Principled Eclecticism In College English Teaching

Eclecticism in language teaching holds that although no single language teaching method proves to meet all the teaching and learning needs, many methods have valuable insights that should be drawn on. But it is criticized for lack of principles. Thus principled eclecticism and teaching by principles are pursued. This study aimed to investigate whether the real teaching practice of principled eclecticism was eclectic and principled as the advocates described on the theoretical level. Besides it probed the attitudes and perceptions of the College English teachers in China toward eclecticism and principled eclecticism in their teaching in the intensive English language program (IELP), and their teaching methods/approaches and techniques were also examined.The research method can be described at two levels. Level-1 study included a pilot study and an extensive survey of college English teachers of non-English-majors (College English teachers hereafter) to investigate their teaching methods/approaches and techniques as well as their attitudes and perceptions toward eclecticism and principled eclecticism in classroom teaching. Level-2 study used a case study approach consisting of qualitative methods of data gathering and analyses. The author observed, taking field-notes and videotaping, a College English class at a key state university in Shanghai for twelve weeks. During the field observation, the class were asked to answer a questionnaire about their English learning motivation, attitudes, needs, and so on. At the end of the semester, three of them were selected, as representatives of three typical learning styles, to participate in person-to-person interviews which asked them about their changes in this semester as a reflection of the teaching and learning effect.The results of this study have revealed that most College English teachers have positive attitudes and perceptions toward eclecticism and principled eclecticism, and correspondingly they draw on principles from various methods and approaches. Taken as a whole, the techniques they employed focused on both form and function and resulted in both learning (conscious) and acquisition (subconscious). The case study demonstrated that the real teaching practice under observation was absolutely eclectic and principled, which owes its success to the instructor's sound theoretical basis in language teaching and learning, her teaching and learning experience and herrecognition of the teaching and learning dynamics of the class.These findings contribute to a better understanding of the status quo of College English teaching in the IELP in China and identify teaching principles underlying principled eclecticism for the reference of College English teachers so that they may hopefully take fewer roundabout courses in their work.