“Any volunteers?” : a case study of a required oral English class for non-English major college students in China

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, Department of Teaching & Curriculum, 2016.Chinese students' reticence to speak in English classes poses a challenge for College English teachers who are tasked by the Chinese Ministry of Education to develop students' communicative abilities in English. Most prior research is based on studies of general English classes and the researchers focused on identifying the reasons for students' reticence and on finding solutions to the problem; only a few studies examined power issues involved in College English teaching in China. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore what happens in a required Oral English class for non-English major students in China. Through an intrinsic case study of an Oral English class for non-English major students in a prestigious engineering university in China, it examines what power produces in College English teaching in China and what it means to teachers and students when practicing oral English is the purpose of the class. With social cultural theories of language and critical social theories of power as its theoretical frameworks, the dissertation brings together discussions of language teaching and globalization, highlighting social and cultural aspects in the educational policy-making and the teaching practice, and drawing out power relations at the international, national, and classroom levels. Guided by constructivist grounded theory and experience-centered narrative analysis, the study reveals that globalization and the symbolic power of English, the Chinese Ministry of Education, the schools, and the public directly or indirectly interact with each other in shaping College English teaching in China. Data indicate that authenticity of Communicative Language Teaching in the local contexts involved embracing students' cultural backgrounds and that the definition of active students needs to include different forms of participation in addition to oral engagement. Data also suggest that social capital was an important determinant of one's experience of and success in English learning and college oral English classes served as perpetuators of unequal power relations between students from different family backgrounds. These findings inform research about power issues related to College English teaching in China and provide guidance for educational policy makers and teachers of College English in building equitable policies and classroom spaces for students