conditions in rural areas are much poorer than those in other areas. For another, the average material rewards to the rural teachers also reduce the appeal of English teaching in rural areas to the fullest extent. Owing to the fact that they get very mean material rewards, most of such teachers suffer from the very low social status. Therefore, the rural English teachers often try every means to leave such area regretfully.

2.2.2 Overall quality of the rural English teachers

     While the problem of the English teacher shortage poses immeasurable worry in education, the problem of teacher quality in rural areas is a more serious headache.

     The first puzzle harassing the rural English teaching is the lack of dedicated teachers mirrored in the weak inclination to teach in rural areas. Only a small number of teachers choose to teach in rural areas just because they can’t find any ideal job elsewhere to make a living. As a means to make a living, without career satisfaction, teaching will be not very effective and successful, so they lack the initiative to develop themselves as professionals or as individuals. And because of the poor atmosphere for learning English, most rural students dread English classes more than any other subject. The prevalent absence of interest in English learning among students makes English teaching in rural areas extremely challenging, so that such teachers are more easily frustrated than those of other subjects or in other areas,

2.3 The rural students’ English learning

     Unlike most of urban students, who have already begun English education since pre-school time and have fundament for further English learning in the elementary and middle schools. For most of rural students, they get to know“ABC” only after coming into the junior middle school, who have lower starting point for English learning.

     Besides, compared with the urban schools, in which English teaching activities are held frequently in various ways, such as oral/written English contest, English lectures, optional English courses for further improvement, the rural schools seldom organize such activities to motivate and promote students’ study. The quantity and quality of English activities for fostering interest and improving ability are disappointing. Furthermore, there are not enough funds for developing such activities. Knowledge delivered in textbook is taken as the whole for English learning in rural schools.

2.4 The rural English teaching methods

     As we know, in English teaching, most teachers pay more attention to grammar explanation, traditional grammar language teaching still played a very important part in our country. But grammar can not ensure the exactness of applying language based on the language rules. Language learning is a process of information inputs and outputs so that students should manage what they have learnt. In my memory, when I taught my students grammatical rules, they just recited mechanically without mastering and applying them.      

3.1 To establish an educational financial and administrative system in rural areas

     It is essential to institute and improve a mechanism for ensuring the financing of rural schools, thus ensuring the timely payment of full pay to the staff and workers of rural schools, and ensuring the basic needs for financing the maintenance, renovation of old school yard and construction of new campus, and ensuring the basic funds for the normal function of schools.

     What’s more, low pay and poor working conditions have resulted in a serious shortage of talented teachers in primary and middle schools in poverty-stricken areas. Statistics indicate wages owed to rural teachers amount to more than 10 billion Yuan nationwide. If the salary of the more than 6 million rural teachers was allocated from the budget of the government, their income would be stable so that they would care more about their work. Then more qualified teachers would be retained by rural schools.

     Another important thing is to invest more money to improve the teaching conditions in the rural schools. In accordance with the principles of “ overall, planning, piloting in selected areas, making breakthroughs in program delivery, and implementing the program step-by-step”, it is envisaged that within five years or so most rural schools will be equipped with computer labs and ground receivers capable of receiving satellite-transmitted educational TV programs, and all outreach teaching sites of rural school should be equipped with VCD players and necessary VCD courseware, and that an initial framework for ensuring the management and operation of a distance educational system will gradually take shape. The development of the Modern Distance Education Program for Rural Schools will rely primarily on local initiatives and funds raised through various channels, supplemented by financial aids provided by the central regions.

3.2 The strategies for rural English teacher development

3.2.1 To undergird initial teacher training and education

     The foremost strategy to overcome the lack of funds is to undergird initial normal education to ensure that we no longer recruit undertrained teachers in the rural English teaching profession. On the other hand, this is also the best strategy to cope with the lack of teacher educators, for the intensive training model is the most efficient way to enrich the trained teachers’ knowledge. And furthermore, normal students in universities are at the best time for learning and they are more open and sensitive to new changes in teaching conceptions and beliefs. In this case, we can achieve most with economical labor and financial investment.

3.2.2 To introduce student teachers to assist in rural schools

     In order to cope with the deficiency of the rural English teachers, the society and administration can call on the various schools, teachers and students to volunteer to go to the countryside. On one hand, they can assist or directly participate in the enterprise of rural English teaching; on the other hand, they can transmit the new concepts of teaching. The practice of introducing teachers themselves and students to rural setting has been proven conducive to both prospective teachers and rural education system. In a word, in China, to bring this practice into the normal education of undergraduates will not merely be beneficial to rural English teaching and prospective teachers as well, but also it will be of much help to the whole system of rural English teaching.

3.2.3 To encourage competent English teachers to serve for rural schools

     Another efficient step, which has been taken in provincial areas in China with effect, is to encourage competent experienced teachers to act as volunteers to support rural English teaching on a short-term basis. Since the present condition of the rural teacher life cannot be drastically improved in a short time, and it is unlikely for rural schools to expect for sufficient qualified teachers, alternative channels must be searched to solve the problem of the serious shortage of competent teachers in rural areas. It may be best to encourage experienced teachers in metropolitan or urban schools to volunteer for rural education. Because there is already an obvious surplus of teachers in metropolitan and urban schools.

In a country where over two-thirds of people are living in rural areas, rural settings cannot be marginalized in the profession of education.

As can be seen in the thesis, there exists many problems in rural English teaching; therefore, more efforts should be made by scholars and teachers to improve the rural English teaching. There are too many things to do: the quality of rural teacher wanting improving; teaching methodologies specially geared to rural English teaching and learning are in great need; facilities for teaching and learning need to be purchased and so on.

However, in effect, the execution or realization of all measures to advance rural English teaching rests with policymakers and teachers in the field of English teaching. It is only hoped that this thesis can draw some attention to rural English teaching.