Reframing ‘Public Lessons’ to Support English Teachers for Curriculum Change in China

Abstract

In this chapter, I will examine how public lessons, often called ‘demonstration lessons’ in Chinese teacher education circles, are used as a way to support English teachers for change in the recent innovative crosscurricula reform proposed for basic education in the Chinese context. The reform itself is regarded as the 8th nationwide curriculum innovation since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. I have been involved as a curriculum developer and teacher trainer for English. In the first part, I provide an account of the recent government initiative for curriculum change. I focus on the typical ways and forms of training, in particular, on public lessons as a prominent strategy with both its pros and cons. In the second part, I report on a survey study investigating secondary school English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ attitudes towards change, their perceived difficulties, and training needs while adapting to the change. This is followed by a discussion of the findings regarding teachers’ attitudes, perceived difficulties and training needs. In the third part, by identifying the need to develop a new model for training, I describe a reframed public lesson approach to support teachers for change, based on a more thorough understanding of the nature of change and the needs of teachers.