EFL Learner Difficult Role Transition From Secondary School To University-Full Paper

IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition
from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng
EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University: From the Perspective and Perceptions of EFL Teachers of TBLT in Western China
Feng Teng Nanning University, China Abstract Through a series of designed questionnaires, interviews and classroom observation, this study finds out that there are overwhelming differences concerning perception and implementation of TBLT in western Chinas secondary school and university English classroom. These differences deeply affect first-year university students having a difficult role transition in learning English from secondary school to university. The difficulties lie in the deep-rooted attitudes towards examination, learning strategies of passive acceptance, lack of motivation and awareness in tasks. As TBLT is one emerging central methodology for teaching English in Asian context (Nunan, 2003), its importance needs to be addressed in western China, especially in the secondary schools in order to let EFL learners have a smooth transition when they enter university.
Keywords: Task-based language teaching (TBLT), teachers perception and implementation, students role transition, secondary school, university
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies ISSN: 2308-5460 July-September, 2013 www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng
1. Theoretical Background Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) has become a hot issue in second language teaching since 1980s. Although it can be traced back to the early educational research of Dewey (1916) and Kilpatrick (1918) focusing on the relationship between democracy and education, it was in the 1980s that TBLT, associated with communicative language teaching, was adopted as a specific method in L2 teaching and have attracted increasing interests. As a teaching methodology based on the constructivist theory of learning and communicative language teaching methodology, TBLT has received great attention by many linguistic researchers (Breen, Candilin & Murphy, 1987; Prabhu, 1987; Nunan,1989). Breen (1987) points out that task refer to a range of workplans, and these workplans are to help and facilitate learning a language. And to accomplish a task, one needs particular objective, appropriate content, a specific working procedure and a range of outcomes. Prabbu (1987) proposes four classroom activities to illustrate task-based teaching which are- rulefocused activity, form-focused activity, meaningful activity and meaningfocused activity. The core of task-based teaching lies on the awareness of both learners and teachers towards the notion of classroom activity. It involves a pedagogic dialogue between teachers questions and learners responses. Teachers questions are to invite learners to demonstrate their ability to use language in the specific meaningful task. David Nunan (1989) stresses that task-based teaching involves learners to use the linguistic knowledge they have to finish open-ended tasks, that means there is no sole and set way to accomplish this goal. A task means a specific job or something that the learners need to finish, or some problems that is to be solved. TBLT entered a new era in the 1990s and it has been widely used in the field of applied linguistics as language pedagogy, as a unit of second language syllabus design, and as an assessment instrument (Crookes & Gass, 1993a, 1993b). Littlewood (1993a) stresses that tasks are learner-centred activities, and it can help the learners acquire target language. According to Wills (1996) task belongs to a framework, which includes pre-task, task cycle, language focus. Language learners have exposure to the actual use of language at the stage of pre-task, then language learners conduct peer interaction and practice with the linguistic exposure they get,
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies ISSN: 2308-5460 July-September, 2013 www.eltsjournal.org 12
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng language focus gives them the opportunities to focus on specific meaning of the language. Black and William (1998) propose formative assessment for task-based language teaching and suggest that formative assessment is very important to help the teachers use the information and feedback to facilitate language teachings. Task-based language teaching reached to its peak with advanced research in the 2000s and the concept of context play an important role in TBLT. Bygate, Skehan and Swain (2000b) believe that tasks are context-free (c.f. Ellis, 2000). Rod Ellis (2000) also stresses that task should not be defined as value, instead, it should be a context-free definition and task has different meaning in different contexts of use. And Rod Ellis (2000) re-stresses that task is a workplan; that is, it takes the form of materials for teaching language. A workplan typically involves the following: (1) some input (i.e. information that learners are required to process and use); and (2) some instructions relating to what outcome the learners are supposed to achieve. Candlin ( 2001) proposes that tasks should be tailored to different needs and demands of different learners, and a variety of contexts and conditions should be the background where the tasks are implemented. Ellis (2003) further distinguishes tasks into focused and unfocused. Under unfocused task, there is no need to make attempt to induce learners to a linguistic feature, just let it be natural. Under focused task, students should be induced to process a linguistic feature. It could be deliberately or actively. When it comes to 2010s, the importance of TBLT in applying language teaching has become very prominent and the association of TBLT to a specific language acquisition has become obvious. Newton (2013) points out the incidental vocabulary learning can be achieved in communicative tasks. But also, TBLT has become doubtful in some countries. Hu (2013) concludes that teachers in China were very doubtful of the effectiveness of TBLT in teaching classroom English, and also the pedagogical practices have not witnessed any significant changes. Even the method of top-down has been adopted in China.
2. Background to the Study 2.1 TBLT in China
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng The task-based language teaching (TBLT) method has been one of the suggested teaching methodologies in China since 2001. The core element of teaching English has shifted from focus on singular linguistic elements to communicative outcome. Learners learn to speak rather than mechanical memorizing of single morpheme. The new English language curriculum named the National English Language Curriculum Standards for secondary schools was issued in July of 2001 and was carried out experimentally in 42 designated national experimental districts throughout China beginning 1st September, 2001 (MOE, 2001, c.f. Long). From 2003, the application of TBLT has become widespread in China. In 2011, the latest English language curriculum standard was amended. According to the new English language curriculum standard, different needs and characteristics of EFL learners should be paid attention to. For example, there are differences in terms of developmental stages, personality, cognitive ability, living district, and only on the basis of satisfying the needs of EFL learner, these can achieve maximum success in communicative competency of English. So, TBLT is showing its importance in achieving this goal, especially the design of TBLT (MOE, 2011). However, there have been few studies on the practical process of implementing the task-based language teaching in the context of Mainland China ( Carless, 2004; Zhang 2005; Cheng, 2011; Xiang & Mads, 2012) The similarity of these researches is that there is limited application of TBLT in China, and most of the researches focus on the middle schools or primary schools. A very few studies have analyzed how TBLT is undertaken in university. 2.2 Motivation for this study The researcher of this study comes from Guangxi, one of the dynamic regions in western China. As the center of ASEAN, it is getting more and more attention worldwide. And other western parts of China including Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, are also facing new opportunities and challenges as China began to focus on developing the western part. One of the challenges is the practical use of English. Thus teaching English is not only a subject at both secondary school and university, but also a local and social requirement. In 2003, there were several curriculum innovations in ELT launched by Guangxi education bureau in terms of pedagogy, syllabus, assessment, and teaching materials. For example, how to improve students ability to
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng communicate in English, how to let students have cooperative learning strategy, how to conduct off-school task-based learning in secondary school (Guangxi EOB, 2003). It has been 10 years since this revolution in English teaching methodology was launched. So, it is necessary and meaningful to conduct research or investigation on whether these innovations have achieved any fundamental changes in ELT in middle schools and university, and whether traditional teacher-dominated, knowledgetransmitting and grammar-based methods are still prevalent in ELT paradigms. Secondly, the researcher being the university English teacher feels the need to investigate the subject as TBLT is being considered as a troubled and an impossible task, not fit even to the local needs of teaching by the collogues. So, it is meaningful to conduct a more through investigation to find out whether TBLT is effective in both secondary school and university. Thirdly, out of the researchers teaching experience to university first-year student, the researcher observed that there is a big gap for the students to make transition from middle school to university. EFL teaching begins from Grade 1 in junior schools and when the learner enters university, they have already learnt this language for about 6 to 7 years. But their learning strategy is still on the stage of mechanical memorizing, not to mention the practical language use. They are afraid of taking part in any English activities or tasks. So, it is also meaningful to make a comparison on the differences of applying TBLT in middle school and university and how it affects learners performance. 2.3 Significance of this study The major objective of this study is to investigate how TBLT is perceived and conducted by EFL teachers in both secondary school and university. It can provide new insights to curriculum and methodology innovators in Western China in terms of the implementation of TBLT. It can also help teachers change what happens in the classroom by using an effective methodology. This suits with the scenario proposed by Swan (1985) which is to change learners low proficiency in classroom comprehension tasks. That is changing what happens in the classroom not what happens in the learner himself (p. 8). This study also analyzes whether EFL learners role transition from secondary school to university gets affected regarding the implementation of TBLT. This study can help
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng the EFL teachers in secondary schools to have a more profound understanding of TBLT and how its practical use in English teaching classrooms will affect the learners role transition to university. And also, it can help university teachers to adopt an effective methodology in classroom which can help first-year students make a transition to learn English in university. 2.4 Research Questions The study aims to find out the answers to the following research questions1) Is it really difficult for the EFL learners in middle school to make a transition to university and do they find it hard to accept university English teaching? 2) What are secondary school EFL teachers perceptions of TBLT? 3) What are university EFL teachers perceptions of TBLT? 4) What are the differences concerning the perception of TBLT between middle school and university? Does that affect EFL learners in middle school to make a transition to university English teaching? 3. Research methodology The study adopted multiple-method design which includes: qualitative methods (interviews and classroom observation) and quantitative methods (questionnaire). To understand whether it is difficult for the EFL learners to make a transition to university in learning English, a qualitative questionnaire and interviews were used to assess the EFL learners difficult role transition. As Tom Good puts it, "one role of observation research is to describe what takes place in classrooms in order to delineate the complex practical issues that confront practitioners" (p. 337). To understand EFL learners performance and the implementation of TBLT, classroom observation was used to evaluate the process. 3.1 Participants and setting The participants of the questionnaire were the EFL teachers in secondary schools and universities and also university first year students. For the interview part, a comfortable and relaxed setting was quite important since all the participants were university first year students. The 20 participants were chosen from different majors, in order to let them talk everything needs to be natural. The setting for conducting classroom observation should be very relaxed and natural. The first classroom
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng observation was to be taken in high school, and a speaking class for university first year student was also observed to make comparison. 3.2 Procedures To understand university first-year students thoughts about the differences of learning English in secondary school and university, 800 university first year students were offered questionnaires out of which 519 returned the answered questionnaires. For the interview, 20 university first-year students from different majors were chosen randomly. All the contents of the interview were transcribed. The results were discussed in contrast with the results of the questionnaire I. In order to understand
FEL teachers perception and implementation of TBLT in secondary and university, questionnaire II (see Appendix IIII) was designed and used. 30 middle schools were visited in May and 400 teachers were requested to take part in the questionnaire out of which 390 teachers actively participated. All the schools are located in Guangxi province. 100 teachers in secondary school from other provinces including Gan Su, Yun Nan, Gui zhou province, which are all in the western part of China, were also sent the questionnaires but only 30 teachers mailed back the answered questionnaires. There are more than 30 universities in Guangxi and most of them are connected, so it was easy to request 500 teachers from different background to take part in this questionnaire. The different backgrounds helped in collecting richer data for this study. Out of the collected responses 412 responses are marked as useful and 380 responses were analyzed in order to have fair comparison with the responses from secondary schools. For the classroom observation, high school class and a university class were observed and videotaped. The data was compared with the data from the questionnaire and interview. 4. Data Collection and analysis Every procedure of the study was dealt with caution in order to get plausible and detailed answer. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 19.0 for windows was used to analyze the data. For all the questionnaires in this study, fivepoints likert scales were used, strongly disagree=1, disagree=2, no comments=3, agree=4, strongly agree=5. 4.1 Questionnaire 1
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng Appendix I is used and 519 responses were obtained from this. The students were from different parts of western China and of different background. They have different proficiency levels. But they share the similarity that they have learnt English for 7 years and have never studied abroad. This appendix is to understand first-year students ideas of whether there are differences between English teaching in middle school and university and whether they have good role transition from middle school to university. All the data were analyzed. The means and standard deviation were calculated to compare and contrast the findings. Table 1 First-year students perception of English classes in secondary school and university (n=519) Question SD/D(%) NC(%) SA/A(%) M SD 38.6 38.7 3.16 0.76 1I like university English course 22.7 very much 2. I think university English is very 29.2 38.4 32.4 3.03 0.78 interesting and creative 3. I think it is too hard to follow 23 19.4 57.6 3.15 0.76 university English course 4. I think there are many tasks to 28.6 9.7 61.7 3.33 0.89 finish in university English course. 5. I think the learning style is 12.9 5.9 81.2 3.69 0.68 different from secondary school 6. I think learning English in 5.6 1.9 92.5 3.87 0.46 secondary school is for examination 7. I think learning English in 42.2 29 28.8 2.83 0.82 university is for examination 8. Why I learn English in university 37.8 23.5 38.7 3.01 0.87 is that I really want to learn it well 9. I think my learning style has been 7.6 5.7 86.7 3.79 0.56 influenced by the way in secondary school 10. I think the way of learning 31.8 38.6 29.6 2.98 0.78 English in university is better than in secondary school Note: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree NC=No Comment SA=Strongly Agree A= Agree M=Mean Score SD=Standard Deviation From table 1, concerning question 3, most students believe that it is very difficult to follow and learn English course in university (SD/D 23%, SA/A 57.6%). In response to question 4, most students believe there are more tasks in university English course
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng than in secondary school (SD/D 28.6%, SA/A 61.7%). About question 5(SD/D 12.9%, SA/A 81.2%) , this particularly indicates that students have the awareness that learning style is different in university, and if you want to learn English well, you need to change your learning style. From question 6 (SD/D 5.6%, SA/A 92.6%), it can be understood that the core aim of English learning or teaching in secondary school is for examination. And when students enter into university, it is very difficult to change their learning style because their learning style has been greatly influenced by the way in secondary school (Question 9 SD/D 7.6%, SA/A 86.7%). For questions 1,2,7,8,10, the data might not be compared because the gap of the outcome is not big, and some of the untrue data from the students need to be considered. 4.2 Semi-structured interview In this interview, a series of eight questions were asked to find our first-year students perceptions about the strategic differences of learning English between secondary school and university (see Appendix II). When it comes to the question of what did you learn English for when you were in secondary school? The answer was for examination (Transcript1 (T1), T2, T4, T6, T7, T8, T9, T11, T12, T13, T14, T15, T17, T20), that counts for 70%. The purpose of learning English in university was also examination (T1, T2, T6, T9, T13, T17), that is for 30% students. Other students think learning English can help find a better job (T3, T4, T5, T7, T8, T9, T10, T11, T12, T14, and T15). This is according to 55% participants. Nobody thinks that the textbooks in secondary school are interesting and only three people (T3, T10, and T16) think the textbooks in university are interesting. What they always did in English classroom of secondary school were exercises and tests (T1, T4, T6, T9, T11, T14, T15, T16, T17, T18, T19, and T20). The proportional rate is 60%. What they do in university English is just listening and no activities (T1, T3, T6, T7, T11, T15, T16). That is according to the 35% of the participants. What they do in university English is just listening but sometimes they have tasks (T2, T4, T8, T12, T18, T19). It is also according to the 35% of the participants. When it comes to the question whether there are differences between teaching English in secondary and university, the answer was yes (T, T2, T4, T5, T6, T7, T9, T10, T11, T12, T13, T15, T16, T18, T20). That is according to 75% of the participants. However, no negative answer was recorded, only some students avoided to answer the questions.
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng 4.3 Classroom observation The use of classroom observation was to have a vivid understanding of actual language teaching in terms of using TBLT in secondary school and university. It was also a way to collect data about learners behaviors in English classroom context. The classroom observation continued for a month, and three typical lessons were chosen and videotaped based on the teaching plan and teachers availability. The majority of teacher As ( Zhangs) lessons were about instructions and exercises and can be analyzed through several stages (See Appendix III). The first stage in a new class was to have a quick preview of the language points learnt from the last lesson. The second stage was to learn a new passage or new grammar points. The third stage was to allocate students to finish the exercises. The last stage was to explain the answer of the exercises. Some of the classroom tasks like role-play were designed based on the dialogues in the textbooks, but unfortunately, most chapters of the textbooks were about language points, and some additional exercises textbooks were required to be purchased for the examination. In teacher Bs (Mareks ) class, a new topic was introduced in each lesson (See Appendix III). In each lesson, at least a task was designed to facilitate the use of language involving the topic. The tasks included presentation, role-play, and debate with a clear purpose of improving learners commutative competency in real-life context and tried to provide more opportunities to have actual language use. And this purpose was in line with the requirements of TBLT. The unsatisfied point was that learners were not fully engaged in the tasks. It is always the same active learners only who were taking part in the tasks. Most of the EFL learners were greatly affected by the way of learning in secondary school which is sitting and listening and waiting for the explanation. 4.4 Questionnaire 2 This is specified in the Appendix IIII and from this 380 responses are obtained. Table 2 Teachers in university have a better awareness of TBLT than teachers in secondary school n=380 Part I perception towards TBLT SD/D(%) NC(%) SA/A(%) M SD 1.I am familiar with the theory SC 5.3 13.7 81 3.76 0.53 of TBLT UNI 5.1 11 83.9 3.79 0.50 2. I am familiar with the practice of SC 23.1 20.2 56.7 3.34 0.82 TBLT UNI 13.2 6.4 80.4 3.68 0.69 3. TBLT is a student-centered SC 46.1 23.1 30.8 2.85 0.86
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng method UNI 30.1 15.4 54.5 3.25 0.88 4. TBLT focuses on the meaning SC 30.2 15.2 54.6 3.25 0.88 UNI 16.5 6.4 77.1 3.61 0.75 5. TBLT focuses on grammar SC 63.8 23.1 13.1 2.50 0.71 UNI 81.8 10.1 8.1 2.26 0.59 6. Test should be used to assess SC 45.1 30.1 24.8 2.80 0.81 TBLT UNI 58.6 38.1 3.3 2.45 0.55 7. TBLT is the same with com SC 43.1 23.2 33.7 2.91 0.87 municative language teaching UNI 56.2 13.5 30.3 2.74 0.89 Note: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree NC=No Comment SA=Strongly Agree A= Agree M=Mean Score SD=Standard Deviation SC=secondary school UNI=university From table 2, concerning the perception of TBLT, most of the EFL teachers in secondary schools and universities have a clear understanding of the theory and practice. Although university teachers seem to have a more thorough understanding than secondary school teachers (SC 81%, UNI 83.9%, SC 76.7% and UNI 81.4%). The gap is narrow and considering the slight difference of collected useful responses, this point can be neglected. Most of the secondary and university English teachers think test is not necessary for assessing the performances of TBLT (SC 45.1%, UNI 58.6%) and TBLT does not focuse on grammar, especially the university English teacher (SC 45.1%, UNI 65.2%, SC 63.8% and UNI 81.8%). The unexpected point is that there are many teachers who dont believe TBLT is student-centered, especially the secondary school teacher (SC 46.1%, UNI 30.1%). Table 3 Teachers in universities have a better implementation of TBLT than teachers in secondary school n=380 Part I Implementation of TBLT SD/D(%) NC(%) SA/A(%) M SD 8. Our school requires us to use SC 39.4 TBLT UNI 9.5 9. I often use TBLT in my teaching SC 56.6 UNI 21.7 10. Our school gives supports on SC 43.6 using TBLT UNI 3.8 11. It is very difficult to implement SC 47 TBLT UNI 16.7 12. In the process of teaching with SC 61.7 TBLT, the students are very UNI 40.7 passionate 30.5 20 20.3 63.2 23.2 1 30 33.1 25.1 23.1 30.1 70.5 23.1 15.1 33.2 95.2 23 50.2 13.2 36.2 2.91 3.61 2.67 3.42 2.90 3.92 2.68 3.34 2.52 2.96 0.82 0.65 0.83 0.82 0.87 0.37 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.87
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng 13. Students inactive involve-ment is the main reason of avoiding using TBLT 14. It is impossible to use TBLT because of the important examination SC 55.9 UNI 25 SC 16.5 UNI 46.4 24.1 25 23 13.6 20 50 60.5 40 2.64 3.25 3.44 2.94 0.79 0.82 0.75 0.92
Note: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree NC=No Comment SA=Strongly Agree A= Agree M=Mean Score SD=Standard Deviation SC=secondary school UNI=university From table 3, firstly, the secondary school does not require or give any supports on implementing TBLT in English classroom. On the contrary, most universities give emphasis on TBLT(SC 30.1%, UNI 70.5%, SC 33.2% and UNI 95.2%). Under this situation, more EFL teachers in universities than secondary school use TBLT in teaching English (SC 23.1%, UNI 63.2%). Although examination is not so important in universities as in secondary schools (SC 60.5 %, UNI 40%), but because of students inactive performance and insufficient passion in joining the tasks (SC20%, UNI 50%, SC 13.2% and UNI 36.2%), one half of the EFL teachers in universities think it difficult to implement TBLT in English classroom, not even the teachers in secondary school (SC 23%, UNI 50.2%). Table 4 Few EFL teachers have a positive view about using TBLT n=380 Part III Reflections after using SD/D(%) NC(%) SA/A(%) TBLT 15. TBLT brings pressure SC 8.6 10.2 81.2 instead of help UNI 35.6 1.3 63.1 16. TBLT is better than SC 58.7 15.2 26.1 grammarUNI 46.2 13.2 40.6 -translation method in classroom 17. TBLT brings more SC 26.7 23.1 50.2 opportunities for students to UNI 14.6 12.2 73.2 speak English 18. The current textbooks are SC 44.3 32.7 23 useful for implementing TBLT UNI 41.6 25.4 33 19. I think TBLT can be SC 56 23 21 applied effectively in Western UNI 50.7 15.3 34 China 20. I think TBLT is appropriate SC 59 21 20 for the students in Western UNI 56 20 24
ISSN: 2308-5460 July-September, 2013
M 3.73 3.28 2.77 2.95
SD 0.60 0.95 0.89 0.93
3.24 3.59 2.79 2.92 2.65 2.83 2.61 2.70
0.84 0.73 0.79 0.86 0.80 0.90 0.80 0.85

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International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies www.eltsjournal.org
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng China 21. TBLT lets students have the SC 31 23 46 3.15 0.86 motivation to learn English UNI 10.3 24.2 65.5 3.56 0.67 22. TBLT will let students SC 51.3 15.2 33.5 2.82 0.90 understand what they lack in UNI 42.5 12.3 45.2 3.02 0.93 learning English 23. Teaching in a large class is SC 48.6 2.5 48.9 2.91 0.93 difficult to conduct TBLT UNI 10.2 1.3 88.5 3.79 0.60 24. TBLT can improve students SC 64.5 23 12.5 2.48 0.71 results in examination UNI 49.2 15 35.8 3.87 0.91 Note: SD=Strongly Disagree D=Disagree NC=No Comment SA=Strongly Agree A= Agree M=Mean Score SD=Standard Deviation SC=secondary school UNI=university The shocking point learned from table 4 is that TBLT brings more pressure than help for the EFL teachers, especially the secondary schools teachers(SC 80.2%, UNI 63.1%), and few EFL teachers think TBLT is better than the traditional grammartranslation method (SC 26.1%, UNI 40.6%). Although more than half of the teachers think TBLT can provide more chances for students to speak English (SC 50.2%, UNI 73.2%) and let students have the motivation to learn English (SC 46%, UNI 65.6%), few teachers think TBLT is appropriate for the students in western China (SC 20%, UNI 24%) and can be applied effectively in western China (SC 21%, UNI 34 %). The similar problem for the EFL teachers in secondary schools and universities is the inappropriate textbook (SC 44.3%, UNI 41.6%). The main problem for university teachers behind not using TBLT is the large size of the classes (88.5%). The main difficulty for the EFL teachers in secondary school is the examination as few teachers think TBLT useful for examination (SC12.5%, UNI 35.8%). 4.5 Results and Discussion For the mentioned question1, it is difficult for the EFL learners in middle schools to make a transition to university and they find it hard to accept university English teaching. It is also clear from questionnaire 1 that most of the first-year students think the teaching in secondary school is for examination, and when they enter university, it is difficult for them to learn English in a way that should be active. They may get good results in examination, but when comes to the output ability of speaking or writing, it is quite impossible for them to perform. They have stored the input they receive, and then they transform their input into the sole goal of examination. Mixed
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng feelings can be found from the students. They think the goal for leaning English in secondary school is for examination, but nobody wants to escape from this reality. More than half of them also know learning English in university can help get a better job after graduation. But very few students want to change their learning strategies. Most of them just sit in the classroom and choose to be passive recipients to accept what the teacher teaches. They all agree that there are differences in learning English between secondary school and university, but they wont take the initiative to change it. For the mentioned questions 2 & 3, the findings of teachers perceptions and implementations of TBLT from the questionnaires and interviews are in accordance with the evidence from the classroom observation. The implementation of TBLT in university is insufficient but the rate is still higher than secondary school. That means TBLT is not totally used in university and very few secondary schools use TBLT in their classroom teaching. Mixed feelings can also be found amongst the teachers. More than 80% of teachers think that they understand the theory and the practice of TBLT. However, they seem not to have a complete understanding of the theories. Some common misconceptions, inadequate understanding could be found from the questionnaires about TBLT, particularly in response to TBLT, almost one half of the teachers think TBLT should be teacher-centered. The teachers should control and dominate the classroom. Many teachers think the school does not give any supports on implementing TBLT, but they also do not take the initiative to use this method by themselves. More than 80% of teachers think TBLT brings more pressure than help. And they also do not change this situation. Even more than 70% of the teachers still think TBLT can provide more chances to speak English. Many teachers think the textbook materials are inappropriate and TBLT is not an appropriate method in western China. They are doubtful about the effectiveness of TBLT and they are unsatisfied with a large class. And the lessons are still used for examination. However, more than 60% of the teachers think that TBLT can let students have the motivation to learn English. For the mentioned question 4, the differences in implementing TBLT between secondary schools and university deeply affect first-year students performances in the class as can be seen from the questionnaire and classroom observation. A
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng mismatch can be seen from the implementation of TBLT in university with the performances and involvement shown from the students. Learning English is no longer for examination in university, but more than 30% of the students think that to the pass of English examination weighs everything. When students have so many tasks in the class that they have always dreamt of in secondary school, their attitudes become passive and they just want to escape from the activities. Many first-year students want to speak English as they had wished in secondary, but when they need to speak English, they become afraid of showing themselves. 5. Conclusion In a learning setting, where Chinese is the medium of instruction and examination is the main aim of study, the success of learning a foreign language lies in the changing of classroom practice from the traditional teacher-centered way to a student-centered leaning practice. TBLT is an increasingly important in getting EFL learners acquire communicative competency by providing more opportunities to be exposed to more actual language use. Nunan (2003) points out TBLT as one emerging central concept in many Asian context including China based on a series of interviews with teachers, educators. However, it can be critically found that TBLT is not implemented in China from this study, especially the western part of China, a region where economy is under developing and not so prosperous. Although the implementation of TBLT in universities is more widespread than secondary schools, TBLT has not yet been adopted empirically in classroom practice, especially in secondary schools. Not only EFL learners in secondary school have limited accessibility to use English in their daily life, they also need to memorize specific linguistic points again and again in classroom in order to pass the examination. It is a big gap and it is difficult for EFL learners in secondary school to adjust their learning style when they enter university. The limitation of this study can be shown from the participants who were involved in the study. Because of time constraints and also without any authority power to expand the scope of the questionnaire, it didnt get full and in-depth responses. And also when visited the 30 schools and had a face-to-face instruction, most of the responses were helpful. But other data received from other regions might be misleading without face-to-face instruction. This study only gives insight on how the EFL learners
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng learning style in university are influenced by the way in secondary school due to the insufficient implementation of TBLT in secondary school. This study does not probe into how and to what extent the differences of implementing TBLT between secondary schools and universities influenced EFL learners. The study of the EFL learners transition from secondary school to university is a wide and vast topic which can be analyzed from a more micro perspective. This study focuses on the macro perspective. A micro and in-depth perspective of analyzing learner language, acquisition process, learning strategy is also a good way to study role transition from secondary school to university in Chinese context.
About the Author: Feng Teng is a lecturer and researcher in English with the department of English, Nanning University, China. He has done intensive research on the TBLT (Task-Based Language Teaching) in China specially in the regions like Guangxi, one of the dynamic regions in western China, and other western parts of China including Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu to investigate the EFL teachers and students perceptions towards this methodology and approach of teaching and difficulties and challenges faced by them while implementing this concept in ELT. This paper is a part of this research. References: Black, P., & William, D. (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. London: Department of Education & Professional Studies, King's College London. Breen, M. (1987). Learner contribution to task design. In C. Murphy & D. Candlin (Eds.), Language Learning Tasks (pp. 23-46). NJ: Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs. Candlin, C. N. (2001). Afterword: Taking the curriculum to task. In M. Bygate, P. Skehan & M. Swain (Eds.), Researching pedagogic tasks: Second language learning, teaching and testing. Harlow: Longman. Careless, D. (2004) Issues in teachers reinterpretation of a task-based innovation in primary schools TESOL Quarterly 38(4), 639-662 Cheng, X.Y. & Samul, M. (2012). Perceptions and Implementation of Task-based Language Teaching among Secondary School EFL Teachers in China. International Journal of Business and Social Science 24(2), 292-302. Crookes, G, & Gass, S. M. (1993a). Introduction. In G Crookes & S. M. Gass (Eds.), Tasks in a pedagogical context: Integrating theory and practice.
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng Clevedon, Philadelphia, Adelaide: Multilingual Matters LTD. Crookes, G, & Gass, S. M. (1993b). Introduction. In G Crookes & S. M. Gass (Eds.), Tasks and language learning: Integrating theory and practice. Clevedon, Philadelphia, Adelaide: Multilingual Matters LTD. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and Education. New York: Macmillan. Ellis, R. (2000). Task-based research and language pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 4 [Online]. Retrieved from http://ltr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/4/3/193 Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. Good, T. L. (1988). Observational Research: Grounding Theory in Classrooms. Educational Psychologist 25, 375379. Hu, R. (2013). Task-based language teaching: responses from Chinese teachers of English. Teaching English as a second language, 16(04). [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume16/ej64/ej64a1/ Kilpatrick, W. (1918). The project method. Teachers College Record 19(4). Littlewood, W. (1993a). Cognitive principles underlying task-centred foreign language learning. In N. Bird (Ed.), Language and content (pp. 39-55). Hong Kong: Institute of Language in Education, Education Dept. Long, X. (2007). A study of implementing TBLT in Chinas secondary school English teaching. Unpublished MA thesis. Wuhan: Central South University. McNamara, C. (1999). General Guidelines for Conducting Interviews. Authenticity Consulting, LLC. [Online]. Retrieve from http://www.managementhelp.org/evaluatn/intrview.htm Newton, J. (2013). Incidental vocabulary learning in classroom communication tasks. Language Teaching Research 17(2), 164187. Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia-Pacific region. TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 589-613. Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Prabbu, N.S. (1987). Second language Pedagogy: A perspective (pp.25-35). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (p.8). Rowley, Mass.: Newbury Xiang, Y.D. & Mads, J.K. (2012). Exploring Task-Based PBL in Chinese Teaching and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Wikipedia. (2003). (Instructions and implications for teaching English subject in Guangxi secondary school).
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng [Online] Retrieve from http://www.gxedu.gov.cn/Item/8838.aspx Wikipedia. (2011). English language curriculum standard issued by ministry of Education). [Online]. Retrieve from http://mat1.gtimg.com/edu/pdf/edu/xkb2011/20120130155515499.pdf Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based learning. Harlow, Essex: Addison Wesley Longman. Zhang, Y. F. (2005) The implementation of the task-based approach in primary school English language teaching in mainland China Unpublished PhD Dissertation. Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng
Appendix I
Questionnaire 1
Years of learning English _____ Experiences of studying abroad ______(yes/no) Gender ______ Come from_______ Major _______ According to strongly disagree ( 1 ) disagree 2 no comments ( 3 ) agree 4 agree 5 , please write the number at the bracket. 1 I like university English course very much strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 2. I think university English very interesting and creative strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree 3. I think it too hard to follow university English course strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly
strongly agree
strongly agree
4. I think there are many tasks to finish in university English course. strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 5. I think the learning style different from secondary school strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 6. I think learning English in secondary school is for examination strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 7. I think learning English in university is for examination strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 8. Why I learn English in university is that I really want to learn it well strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 9. I think my learning style has been influenced by the way in secondary school strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree 10. I think the way of learning English in university is better than in secondary school strongly disagree ( ) disagree no comments ( ) agree strongly agree
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng Appendix II Interviews questions for the students 1) Why did you learn English When you were middle school? 2). Why do you learn English When you are at university now? 3) What do you think about the textbook you are using? Is the textbook interesting? Do they have any difference from the textbook used in middle school? 4) What did you normally do in your English lessons in middle school? 5) What do you normally do in your English lessons in university? 6) What kinds of activities did you have in the middle school English lessons? 7) What kinds of activities do you have in university English lessons? 8) What do you think about university English teaching? Do you think there are any differences between middle school and university English teaching? If so, what are they? Appendix III Summary of classroom observation Teacher A (Zhang) Lesson 1 April 8th , 2013 000 Greeting 1030 Review 2018 teacher instruction 2523 students self-study 4000 Exercises explanation Lesson 2 April 15th, 2013 000 Greeting 1100 Review of the main points in last lesson 3037 learn a new passage 4000 learn the language points in the new passage Lesson 3 April 22nd, 2013 000 Greeting 938 Review of the main points in last lesson 1520 Role-play of the conversation 2010 teacher comments 3030 vocabulary learning 4000 Dictation Teacher B (Marek) Lesson 1 April 9th, 2013 000 Greetings 637 Introduce a topic 1040 students prepare to present the topic 2030 presentation 3030 Teacher comments
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng 3830 Group work 4000 Teacher summary Lesson 2 April 16th, 2013 000 Greeting 920 Warm-up 1409 Teacher presentation 3040 Role-play 4000 teacher comments Lesson 3 April 23rd, 2013 000 Greeting 658 Warm-up 1120 new topic 2020 preparation for Debate 3820 debate 4000 comments Appendix IV Questionnaire II
Dear Teachers, Thank you for your sincere cooperation for completing this questionnaire. Teach in _____ (secondary school/university) Years of teaching English ______________ Please write down the answer at the bracket. Strongly Agree please write 5, write 4 for Agree, 3 for No comments, 2 for disagreement and 1 for strongly disagreement. Part I perception of task-based language teaching (TBLT for short) 1. I am familiar with the theory of TBLT ( ) 2. I am familiar with the practice of TBLT ( ) 3. TBLT is a student-centered method ( ) 4. TBLT focuses on the meaning. ( ) 5. TBLT focuses on grammar. ( ) 6. Test should be used to assess TBLT. 7. TBLT is the same with communicative language teaching ( ) Part II Implementation of TBLT 8. Our school requires us to use TBLT. ( ) 9. I often use TBLT in my teaching. ( ) 10. Our school gives support on using TBLT. ( ) 11 It is very difficult to implement TBLT ( )
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng 12 In the process of teaching with TBLT, the students are very passionate ( ) 13 Students inactive involvement is the main reason of avoiding using TBLT ( ) 14 It is impossible to use TBLT because of the important examination ( ) Part III Reflection after using TBLT 15. TBLT brings pressure instead of help. ( ) 16. TBLT is better than grammar-translation method in classroom. ( ) 17. TBLT brings more opportunities for students to speak English ( ) 18. The current textbooks are useful for implementing TBLT ( ) 19. I think TBLT can be applied effectively in Western China ( ). 20. I think TBLT is appropriate for the students in Western China. ( ) 21. TBLT let students have the motivation to learn English. ( ) 22. TBLT will let students understand what they lack of in learning English. ( ) 23. Teaching in a large class is difficult to conduct TBLT. ( ) 24. TBLT can improve students results in examination ( )
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2 EFL Learners Difficult Role Transition

from Secondary School to University Teng, Feng

2. Background to the Study 2.1 TBLT in China

M 3.73 3.28 2.77 2.95

SD 0.60 0.95 0.89 0.93

3.24 3.59 2.79 2.92 2.65 2.83 2.61 2.70

0.84 0.73 0.79 0.86 0.80 0.90 0.80 0.85

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