Comparison Between Western and Chinese Teaching Methodology

付宗英

Based on different culture background and education， there are great differences between Chinese and western teaching methodologies. I will draw on my own experiences in spoken English class of college studies and then make some comparisons between western and Chinese teaching methodologies from different aspects.

To begin with， in our spoken English class both Chinese and western teachers use the task-based language teaching， but they use them in different ways. The task-based approach aims at proving opportunities for the learners to experiment with and explore spoken language through learning activities which are designed to engage learners in the authentic， practical and functional use of language for meaningful purposes.

As far as our Chinese teachers， because they are from collectivist culture so they will come up with some related topics and make some illustrations， then they will give the whole class about 10 minutes to discuss about it. But the large class split socially into smaller subgroups based on particularized criteria， we often based on the same dormitory. After the discussion， when the teacher asking a question the class will be silent， the students will only speak up in class when called upon personally by the teacher. Then our Chinese teacher will ask several students to talk about that topic and make some comments. We seldom play games in our spoken English class or do some role plays.

In contrast， for our western teachers， because they are from individualism culture， so they act different from our Chinese teachers in the same teaching methods. In our Spoken English class， they always have the clear purposes and tasks towards the students， they will let everyone get involved in the class discussion and split the whole class based on universal criteria， so the students can communicate with different people in the class discussion. Besides， our western teacher will let the whole class do some role plays， so that we can have a better understanding about the topic， and practice our spoken English. In the middle of the class， they will organize some interesting games for us to play， because they think acquiring competence is more important than acquiring certificates.

Secondly， as for the competency-based teaching methods our Chinese and western teacher have different application in our spoken English class. Competency-based teaching methods focus on what learners can do with languages and competencies or learning outcomes， it enable students to become autonomous individuals capable of coping with the demands of the world.

As for our Chinese teachers， because they are from large power distance culture so our class is always teacher-centered education. We should follow our teacher step by step and our teacher is never contradicted， so even if there is something wrong we will keep silent. And students expect teacher to outline paths to follow， even for our final exam our Chinese teacher will give us some information about it ahead， and the students will follow it， so in the end the scores are almost the same in the whole class.

On the contrary， our western teacher act very different in our spoken English class. The main reason is that they are from small power distance culture， so they will teach us in different way， and our class is always student-centered education. We are our own master， we can speak up spontaneously in our class. And our western teachers always respect the independence of their students， no matter right or wrong. Besides， they always encourage us to contradict them and come up with some new ideas. In the final exam， they are very strict with us， they will never tell us what kind of chapter or topic will be tested and expect us to find our own way to the final exam， they do not like some certain answers in our text book， they would like to see our own ideas about a topic and the final score is very equal to everyone， no personal emotions.

Thirdly， as for the cooperative teaching methods our Chinese and western teachers apply them in different ways. Cooperative teaching methods depend on socially structured exchange of information in groups， and motivated to increase the learning of others， also connected to individual accountability. But for this teaching method， they also behave different in our class. The main reason is that they are from different societies.

For example， for our Chinese teacher， they are from masculine society， which means that they hold the values in large gender role separation society. So in our class cooperation process， they usually assign the boys to be the head of a group and represent the whole group to answer the question in the final part， our teacher will just sit in front of the stage， they seldom get involved in our discussion. Also， our teacher always openly praise good students and let the others learn from them， because our teacher regard such good students as the standard. Besides， if there is someone offend the authority of our teacher， corporeal punishment will be considered by our teacher because they think it is a good way to solve the problem， and other students will never offend them again.

On the contrary， our western teachers often use cooperative teaching methods differently. One reason is that they are from feminine society， which means that they hold the values in small gender role separation society. For instance， in the class cooperation part， our western teacher will take part in our discussion and listen to our different ideas， then they will give us some advice on it. They never let the boys to lead us or organize the whole discussion， because they think everyone is equal no matter boys or girls. Besides， they avoid openly praising some certain students but in our own group discussion they will praise us all. And they never use the best student to be the standard， they always use average students as the norm. Also， if we behave badly in class， our western teacher will never have corporeal punishment， they will talk with us patiently to solve the problem. And our western teachers think highly of the class cooperation， they always give us some cooperative tasks to finish， sometimes we even have spoken English class in the outside of the classroom with different people. But this kind of situation will never be happened in our Chinese teachers.

These are some differences between our Chinese and Western teaching methodologies， and we should respect the differences because teachers from different cultural milieu will have different reactions towards their teaching methods. Also， they will be influenced by these culture values and social environment. For us， we should learn from both our Chinese and Western teachers， especially their good teaching skills. So that we will be a good teacher in the future.