Communicative Language Teaching in Taiwan: Teacher Conceptions and Major Challenges

王兆璋(Chao-Chang Wang)

《應用英語期刊》 1期 (2008/10) Pp. 31-58

https://doi.org/10.29691/JAE.200810.0003

並列摘要

Current English education policy in Taiwan encourages communicative language teaching (CLT). Several changes have been made to promote classroom practices consonant with CLT. While this top-down policy to promote communication-based teaching may be welcomed by both teachers and learners, its impact awaits documentation, and major challenges in policy implementation need to be recognized to ensure its success (Savignon & Wang, 2003; Wang, 2000, 2002). Teachers' beliefs about their roles may contribute to difficulty in the implementation of CLT more than other facets such as learners' resistance (Dam & Gabrielsen, 1988) and social contexts (Wang, 2000; Wang, 2002). Hence, more research on teacher conceptions of CLT is imperative. Recent studies have documented challenges in the implementation of CLT perceived by teachers in EFL contexts (Anderson, 1993; Chang & Huang, 2001; Cheng, 2002; Dam & Gabrielsen, 1988; Li, 1998; LoCastro, 1996; Nunan, 1993; Sato & Kleinsasser, 1999, Savignon, 2002; Wang, 2002). While several papers have reported on teachers' beliefs about CLT in Taiwan (e.g., Chang & Huang, 2001; Chu, 2001; Wang, 2000), little research investigates challenges in its application and teacher needs, and none involves a large-scale sample representative of all high school teachers in Taiwan. This research study aims to examine teacher conceptions/misconceptions about CLT, challenges it may bring about to teachers, and teacher perceived needs to help implement communicative teaching. Participants of this study were 716 English junior and senior high school teachers. A 76-item questionnaire was developed on the basis of 23 high school teachers' interview accounts and was further revised after its pilot use. Data were analyzed using statistical procedures such as descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA. The results of this study have shed light on why teachers teach the way they do and what can be done to ensure successful implementation of CLT.