Antonino1

KellyAntonino
ENG496
Dr.Cummings
28November2015
TakinganExamplefromChina:RhetoricofEnglishLanguageLearning

MadeinChina.Thesewordscanbefoundonthetagsofclothing,thebottomsof

childrenstoys,andvariousobjectsthathavelittlemonetaryvalue.Thisisinstarkcontrastto
historicvisitstoChina,wherekingdomswouldspendfortunesonexpeditionstoChinaseeking
spicesandothergoodsfromthequasimythicalSilkRoad.ThetermMadeinChinaisso
ubiquitousinAmericanculturethatitisnearlysynonymouswithcheapgoodsthatdontlasta
longtime.Conversely,thepracticeofRhetoric,theuseandstudyoflanguageandoration,in
WesternCivilizationhaschanged.Gonearetheforumsinthepolisofold,wherepeoplewould
practicetheirspeechpatternsinthemiddleoftown,withfocusonmemoryandoralpresentation.
Nowrhetoricisleftmostlytolawyersandcongressman,relegatedonlytotheprofessionalrealm.
Inthisway,thesetwoseeminglyunrelatedtopicshaveasomewhatinverserelationship.this
bringstomindaninterestingquestion,whataboutrhetoricinChina?Howhasitevolvedrelative
toWesternRhetoric?TakingalookattheevolutionofEnglishlanguageacquisitioninChina
fromthestricttimesofthe1960stonow,WesternteachersofELLs(EnglishLanguage
Learners)couldlearnnewwaystoimprovetheirEnglishlanguagelearningprogramatthehigh
schoollevel,byimplementingculturalstudiessothatimmigrantstudentsarenotlostinthe
EnglishculturebutcanfindabalancetolearnthenewanddifficultlanguageofEnglish.
StudentsinChinahavebenefittedfromtheimprovisedideologies,creatingEnglishlanguage

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majorsinChina,whileimmigrantsmovingtoAmericaaresufferingfromthelackofsupport
theyfindinEnglishasaSecondLanguage(ESL)programs.

TheinstructionofforeignlanguageinChinahasevolvedovertime.DianaLarywritesin

her1965journaltitledTeachingEnglishinChinathatEnglishreplacedRussianofficiallyas
thenumberoneforeignlanguagetaughtinChina(Lary2).Therefore,theimportanceoflearning
EnglishinChinahasincreasedsincethe60s,givingChinatimetoimprovemethodsand
teachingstandards.ThemethodsLarydescribesaredisadvantageousbecauseofthestrict
policiessurroundingwhattobetaughtandhow.Inthesameway,Americahasastrictpolicyfor
howtheyteachEnglishtorecentimmigrantshopingtolearnthelanguage.ByexaminingLarys
precisedescriptionofChinathen,inthe1960s,andcomparingittohowChinahasevolvedin
theirteachingmethodstoday,AmericasESLsystemcanevolveinthesameway.
Chinaisknownforitshighlyvaluedtraditionalsystem,whereeverythingtaughtcomes
fromancientteachingsthathavebeenbroughtupgenerationaftergeneration.Chinaisa
significantlyoldercivilizationthanAmerica.ThetraditionalchinesesystemunderChairman
Maowasespeciallyrigidinitseducationstructure,aseverythinghadtopassapuritytest.This
system,however,keptEnglishinstructionfrombecomingwhatitistoday.LarywritesthatThe
planwasforforeignerstoteachChinesestudentsandtheirChineseteachershowtospeak
foreignlanguagefluentlyandcolloquially(Lary2).Larysplanwasnotaseasilyimplemented
asChinaoriginallythought.UndertheruleofChairmanMaomanythingswerethoughtofas
impurepoliticallyandthusthematerialavailabletotheforeignteacherstoteachtheirstudents
wasculturaltextstranslatedfromChineseintoEnglish.Thesetextswerelimitedtotitlessuchas:
MinisterswithPickandShovel(ChairmanMaoworkingontheMingTombsReservoir),

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ChairmanMaoandtheWoundedSoldier,TheSweetPotatoPatch(ChairmanMaodigging
spudsasaboy)(Lary3).Thesetitles,alongwithafewothersthatfollowedthesametheme,
weretheonlyonesthatpassedthepoliticalinspectionofpurity.However,havingthestudents
readthesepiecesinEnglishdidnotbenefittheirlanguageacquisition.Thestudentsbecame
accustomedtotheworksandmemorizedwordforwordeachline.Thisstuntedthestudents
growthcolloquiallybecausetheirconversationalEnglishdidntincludeacomprehensive
understandingofmeaningsbehindthewords,theyonlyunderstoodhowtophoneticallyreadthe
aforementionedtexts.Laryexemplifiedaconversationwithastudentasfollows(Lary4):

Student:WemustalllearnfromLeiFeng.

Teacher:Why?

Student:BecauseChairmanMaohascalledustolearnfromhim.

Teacher:WhydoeschairmanMaotellyoutodothat?

Student:BecauseLeiFengsetsawonderfulexample.

Teacher:Whydoeshesetyouawonderfulexample?

Student:BecauseChairmanMaocallsuponustolearnfromhim.

TheconversationabovemodelstheproblemofthestudentsnotunderstandingthatLeiFeng
representedagoodexamplebecauseofhisgooddeeds.Thestudentswerestuckinthepolitical
purityboundsthatkeptthemfromlearning,andinsteadpromotedmemorizationasthewayto
acquiretheEnglishlanguage.

ThisChineserhetoricalapproachtopurityintextswasalsoseeninapiecethatwas

rejectedfromthecurriculumbecausetheGreatHallofthePeoplewasdescribedasayellow
stonebuildingwithgreypillars,insteadofasthemostmagnificentbuildingintheworld,

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(Lary3).Chinabeingknownforitsvaluedtraditionalsystemremainsconstantintheirdesireto
expressthemselvesthrougheloquentflowerylanguage.Yetagain,thistraditionmissesthepoint
ofEnglishlanguageacquisitionbyrejectingthesimpletermspresentinconversationalEnglish.
TodescribeanimportantstructureinChinesecultureasjustayellowbuilding,goesagainsthow
theyhavebeenraisedtospeakinChinese.Laryfoundthistobebecauseofthegenuineand
sincerelyheldbeliefinthesuperiorityofChinese,andpartlyonthefearthatthegoodstudentsof
ChairmanMaoshouldbeexposedtoanythingpoliticallyimpure(Lary3).Theproblemsthat
arosefromthesemethodswastheinabilityformeaningfulconversationstobehadwith
foreigners.Chinafoundthattheirstarstudentswerenotaswellequippedintheincreasingly
globalcommunityastheywereintheclassroom.

In1981WangKunwroteanarticletitledEnglishandOtherForeignLanguage

TeachinginthePeoplesRepublicofChina.Inthearticleareadvancesthatweremadeinthe
foreignlanguagedepartmentoftheeducationsystem.Followingglobalizationandthegrowing
powerofAmerica,ChinaremainedconsistentwithEnglishastheirNo.1foreignlanguage
taught.WangKunwritesaboutathreestageEnglishlanguageacquisitionprogramthatlastsfour
years.Thefirststagethatinvolvestwoyearsfocusonspeakingandlisteningisfollowedbya
thirdyearwherelearnersworkindependentlytoreadvariousworkswiththeaidofdictionaries,
andlibrarytimewherethestudentsareaskedtodoresearchbyhimorherself.Bythefourthyear
theattentionismovedtowardswritingandtranslation(WangKun659).Thisprocessisamuch
neededimprovementfromtheaforementionedmethodsin1965.Studentswhograduatefrom
thisfouryearprogramhavespentcountlesshourslearningandrelearningtheEnglishlanguage
withoutpoliticalrestrictions.WangKunevenwritesthatInsomeuniversitiesinChinatoday,

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EnglishandAmericanliteratureisbeingtaught,includingdramaandpoetry.Thetextineach
lessonischosenwithanappreciationtotheliterarystyleofeachwriteranditsdiscussion
includedattentiontotheimpactoftheliteraryworksonthesociety(WangKun660).Thisnew
protocolofliteratureandtextshasincreasedglobalawarenessandcuriosityinthestudentsofthe
university.MeetingChinasexpectations,thestudentsaregraduatingwithhigherproficiency
levelsinEnglishthanbeforeandarereceivingjoboffersininternationalbusinessoras
interpreterstohelpChinaintheglobaleconomicrace.
ThissuccesscanalsobeattributedtotheimportanceoflearningEnglishthatstartsata
youngageinChina.Itwasdecidedthatthirdgradepupilsinprimaryschoolsshouldbeingto
learnEnglishasarequiredsubject.TodayinChina,ofalltheforeignlanguagesofferedin
schools,Englishisthemostbroadlytaught(WangKun660).WangKunmentionedtheorigins
ofEnglishbeingtaughtinthirdgradetohavebeenestablishedin1978,withonlyincreasesin
successessincethen.Studentsareequippedtoachievethesegoalsbecauseoftheearly
familiaritywiththeEnglishlanguagethatfollowstheirlearningprocessyearafteryear.Primary
schoolstudentsmovetosecondaryschoolswhereaftertheyareonlyadmittedtouniversitiesfor
languagemajorsiftheymeettherequirements.WangKunliststheserequirementsasfor
admissionthecandidatemustshowthatheorsheisabletousephonetictranscriptioncorrectly
andhasagraspofcorrectpronunciationandsomefundamentalknowledgeofgrammar,
particularlythecorrectusesofverbtense.Heorsheissupposedtohaveavocabularyof1500
words,tobeabletoreadbooksinfairlysimpleEnglish,andtoconductbasicconversations
abouthisorherdailylife(WangKun661).Studentsaregraduatingsecondaryschoolshoping
tobeabletomajorinlanguagetohelpwiththeirfuturecareerpaths.Theserequirementsare

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onlyincreasingtheirabilitiestoachieveincollegeanduniversitieswhereprogramslikethenew
4yearEnglishacquisitionprogramhasstudentsdedicatinglonghourstoperfectingtheirEnglish
skills.ThispracticeisstillinplacetodayinChinasenglishacquisitionprogram,asfoundinthe
articletitledConceptionsofaGoodTertiaryEFLTeacherinChinawherethearticleasks
Chinesestudentswhatmakesagoodteacher,andtheyanswerwithhighlevelsofprofessional
characteristicsandexcellentteachingskills,whichcreateasuperiorclassroomclimate
(Flowerdewetal.783).Thestudentsintheseprogramsexpendlonghoursofconcentrationon
theirlanguageacquisition,whilebeingleadbystrong,skillfulteachers.Thisisparalleledin
somewaysintheUnitedStatesatthecollegelevelwherestudentswhostudyaforeignlanguage
mayspendthesameamountoftimeacquiringalanguageundertheguidanceofskilled
professors.ThisisnotinpracticeattheHighSchoollevel,wheretheESLprogramssufferfrom
limitedtimeand/orresourcestoprovidesuchafocusedenvironmentfortheirstudents.

ChinahasitsbestfootforwardinthesenewlystructuredplansforEnglishdevelopment

becausestudentswhodonotdecidetomajorinforeignlanguage,arestillmandatedclassesin
languagealongwiththeirmajorstudies.WangKunfoundthatInmostoftheuniversitiesand
collegeslanguagespecialistsfromtheEnglishspeakingcountrieshavebeenrecruitedtoteach
(WangKun659).ThesespecialistsarewhattheplaninLarys1965articlehopedtoutilizeto
helpthelanguageacquisitionprocess.However,theforeignteachersin1965werelimitedto
theirteachingmethods,andthenewlytitledspecialistsoftodaysChinaarenot.Havingteachers
fromforeigncountriescomeovertoChinatoteachbenefitsthestudentsbecauseofthedeep
knowledgeofthelanguagetheteacherhas.Thestudentsarealsonottemptedtoemploythehelp
ofChineseteachersintheirnativetongue.ThepressuretouseEnglishintheclassroomis

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heightenedwhentheteacherisnotfamiliarwithChinese,orhasverylittlebackground
knowledgeaboutChinaortheChineselanguage.ThesuccessratesforChinasnewEnglish
learningtechniquesarecapitalizedintodaysglobalsocietywhere,intheory,Chinabecomesa
greatercompetitorforthegloballeaderwitheachbilingualstudenttheyproduce.

LearningEnglishinChinahasevolvedovertheyearstotryandsupportthelearning

processofstudentswhowishtolearnEnglishtobettertheirfutures.InAmerica,theoneswho
desiretolearnEnglisharetheimmigrantsthatmovetotheUnitedStatestobettertheirfuture
andthefutureoftheirkids.ThesechildrenareplacedintoEnglishasaSecondLanguage
programswheretheyaretaughtEnglishinavarietyofways.AlthoughChinaisdifferent
systematicallybecausetheirstudentsarenativetothecountry,AmericasESLprogramstoday
couldbenefitfromthekindofchangesaforementionedthatChinahasmadetotheirEnglish
acquisitionprograms.ESLprogramsinAmericamirrorthehardshipsfoundinChinasfirst
model.ThestudentsofESLprogramshavelimitedresources,unqualifiedteachers,and
insufficientmethodsofteachingtheEnglishlanguage.SharonHuckwritesinher1984article
titledSettingupaHighSchoolESLProgramthehardshipsshefoundwhentryingtobetterthe
availablemeansfortheimmigrantstudentsinherIllinoishighschool.Shestartsoffherarticle
sayingifESLstudentsinyourschoolareexpectedtopickupthelanguagebysittingintheback
ofyourAmericanLitorcompositionclassorarescheduledintothereadinglabforaperioda
day(alongwithadozenremedialAmericanstudents)andarebeinggivenwilling,butsporadic,
helpbyyourreadingspecialists,yourdistrictistypical(Huck41).TherealityofmostESL
programsarenottheplacesofgreatlanguagestride,butinsteadcanbeholeswhereimmigrant
studentscannotfindbeneficiallearningpractices.

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LimitedresourcesforESLprogramsareattherootoftheproblem.Schoolsmaynotbe

abletodishoutthefundsnecessaryforanaccomplishedprogrambecausethefundsforanentire
schoolarestretchedacrossanumberofbasesincludingbutnotlimitedto:materialsforcontent
areas,sportsteams,andpossiblebuildingrestorationsorimprovements.Huckengagesthe
processofstartinganESLprogramatherschoolandhowshepersonallywenttopublishing
companiesandaskedforsamplestohelpprovideherstudentswiththenecessaryteaching
materialstobettertheireducation(Huck43).Thisprocesstakestimethatteachersmaynothave
enoughoftodevotetotheimprovementofmaterials.Huckgivestheoptionofsendinglettersto
publishersthatthedepartmentchairshouldhavealistof.Letterwritingcanbeanoutdated
processthattakesadditionaltimetohearbackfromtherecipients,letalonethetimeforthemail
toshiptheappropriatebooks.Huckherself,isanEnglishteacherwhowasaskedtotakeonthe
roleofESLcoordinator.ShewritesIwasaskedtoinitiateanESLclassthefollowingfall(for
theinfluxofimmigrantstudents).HavingpreviouslytutoredaKoreanboyonavolunteerbasis,I
feltconfidentthatIknewwhatESLwasallabout.And,theadministrationandIagreed,whois
morequalifiedthanacertifiedEnglishteacher?Howmuchwehadtolearn(Huck41).The
influxofstudentsshouldnothavesparkedthereactiontocreateaprogram,butinsteadtobea
proactivemodelandcreateaplaceforlearnerstocomewouldhavesavedHuckthelackoftime
shehadforpreparation.OnethingHuckmentionsthatimitatestheChinesemodelistheEnglish
teachertakingontheroleoftheESLteachersinceEnglishisthelanguagetheywishtolearn.
Chinafoundthatafterallowingtheirforeignlanguagespecialiststoteachthenativespeakers,
therewasanincreaseinlearningaccomplishment.However,Huckmayhavebeenthemost
qualifiedatherhighschool,butshewouldnothavebeenthemostqualifiedavailable.

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AnotherproblemwithAmericanESLprogramsaretheteacherswhohavebeenaskedor

havevolunteeredtoteachtheclasses.TheseteachersmayhavelittletonotraininginESL,just
asHuckwas.Thiscanbeproblematicforthestudentsandtheteacherbecausethereisnoreal
planmadeforsuccess.ESLtrainingprogramshaverecentlybecomemandatedacrosstheUnited
States.TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatWilmington,hasitselfinthepastyearcreateda
sectionforESLtrainingthateachteachingmajorisrequiredtotake.Tohelpthoseteachers
alreadyonthefield,thosewithnoESLtrainingthatareexpectedtohaveESLstudentsintheir
classesareimmediatelyrequiredtohaveatwodaytrainingsessionattheircountyoffice.My
father,Mr.Antoninorecentlywentthroughthistwodaytrainingandnowhasabinderfullof
methodsandworksheetsavailabletohim.However,asmyESLteacheratUNCWwouldsay,
thetwodaysessionisnotenoughtimetofullylearnhowtomaneuverinanESLclassorhowto
accommodateforthoseESLstudentsplacedinyourclass.Huckwritesinherarticlethatweare
fortunatetohavemanystaffmembers,secretaries,cafeteriaworkers,andstudentswhoare
bilingualwhohelpwithinterpretationwhencalledupon(Huck42).Althoughthisisahelpful
tool,havingacleardesignforhowtointeractwithanESLstudentwouldhelpfillthoseempty
spacesofnotknowingwhattodoandinsteadcallinguponabilingualcounterparttofixwhatis
incomprehensible.
ThemethodsofteachinginAmericanESLprogramsalsocauseproblemsinlanguage
acquisition.InChina,thelanguagespecialistsaretheretoassistthecontinuedlearningofthe
Englishlanguage.However,oneWesternteacherwritesinasurveyaboutteachinginChinathat
ChinesestudentscometoclasswithConfucianvalues,andifweweremorepreparedforthose
beforetakingonajobinChinawewouldperhapsbebetterequippedfromthebeginning.I

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dontknowhowtoteachlargeclassesinChina,andthecommunicativeWesternmethodsarenot
alwaysworkableinlargeclassroomsAdaptingwhatweconceivedof/howweapproached
languageteachingtoChinesesettingisveryimportant.(WestenTeacher10)(Flowerdewetal.
788).Thepreparationforculturaldifferencesseemstolackinbothcountries.Providingcultural
backgroundinformationforthedifferentimmigrantstudentsinanESLclassmayhelpthe
teachertoscaffoldtheassignmentsintheclassroombywhatmaybefamiliartothestudent.
FollowingtheteachingsofKaplan,Theteachingofreadingandcompositiontoforeignstudents
doesdifferfromtheteachingofreadingandcompositiontoAmericanstudents,andcultural
differencesinthenatureofrhetoricsupplythekeytothedifferenceinteachingapproach
(Kaplan11).ThustherhetoricofConfucianismwouldhavebenefitedtheWesternTeacherin
China,justasknowingthebackgroundsofESLstudentscanbenefitanESLprogramin
America.
SharonHuckwritesabouttheavailablemeansshehastohelppromotethelearningof
EnglishforherESLstudents.TheystarttheirdayAcrossthehallfrommyclassroomistheESL
labwherethestudentsspendanadditional55minuteclassperiodandtheir25minute
homeroomperiod.Here,anaidetutorsthem,assignsthemtolistentotapesorusethe
languagemastermachine,pairsthemwithpeerhelpersorwitheachotherforconversation,and
administersexamsfromotherclasses(Huck42).Theproblemwiththismodelisthevariableof
studentstheESLclassroommayreceive.AtNewHanoverHighSchoolinWilmington,North
Carolina,thereareatleastfourtofivedifferentnativelanguagesandcultures.Thestudentswho
benefitthemostfromthesetypesofinteractionsaretheSpanishspeakingstudents,whohave
multiplesandthuspairsandgroupworkwellforthem.Thestudentswhodonotbenefitfromthis

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modelaretheoneswhocomefromcountrieslikeChinaandJapanwherethenumbersarelower.
AtNewHanoverinparticularthereisoneChinesestudent,hisAmericannameisEdward,andas
IsatandobservedhisESLclass,Inoticedhimwithheadphonesinhisears,staringathisphone
thewholetime.Iaskedhimsomequestionsafterclass,andfoundthathelovesvideogamesand
hadbeenplayingoneonhisphoneallclassperiod.HuckalsocommentsonAsianstudents
statingthatstudentsfromKorea,Japan,India,andChinawilloftenhavestudiedmanyyearsof
Englishbutwillneedhelpwithlisteningandspeakingskills(Huck42).Weknowthistobetrue
becauseoftheimplementedEnglishstudyintoChineseclassroomssincegradethree,butdowe
thinkthatEdwardisadvancinginhisspecificlisteningskillswhilesittingintheclassroomwith
headphonesin?IbelievethemodelforESLcanbebeneficialtosomegroupsofstudents,but
Chinesestudentsmaysufferfromthegeneralizedcurriculumwhentheyareinneedof
oneononeinteractionwiththeteachertoimprovetheirlanguageskills.
Rhetoricatthebaseislanguageandhowtouselanguage,thuswhilelearningaboutthe
rhetoricsofdifferentculturesonecannothelpbutseethedifferencesinimportanceoflearning
Englishbetweenonecountryandanother.Chinahasplacedsuchanimportanceuponteaching
itsstudentsEnglishthattheirmethodsofteachinghaveonlyimprovedsinceancienttimes,
withouthaltingduringthestricttimesofChairmanMao,andtothepolishedsystemoftheir
implemented4yearprogramstoday.WhilekeepingEnglishinstructionattheforefront,China
hasexpendedtimeandresourcestohavetheirstudentsonlysucceedwhiletryingtolearna
foreignlanguage.Executingaprogramthatincludesnativeenglishspeakersasteachers,
countlesshoursofinstructionandstudying,providingtimeforindependentstudy,aswellas
guidancefrompeersandspecialists,thestudentscannotbutaccomplishtheirlanguagegoals.

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AmericacanadoptthiskindofprogramtoalsohelpyoungEnglishlanguagelearnerssucceed,
byfollowingthestepsChinahascreatedtoimprovetheESLprogramsathighschoolsacrossthe
nation.ByvalidatingtheimportanceoflearningEnglishwhenimmigratingtotheUnitedStates,
countlessstudentswillbemoresuccessfulwithmoretimeandresourcesspentonthem.

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