A Research On Alteration In English Curriculum Implementation In High Schools

The new high school curriculum reform was officially launched in our country in2001.Unprecedented by all previous ones, the new curriculum reform is of the largest scale andwith the deepest influence. Great changes have taken place in the high school Englishteaching since the new curriculum reform was implemented. However, based on the author’sknowledge and experience as an intern in a high school, the real implemented Englishcurriculum in high school currently is far from what is expected in the English CurriculumStandard for Chinese High School Students. Alteration in English curriculumimplementation is a serious problem. This research intends to conduct a tentative analysis ofthe manifestations, types and features, causes, etc. of this problem by addressing thefollowing questions.(1) In what aspects are the alterations of curriculum implementation reflected in highschool English teaching?(2) What types of curriculum alterations are there?And what are their features?(3)What are the causes of alterations in high school English curriculumimplementation?Based on a literature review of alterations in English teaching, the author spent aboutone month conducting classroom observations in five classes in the High School Attached toHunan University, distributed300questionnaires to high school students in those five classesfor a better understanding of the degree of satisfaction of students on English curriculumimplementation, and had an interview with three English teachers for more informationabout curriculum implementation such as the manifestation and causes of curriculumalteration. Based on the data collection and analysis, our findings are:(1) Alteration does exist in high school English curriculum implementation, and itmainly manifests in four aspects, which are the only partially-achieved curriculum objective,preferences in choosing curriculum content, old and singular teaching methods and thelagging assessment, etc.(2) Two types of alteration exist in the curriculum implementation: i.e. amplificationaland attenuational alteration. Amplificational alteration makes the process of curriculumimplementation become more and more completed thus transcending the preparatorycurriculum. It drives innovation, brings adaptation and promotes further development andprogression of the curriculum. While attenuational alteration could lead to distortion of thecurriculum, as well as the declining of the implementation effect. And when distortion approaches a certain degree, the implementation of the curriculum would be deviated or evenentirely apart from the expected goal of curriculum reform.(3) Various causes result in the English curriculum alteration in high school, such as thecurriculum itself, students’ former learning background; teacher’s quality and timemanagement, principal’s influence, a schools’ culture of research and communication, andsocial and family environment, etc.According to the results, the author has derived certain implications, that schools,English teachers and students have to work together to promote amplificational alterationand avoid attenuational alteration.It is hoped that this study is of some practical significance for the high school Englishcurriculum implementation.