课程设计与教材开发-21世纪英语

On the classroom practice of English reading instruction in light of the English learning activity theory

Yin Jiahuan (印佳欢), Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang

Lei Haiyan (雷海燕), Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang

Ge Bingfang (葛炳芳), Teaching Research Section, Department of Education, Zhejiang

The six-element-integrated English Learning Activity Theory (ELAT) proposed in English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School (2017 edition) is a hot topic in current reading instruction. The ELAT is based on the integration of six elements: thematic context, discourse type, language knowledge, cultural knowledge, language skills and learning strategies. Similarly, the "Comprehensive Approach to Reading Instruction" (CARI) advocates that teachers need to take text interpretation, information processing, training of thinking ability and language learning strategies into full consideration when they devise teaching activities. Based on a research lesson, three strategies are proposed and will be illustrated with the design and episode of the lesson The Two Tribes of Working Life: 1) integrating the textual information and reconstructing the textual clues; 2) encouraging autonomous learning outcomes and making full use of scaffolding strategy; 3) focusing on activity aim and promoting literacy transformation.

Designing and implementing of project-based extracurricular learning materials

Hu Meiru (胡美如), Hangzhou Xihu District Educational Development Research Institute

Ling Yingqiang (凌应强), EFL teacher

Wan Shu (万姝), Lize Academy, Zhejiang

The lack of effective learning resources, structural planning, and correlation, cooperation and intrinsic motivation hinders English learning. To cope with such disadvantages, it is urgent to design resources for project-based learning, such as driving questions, chain questions, cooperative tasks, micro-projects, commands, task guides and evaluation tools. By setting multiple-dimension goals, constructing projects with various sections, and promoting constructive learning, educators are able to integrate real-life problems into learning projects and increase students' motivation to learn independently, both online and offline, so as to accelerate efficient learning. Accompanied by various means of classroom and online evaluation, the students learn and explore both individually and cooperatively. As a result, in real situations, mostly in the form of movies and science readings, students access the essence of knowledge, exhibit their deep emotion, practice high-level thinking, form complicated skills such as problem-solving, and ultimately apply English language skills to new situations.

Hu Meiru is an EFL teacher and researcher at Hangzhou Xihu District Educational Development Research Institute, Zhejiang province.

Ling Yingqiang is a founder of Linglish, a subscription service on WeChat.

Wan Shu is a middle school English teacher from Lize Academy, Jinhua, Zhejiang province. She has won many titles, including first place in the Teaching Skills Competition of Zhejiang Province.

Online teaching of practical writing on COVID-19 based on POA

Ying Jiqiao (应机巧), Hangzhou Xuejun High School, Zhejiang

Liu Rujia (刘汝佳) Hangzhou Xuejun High School, Zhejiang

Lin Jiahe (林嘉禾), Hangzhou Xuejun High school, Zhejiang

The pandemic brought about worldwide online teaching, which will definitely have a profound impact on otherwise familiar teaching methods. Under the circumstances, teachers have to think about the essence of class instruction, including how to notice students' learning condition, how to foster class culture, how to ensure students' engagement and how to evaluate learning outcome. Based on POA, this workshop investigates the online teaching model of practical writing about the pandemic. The study not only explores the online teaching model, but also challenges the traditional way of teaching practical writing.

At this workshop, we will present the online teaching of practical writing on COVID-19 based on the Production-oriented Approach (POA). The workshop will be structured as follows: 1) Online teaching of practical writing on COVID-19: a new challenge;

2) Online teaching model of practical writing on COVID-19 based on POA;

3) A case of an online practical writing class on COVID-19 based on POA; and 4) Reflection and conclusion.

Ying Jiqiao is an English teacher at Hangzhou Xuejun High School, Zhejiang, China. She graduated from Shanghai International Studies University with a master's degree in English Literature, and is a senior-class high school teacher. She has been awarded many honors and prizes including "Promising Young Teacher in Zhejiang", and the first prize in the provincial competition of English teachers in Zhejiang.

Liu Rujia is an English teacher at Hangzhou Xuejun High School, Zhejiang, China. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University and an MEd in Language and Literacy from Harvard University. In 2019, her demonstration lesson was awarded first prize in the “One Teacher One Lesson” competition at the municipal level.

Lin Jiahe is an English teacher at Hangzhou Xuejun High school, Zhejiang, China. She holds an MA in TESOL from Durham University, UK. As part of her internship, she provided translation and interpretation services for foreign delegations and guests. In 2019, her demonstration class was awarded first prize by the Education Bureau of Hangzhou.

The teaching practice of creative writing in English as a foreign language--Using “pandemic-inspired stories” as an example

Gao Xiaojuan (高小娟), China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing

The paper introduces creative writing as a new approach in L2 writing teaching in China. It argues for the value of creative writing in improving Chinese students’ EFL writing skills, boosting their confidence in L2 writing and developing their creative and critical thinking abilities through telling pandemic stories relatable to everyone. The finding was that all students in this class felt a strong sense of accomplishment in writing after the semester-long instruction. Students also started to see the improvement in their writing skills and creative thinking ability, and enjoyed the rewarding experience brought by English-language creative writing teaching and practice, especially through real-life stories in the fight against the pandemic.

Gao Xiaojuan is a lecturer in the Department of Foreign Language at China University of Mining & Technology, Beijing. Her research interests are EFL pedagogy and EFL creative writing. She likes to use China’s indigenous cultural stories to inspire students to practice creative writing in and outside of the classroom.

A study of presentation of “China’s Excellent Traditional Culture” in college English textbooks

Xiao Lan (肖岚), Jiangxi Agricultural University, Jiangxi

This paper designed an analysis framework composed of three dimensions in order to investigate the presentation of China’s excellent traditional culture in four college English textbooks (New Horizon College English Reading and Writing [Third Edition]). The content analysis was conducted using the following three aspects: social care culture, native land emotion culture and personality cultivation culture. The study finds China’s excellent traditional culture to be present in almost all sections in college English textbooks, especially in the “Words in use” section and “Expressions in use” section. However, the cultural content is limited in content size and cultural depth due to the word restrictions in each content section.

Xiao Lan is a lecturer and master's supervisor at Jiangxi Agricultural University, Jiangxi province, China.

Infusing critical thinking into teaching English in Chinese universities

Yin Qin (殷勤), Newcastle University, UK

Although authorities, educators, and researchers are aware of the importance of developing learners' critical thinking (CT), there is a large gap between what teachers know about critical thinking and how they teach it. Based on the considerations above, this presentation will first introduce theoretical knowledge of CT, including common definitions, core CT skills, CT dispositions, and a popular CT framework in the EFL context, all of which allow audiences to develop a basic understanding of CT. Secondly, it attempts to explicate some empirical studies of applied CT frameworks or English teaching activities, aiming to provide some pedagogical insights for EFL teachers who might be interested in integrating CT into their language teaching. Finally, it ends with an analysis of the presenter's own Ph.D. project, which investigated the teaching of argumentative writing through CT-mediated activities based on sociocultural theory. 

Yin Qin is a first-year Ph.D. student at Newcastle University, UK, and has 3-years of IELTS teaching experience at Bangor College, Central South University of Forestry, China. 

An international comparative study of undergraduate literature courses for English majors

Jin Jingya (金静雅), Central China Normal University, Hubei

Wang Kangjing (王康婧), Central China Normal University, Hubei

This research comparatively studied the English literature courses for English undergraduate programs in five domestic and overseas universities. It aims to provide references for the English literature courses for universities in China. The research analyzed the curriculum settings of English literature, the syllabuses of specific courses, and classroom instruction of each university.

Jin Jingya is an English education major from the school of foreign languages, Central China Normal University, Shanghai. Jin studied at California State University, Los Angeles, as an exchange for one year in 2019. 

Wang Kangjing is an English Education major from the School of Foreign Languages, Central China Normal University, Hubei, China. She studied at the University of Portsmouth, UK, as an exchange student for one semester.

Upper-intermediate English curricular development based on CSE: A case study at Southern University of Science and Technology

Liu Lisha (刘丽莎), Southern University of Science and Technology, Guangdong

This presentation takes an upper-intermediate English course, "SUSTech English III", offered by Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) as a case study to demonstrate its curricular development based on CSE descriptive frameworks for language comprehension and use strategies at levels 5-7. A well as course objectives, structure, contents, resources, implementation, assessment, and management, the study also explores participants' English proficiency achievements, academic ability, critical thinking skills, and intercultural competence. This case study indicates that CSE plays a vital role in guiding English curricular development. It can help universities classify their English courses to form a general curricular framework and clarify their teaching objectives. Moreover, it can assist revisions of syllabi and teachers' teaching manuals, standardize teaching content, and guide course assessments. 

Liu Lisha is a course coordinator of undergraduate English curricula at Southern University of Science and Technology, Guangdong. Her research mainly focuses on English language teaching and students' learning experience in higher education.

The building of my online classroom

Ma Hao (马皓), Zhejiang Normal University, Zhejiang

Via the platform provided by the National Education Resources Public Service System in Zhejiang (http://yun.zjer.cn/), I developed a course titled "Reading English Works and Newspaper Articles." This course includes twelve periods of recorded classes that cover about 20-30 minutes each on average. In the class, one selected passage is presented part by part on the PPT with the teacher explaining the expressions and structures while asking questions relevant to the structure of the passage to keep students on track. After each class, some exercises are issued in the virtual classroom, and the "internet students" can finish their assigned work in their free time - materials can be downloaded free with an ID and code, which identifies users as a student or teacher of Zhejiang Province.

Ma Hao is a senior English teacher with an M.Ed. from Zhejiang Normal University. Ma is an in-service teacher and oversaw four Jiaxing municipal research projects, which were all completed successfully.

Action research on promoting cultural awareness through English visuals in the EFL classroom in senior high schools

Wang Xi (王曦), Northeast Normal University, Heilongjiang

This study adopted Kemmis and McTaggart's action research method and used 72 Grade 1 student participants who took part in two cycles of the research, each lasting for two months. The first circle of action used authentic cultural materials related to the theme for students to discuss and reflect on the impact of cultural differences in small groups. Through the first circle of action, the students had a positive attitude towards culture, and their awareness was cultivated. By the end of the second circle of the action, the author tested the students' writing ability, and the results showed that their cultural writing competence had improved. The research shows that using English visuals can promote students' cultural awareness and improve their interest in English learning. The research results can be used in teaching practice, which can influence the efficiency of teaching. 

Wang Xi is an EdD student at Northeast Normal University, Heilongjiang, China.