Teachers’ perceptions of communicative language teaching approach in English grammar teaching

Abstract

Over the decades, the reform and opening-up policy of the 1970s has pushed China to become increasingly connected to the world, leading to a growing demand for foreign exchange. The need for English language talents has promoted the transformation of teaching methods and reforms to the national curriculum. In the early 1980s, Communicative Language Teaching was introduced into the EFL setting in Chinese English classes. However, there is minimal time to practice speaking and communicating, and researchers have debated its applicability in China. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of Communicative Language Teaching in English grammar teaching in three public secondary schools; the current teaching environment affects its application, and the constraints that may prevent teachers from using it. Through semi-structured interviews, qualitative thematic data were collected from five English teachers working in three cities in Henan province. The results show that the uneven distribution of teachers between the capital city (Zhengzhou) and the other two prefecture-level cities (Xinmi and Xinxiang), the difference in the textbooks used, and the disparity in the English proficiency of the students led to five teachers’ different views on the feasibility of CLT. The findings will provide pedagogical insights for Chinese English teachers and contribute to the government’s efforts to improve Chinese public secondary schools’ teaching and learning environment.