This page contains information about two books that chronicle the eight-year development of Holistic English in China.
OF THE STUDENTS
BY THE STUDENTS
AND
FOR THE STUDENTS
Martin Wolff, Editor,
CONTRIBUTORS: 2,600 post-graduate students at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China, representing 396 undergraduate universities
Cambridge Scholars Press (4th qtr. 2010), HARDCOVER
Book Description:
This book is a unique running dialogue between professor and post-graduate students at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou China. A mutual exploration of English teaching in China and both the causes of its general failure and suggested remedies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 The 4 Great Lies, Martin Wolff
Chapter 2 Mute English – The Latin of China, Yiqing Liao and Martin Wolff, J.D.
Chapter 3 What Does Reform Mean? Martin Wolff
Chapter 4 A New Chinese Puzzle, Martin Wolff
Chapter 5 First Day Student Culture Shock, Martin Wolff
Chapter 6 What is Holistic English? Martin Wolff and Niu Qiang
Chapter 7 HOLISTIC ENGLISH, The Revolution Has Begun, but the long march lies ahead, Martin Wolff, Teng Hai, and Niu Qiang
Appendix “A” Cumulative student evaluation Charts 55 -57
Appendix “B “ Guangxi University Charts 31 – 36
Appendix “C “ Huarui College at Xinyang Normal University Charts 37 – 45
Appendix “D “ Yang An University Charts 46 – 48
Appendix “E “ CIB at Shenyang Normal University Charts 49 – 51
Appendix “F “ QUESTIONNAIRE
Appendix “G” Pan Youyi, Student Assistant, Xinyang Agricultural College
Appendix “H” Xinyang Technical and Vocational College Charts 52 – 54
Chapter 8 Holistic English at a Joint Venture Institution, Edwin Roessler and Peter Griggs
Chapter 9 Holistic English: A Market Driven Model, Martin Wolff
Chapter 10 A Revolution – Not an Evolution (Spring 2009), Wang Zhe, Martin Wolff and Niu Qiang
Chapter 11 The Revolution Continues (Fall 2009), Martin Wolff
Chapter 12 HOLISTIC ENGLISH AT Sun Yat- sen University Spring 2010 (Zhongshan)
Chapter 13 Holistic English vs. Traditional Oral English
CHINA EFL Curriculum Reform
Authors / Editors Martin Wolff (China Foreign Expert)
Pub. Date: 2009, 3rd quarter
Binding: Hardcover
Book Description:
This book is a compilation of articles arising from the author’s seven years of personal experiences, study, research and analysis of EFL teaching in China between 2002 and 2008. It is an attempt to document deficiencies and suggest improvements for EFL teaching in China.. The authors began with the assumption that identifying the existing problems, analysing them and suggesting corrective action, would be beneficial to bringing about much needed curriculum reform.
In the past twenty years English language has reached fever pitch in some economic free zones of China and has spread across the vast continent of China impacting on primary schools, middle schools, universities and colleges of higher education. Everyone in China is being exposed to the English language in one form or another. At any given moment at least 600 million Chinese citizens are studying English, which is more than twice the number of people living in the United States of America.
China produces college graduates who have learned English for 16 years and are able to pass the national English knowledge examinations, but are unable to produce comprehensible oral or written English. They have memorized thousands of English words and set phrases. But when it comes to speaking or writing comprehensible English, they are like the parrot who can “talk”by saying “Poly want a cracker.”
China has invested heavily in its English language teaching programs that feature English learning to the exclusion of English acquisition. Famous Chinese professors write text books in conjunction with recognized foreign scholars. The State owned publishing houses, who have an exclusive monopoly on publishing in China, invest heavily in publishing these English learning texts to the exclusion of English acquisition texts. Chinese schools are not allowed to purchase texts on line or from western sources.
There has been a quantum of second language acquisition knowledge discovered over the past twenty years by researchers in Europe and America. However, the resulting new teaching methodology and pedagogy currently dominating Western countries is facing resistance from the mainstream Chinese educational system. Whether this resistance is a forerunner to a “clash of cultures” is yet to be realized. It may be as simple as a case of economic protectionism by those with vested interests in the current EFL learning teaching methodology.
This book includes an English acquisition program (Holistic English) which the authors developed, tested and proved successful at various levels within the Chinese higher education system. The Holistic English Program produces a higher pass rate on the national English knowledge exams and it produces speakers and writers of comprehensible English. Yet, this language acquisition program is met with apathy, indifference, incompetence, opposition and outright hostility.
This compilation of articles makes a compelling case for the need for EFL curriculum reform.
SECTION II: CURRICULUM REFORM
7. Chinese University Diploma: Can Its International Image be Improved? (Niu, Wolff)
8. Can you get a First Class Education at a Third Tier College in China? (Teng, Niu, Gregory, Wolff)
9. Use and Abuse of Teaching With Movies (Niu, Wolff)
10. CHINA EFL: Programming Human Robots (Wolff)
11. CHINA EFL: What is Holistic English? (Niu, Wolff)
12. CHINA EFL: A New Paradigm (Niu, Wolff)
13. HOLISTIC ENGLISH – The Revolution Has Begun, but the long march lies ahead (Wolff, Niu, Teng)
14. Incompatibility of Corporate Training and Holistic English (Wolff)
15. Grade Inflation (Wolff)
16. English Corner (Wolff)
17. Why Chinese Universities do not Provide an English Speaking Environment (Wolff)
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