| Teachers who come to China from the West quickly discover that the interactive teaching methods they are accustomed to in their home countries fall flat in Chinese classrooms. Questions posed to the class at large are met with awkward silence, requests for a show of hands (e.g. "Raise your hand if you like watching television") gather no response, and attempts to get students to talk with each other in English are frustratingly futile. This seeming unwillingness to engage interactively is especially problematic for English instructors attempting to use communicative language teaching (CLT), which relies upon communicative activities to build language skills.;The problem of Chinese students' reticence in an English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom has been well researched, and the literature points to a number of factors contributing to reticence: fear of losing face, high power-distance culture, and educational practices, to name just a few. What is not known, however, is why some students are not reticent. While the rest of their classmates sit silently, these few students speak up and answer the teacher's questions. When other small groups are speaking in Chinese, or not saying anything at all, these two or three students are chatting merrily in English.;The current study used qualitative methods to explore the experiences of Chinese college students in order to answer the question, what factors contribute to Chinese EFL learners embracing CLT? Interviews with 30 students were conducted, and the data was analyzed using grounded-theory methodology. A theory called Appreciating English was developed, which explains that students who appreciate their language skills are the ones most willing to engage interactively in their English classes. This central theory is comprised of three key elements: Learning Before College, Enjoying Western Culture, and Developing Oral Skills. These elements describe how students' prior experiences learning English, their use of English-language media during their free time, and their plans to use English in their future, all contribute to their valuing communicative language skills. |
