Fish, you said:-

"Unfortunately, the overall tone--and quite often the tones of individual posters--here is often China bashing. It also has a very strong tone of foreign teachers bashing each other. I for one, and I think USMC also, am frustrated with the level of immaturity often shown here, and with the overt disrespect teachers show for each other. The phony swagger, the insults, the holier-than-thou attitudes, all prevent any kind of fruitful discourse, especially for new people just coming to this site. ESL isn't discussed here anymore, its martyred for the purpose of stretching egos."

Well said, it is unfortunate that many FTs on this forum spend more time insulting each other than trying to find solutions to the problems we encounter while teaching EFL. At the same time, though, if you're willing to sift through the sludge you can still find some pearls of wisdom.

You seem to indicate that unless an FT in China is prepared to work directly with the government in China he should not criticize the education system here. I don't agree. A teacher is an educator, and by extension he is concerned about the quality of education of his students. A teacher shows that he is genuinely concerned about his students by the way he goes about his work. A truly dedicated, committed, conscientious and whole-hearted teacher has the right to openly question the system of education he works under, without having to take a position at the top of the system, himself. I'm not saying that it would be a bad thing to do, though. That's another issue entirely.

As regards what changes need to be made, you make it sound like rocket science. The problems in Chinese education are so basic that the solutions are glaringly obvious. By focusing virtually all of each student's attention on passing exams, many students are missing out on the real purpose of education, which is to acquire not just theoretical knowledge, but to acquire skills, and practical ability. Students are not learning enough problem solving and planning skills. They' re not learning how to think critically, and how to DO things.

A simple solution to most of the ills plaguing Chinese education would be to make a real effort to change students' focus to real learning, by using exams for their true purpose; to ASISST students to LEARN. If a country had scores of farmers trying to transport their goods, by constantly putting the cart before the horse, would it need a score of geniuses to work with the government to sort out the problem? Just simply putting the cart before the horse would drastically improve progress. The details can be worked out later.

China's progress towards being a fully developed country that will leave the rest of the world behind is far from guaranteed. Unless necessary change is implemented in the way education is approached in this country, China's progress in development could be seriously stunted. If that happens, then English is suddenly going to be necessary to keep up with the rest of the world. China shouldn't cut the rope until they're sure that they don't need what is hanging on the end of it.

I can't see why the size of China, and the large numbers of English learners should stop the government embracing change. If they thought that it was worthwhile in the first place to encourage all young people in China to learn English, then why not make an effort to improve things if it's obvious that things are not progressing how they should?

I'm sure you know that using student test scores in CHINA as a barometer to asess the effectiveness of an FT is so flawed that it is almost useless. I can make my course easy to pass by making the exam questions easy and even after that, mark the student exam papers generously, all in order to make it look like my students are progressing well. Students scores prove virtually nothing, and certainly don't prove that students are really learning, especially when you consider all the cheating that goes on.

So, you believe that if a student can recite a bit of poetry, figure algebra, tell a few stories and remember a few more words, that is proof that the system works? Come on! No wonder little if any change is being made in Chinese education if they think that, that is adequate. I think that even your most basic fun-loving playboy teacher who's "only here for the beer", can get more meaningful results than that.

The concrete plan is basically not doing it like the Chinese do it. Whatever the Chinese do, do the opposite. For example, number one: try putting the horse before the cart. It works better. Make it the aim for students to study in order to learn and develop themselves, not just in order to pass exams. Compare the ability of university students in other countries compared to China. Then just follow the "plan" of those countries with the students who have real ability, past being able to memorize dates, places and years in order to pass exams. Put more pride in raising standards and being professional, rather than focusing only on getting stinking rich. China needs to get the basics right, first.

This is not a criticism of Chinese students. After nearly six years of teaching here, I am fully convinced that young Chinese people are as capable of real learning than students from any other country. Unfortunately they are not often encouraged or allowed to do so by the system in China.