Jurnal: English Reading Instruction in Elementary Schools in China Ran Hu East Carolina University

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study is to explore English reading instruction in elementary schools in China under the revised curriculum in 2001. Eleven English teachers in three elementary schools in Beijing participated in this study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and documents. The study reports seven aspects of knowledge that beginning English reading instruction in these schools has covered, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, grammar, and cultural knowledge, as well as the instructional activities provided by these teachers.

INTRODUCTION
No one can deny the fact that English has become the language of globalization because of its use in social, economic and political fields in many countries. With China‘s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001 and its hosting of the Olympics in 2008, English has been closely associated with Chinese people‘s daily life. It has become a key to success and to the world outside China. The Ministry of Education (2006) has reported that more than 300 million Chinese people are learning English, and that the total number of English learners in China will surpass the total number of native English speakers in the world in the next few years. The hunger for learning English has made it a required subject in elementary school. In 2001, English became a required subject starting at third grade (MOE, 2001a). The Ministry also suggested that some elementary schools could start English instruction as early as first grade if they had the capacity. The 2001 National English Curriculum Standard (NECS) promoted the idea of developing students‘ comprehensive language abilities through language application (MOE, 2001b). Under this revised curriculum, language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, should be the foci. However, reading and listening should be emphasized first and foremost because the abilities to read and comprehend assist writing and speaking abilities (Bao, 2004; 2006).
Though it has been seven years since the implementation of the new curriculum, the teaching of English at elementary school is still in the experimental stage. There remain problems associated with this implementation, such as the insufficiently developed curriculum to include English as a required subject in elementary schools and the shortage of qualified teachers and resources (Bao, 2004, 2006; Cui, 2002). Given the current situation, the purpose of this descriptive study is to reveal what and how English reading is taught in elementary schools in Beijing China. Three elementary schools in Beijing were selected based on the convenience sampling method and 11 English teachers in these schools participated in the study. What aspects of English reading are taught in elementary schools in Beijing China and how they are taught? comprises the study‘s major research question.

WHY FOCUS ON READING?
The term Reading has different definitions in different times and under different contexts. In the United States, where English is the native language, three definitions of reading were identified and have influenced the literacy programs for years (Foertsch, 1998). The first definition stated that learning to read means learning to pronounce words; the second that learning to read means learning to identify words and get their meaning; and the third that learning to read means learning to bring meaning to a text in order to get meaning from it. Collectively, these three definitions reflected a complete prospective about reading. However, current literacy research suggests a more comprehensive view. The National Reading Panel (2000) reported that phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension are the five components to be included in reading instruction. Other research also recognized the importance of skill instruction as one part of the reading process and recommended a balanced reading instruction for all (Allington & Cummingham, 1996; Au, 1993).
In the world of teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL), reading as well as listening, speaking and writing have been identified as the four basic skills in language learning. Reading is considered especially valuable under the foreign language context because it is one major source for students to obtain language input (Ediger, 2001). The term reading has also been used to refer to two different processes: reading aloud from the print and reading for comprehension (Chastain, 1988). While both processes are important for learning to read a foreign language, most reading research to date has focused its attention on reading for comprehension in the Chinese context (Hu, 2007).
The 2001 NECS specified six objectives for reading instruction at elementary schools. It stated that students who complete elementary school should be able to (1) recognize words and phrases that they have learned (); (2) read easy words based on spelling rules (, ); (3) read and understand easy directions on the textbooks (); (4) read and understand the simple information on greeting cards (); (5) read and understand easy stories and essays with the help of illustrations and form the habit of reading based on semantic chunking (, ); and (6) read aloud stories and essays with fluency and accuracy () (MOE, 2001b, p. 11). These objectives emphasized both reading out loud and reading for meaning. Therefore, instructions should be provided to meet these goals.