Senior Language Research Manager, Dr Claire Dembry, went to China to carry out some research. Here, she tells us more about what she did, what she learnt, and how 6 year olds are brutal truth tellers…
Having never been further east from the UK than Finland, 10 days in China was a fairly huge deal for me. It would have been huge had it been a relaxing holiday, never mind a 10 day, 3 city, intense itinerary that involved interviewing 300 primary school learners of English and their 160 teachers in over 80 focus group interviews!
As part of the ELT Research and Teacher Development team in Cambridge, I work on a range of projects each year that contribute to the development and improvement of the learning experience for both teachers and learners. This particular project is a collaboration with one of our partner institutions, and once completed will explore the benefits and challenges of using a CEFR-informed syllabus and coursebook in China.
My research trip had two main aims. The first was to measure student motivation and learning strategies. I wanted to find out more about their attitudes to learning English – what do they do to practice? What are their aims and ambitions? How do they feel about their English classes? What do they find difficult and easy? The second aim was to find out how teachers use their coursebooks in class, how they feel about their lessons, and what their views are on ELT in China more broadly.
Beijing
My week began in Beijing. Starting each day relaxing in the hotel restaurant with dumplings, steamed vegetables and fried noodles was a bit of a change from a quick coffee and toast before biking to work, but I soon got into the swing of things!
Students attend the language schools we were visiting once they’ve been to normal school and at the weekends, so on the first day we started with the teachers. All of the teachers we met throughout the whole trip were really engaged, motivated and committed to getting the best out of their students. They were keen to tell us about the pressures of the exam culture in China, and about how they adapt and amend the materials for their students (typically adding more vocabulary to lessons, and spending longer on reading tasks).
After school, some of the youngest participants arrived to talk to me – my first group were 4 and 5 year olds. I was impressed with how good their English was, particularly their pronunciation and range of vocabulary, and how they seemed completely unfazed by talking to a stranger for 25 minutes entirely in English. As all of the students we talked to in China were of primary school age, we used games, flashcards, prompts and drawing tasks (along with the promise of stickers – who doesn’t love a sticker?) to help them to answer my questions. In my final question in the interviews, students were asked to draw a picture of their face in English class, to try to get at how they feel in their lessons. Here are some of my favourites:
Guangzhou
After three noisy busy days in the capital, it was on to Guangzhou – a 3 hour flight from Beijing, complete with probably the worst coffee I’ve ever had (have the tea, always have the tea!). I was in Guangzhou over the weekend, so I met with students all day on Saturday and Sunday. The school we were at helpfully had the aircon switched off at the weekend, and the steamy 32 degree weather and repetitive nature of the interviews made the whole thing seem like a bit of a weird dream.
In Guangzhou I met a few groups of students who’d achieved 85% or better in their Cambridge English Exams – complete superstars! They told me lots about how they practiced their English – reading Harry Potter was a favourite, as was listening to Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift songs, and even watching TED talks and reading British newspapers. Even the very young students valued English as something that would help them progress in their education and their future careers.
Shenzhen
The final stop was in Shenzhen, an industrial town on the border with Hong Kong. I may have become slightly deranged due to the relentless heat, food and travel, but the Shenzhen teachers certainly seemed to have chosen some of the best English names I’d encountered – Rambo, Magical, Dragon, Nana, and Circle all contributed to really interesting discussions about their students, their classes and teaching more broadly.
After a final few days of talking to students and teachers, I had one last meal (a crazy cauldron affair that came with a free whole raw chicken – one to take home for later, obviously!) I crossed the border into Hong Kong and headed to the airport, but not before getting completely soaked to the bone in a taxi queue, trying to retrieve my umbrella from being wedged under a massive pile of data collection forms and student drawings that I’d acquired during my trip.
Results
Early results suggest that Chinese students are happy, dedicated and super ambitious – some of the most frequent answers to ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ was lawyer, engineer, businessman and doctor. Students also had lots to say about their teachers too. Here are some of my favourite comments:
• My teacher is funny but sometimes sad because he’s single.
• She is a successful teacher – I checked the internet.
• My teacher makes you write 100 words and that’s too many.
Some of the most interesting results are around what students like (speaking, games, interactive classes), and how this compares to both more traditional Chinese teaching methodologies and the techniques. We’ll be following up with some of these initial results with a wider online survey targeting more students and teachers over the coming weeks.
China was intense, brilliant and extreme. I ate some of the strangest and most delicious food I’ve ever seen (duck blood soup, chicken feet, barbequed oysters); heard plenty of compliments (your eyes sparkle like the ocean); and heard a few home truths (you’re very very pale, like when you’re ill. Are you ill?) I’m still in awe of the fantastic performance, dedication and attitude of the students and teachers I met. I’m looking forward to sharing more insights from my trip to China – just as soon as I’ve worked my way through all of the amazing data I collected….
Find out more about Claire’s research at Cambridge ELT in our interview with her and senior ELT Research manager, Laura Patsko.