任彩-Issues in Contemporary Foreign Language Education.ppt

Issues in Contemporary Foreign Language Education Prof. He Gang East China Normal University 2015 Yue Xiu Institute of Foreign Studies Larry Horn’s lesson In 2010, one day in April, I made a trip to Yale University , and Prof. Lawrence Horn showed me around the campus. But the first thing he showed me was the statute that all Yale community members feel so proud of. What was that? Can you guess? It was that of Nathan Hale. You might ask me how this is related to my topic of discussion, and I must admit that this experience has set me into deep thought about what education, esp. foreign language education is really about… Questions to Address What is foreign language education about? What is the most important obligation in teaching foreign languages to Chinese students? How shall we manage to fulfill our obligations? What qualifications and prospects to achieve? What is FLE about? The first and foremost important mission of FLE is to understand what we can do to help our students to grow in a prospective way , preparing them not just linguistically, but also intellectually as well as spiritually to meet future challenges and dissolve crisis , and achieve objectives in the interest of our country , society and themselves. The most important obligation For FLE : To bring about open-minded, responsible and competent Chinese citizens with a world vision. To teach a foreign language to an individual is not to create a slave to that language or culture, but to make him/her a master , a well-informed, well-trained and well-principled language artist , like an acrobat, who is always able to keep the balance when walking on a tight-rope and skilled in making wise decisions in view of prospective outcomes. How can we manage ? Three orientations: Future-orientation: future needs, prospects and challenges; Patriotic-orientation: open-minded, constructive and defensive regarding our national interests over personal interests; Culture-orientation: target-language relevant cultu