A Study On English Curriculum Change Of China's Basic Education During The Thirty Years Of Reform And Opening Up (1978～2008)

Curriculum occupies the core status in school education and teaching. All the schooling practice is being carried out with curriculum for an axis. As to education, curriculum change is the key point to improve the quality of talents training and also the main basis of organizing teaching activities.Since the reform and opening up in 1978, China's English education scale has expanded unceasingly and notable achievements have been made at the same time. However, the problem of more time-consuming but poor efficiency in English education hasn't been solved completely. After more than ten years of English study, many students are still deaf and dumb to English, who can't read the English original with proficiency, either. This current situation of English teaching can't meet the needs of China's economic construction and social development. Various causes led to such a bad condition. In the macroscopic level, there are political, economic, historical and cultural factors while in the microscopic level, there are such factors as teaching management, teachers and teaching environment and so on. Curriculum itself, however, is exactly the most direct and fundamental factor, including the setting of curriculum goals, the selection of curriculum contents, the implementation and evaluation of curriculum as well. Therefore, it is of great necessity for us to make a study on English curriculum change of China's basic education during the thirty years of reform and opening up. And it is undoubtedly very meaningful to carry forward the basic English curriculum change both in theory and practice.Mainly using the methodologies of historical research, document analysis and logical argumentation, this dissertation analyzes from three main dimensions, which are the analysis of background, the course system, the achievements and deficiency, together with enlightenments of English curriculum reform of China's basic education. It divides the thirty years of English curriculum change since 1978 into four phases, namely restoration (1978 - 1984) development (1985 - 1991) adjustment (1992-2000)and the new-round curriculum reform(1999-2008).The main clue of this dissertation is made up of reform and opening up, implementation of nine-year compulsory education, transition from "exam-oriented education" to "quality education" and the comprehensive promotion of quality education. It conducts a comprehensive summary and reflection for the English curriculum change in basic education in the past thirty years since 1978. Through reviewing the past, caring about the reality and previewing the future, it tries to find some efficient methods and strategies for the continuous propelling of English curriculum reform.Except the introduction and conclusion, this dissertation is divided into five chapters whose main contents as follows.Introduction mainly clarifies this research's origin, current situation, methods and meaning. It also gives a definition to some relevant concepts and provides with the reasons to divide the thirty years of English curriculum in basic education.Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 1978, through bringing order out of chaos and the policy of reform and opening up, the English curriculum in basic education has been given a good opportunity of restoration. English curriculum of this phase mainly aims to cultivate students'reading ability and has established English's status in basic education. New textbooks were published and the differences of English education were emphasized. However, suffered from the decade of domestic turmoil (1966-1976), English education was in a poor station with teachers'shortage and teaching concepts backward. English teaching overemphasized the knowledge instruction (especially grammar knowledge) while ignored the cultivation of students'language ability.In 1985, the Resolution of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee about Education System Reform contacts nine-year compulsory education with improvement of national quality and China's prosperity. Basic English education stepped into a phase of rapid development. English curriculum aims to educate the students'basic ability to use English for communication. The research and filing of the teaching syllabi became increasingly scientific and open. The relationship between language teaching and ideological education was correctly dealt with. But influenced by Structural Linguistics deeply, English teaching overemphasized knowledge memorization and drills practice, which increased students' learning burden.In 1993, Chinese Education Reform and Development Outline requires elementary and secondary school to transform from test-oriented education to quality-oriented education. It also demands to adjust the teaching plan and decrease the students'heavy burden of assignment. English teaching in this phase aims to cultivate students'communicative capability and solved efficiently the problem of connection between the middle school and primary school, with a good situation of one criterion, multiple textbooks coming into being. But because of the strong status of test-oriented education, the curriculum contents were separated from students'lives and English teaching still overemphasized reception learning.In 2001, to put into practice the strategy of revitalizing China through science and education and implement "cross-century" quality education project, the Reform Program for Basic Curriculums (Trial) was published and a new round of basic education curriculum reform was launched. The New National English Curriculum faces all the students, pays close attention to students'affection and advocates task-based language teaching. It aims not only to develop students'overall language ability and consciousness of cross-cultural communication but also to lay a solid foundation for their all-round and life-long development.Based on the front four chapters about the summary and reflection to the English curriculum change, chapter 5 looks into the future of English basic curriculum reform.Conclusion briefly summarizes the thirty-year history of English basic curriculum change and tries to advocate English teachers to treat the curriculum change from a visual angle of development, trying to play a role of good promoters so as to make some contributions for the improvement of English teaching quality.