VISUAL RHETORIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING CHINESE EFL LEARNERS

A Thesis
Presented To
Eastern Washington University
Cheney, Washington

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree
Master of Arts
Teaching English as a Second Language

By
Lance M. Chase, M.B.A.
Summer 2009

THESIS OF LANCE M. CHASE APPROVED BY

Tracey A. McHenry, Ph. D.

Associate Professor of English
Chair, Graduate Study Committee

Date

La Vona L. Reeves, Ph. D.

Professor of English and Womens and Gender Studies
Member, Graduate Study Committee

Date

David May, Ph. D.

Professor of Government and International Affairs
Member, Graduate Study Committee

Date

MASTERS THESIS

In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a

masters degree at Eastern Washington University, I agree that the JFK
Library shall make copies freely available for inspection. I further agree
that copying this project in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly
purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of
this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be
allowed without my written permission.

Signature
Date

ABSTRACT
This thesis discovers research on many topics which inform how the use of visual
information may be helpful in the EFL classroom when the student population is
comprised of native Chinese speakers. From the information presented, discussion of the
need for English speakers in China will demonstrate that there is a desire to learn English
among Chinese native speakers. The history of English teaching in China presented will
show that while English teaching methods have changed since EFL was added to the
curriculum of Chinas public schools in the 1950s, this evolution has not implemented
the use of visual information in the EFL classroom at a recognizable level. This thesis
also describes the Chinese written character and the effects it may have on the brain of
Chinese native speakers, including how it organizes and recalls information. Finally, the
use of visual rhetoric, viewing, visually representing, and imagery are examined as
options for including the use of visual stimuli in the Chinese EFL classroom.
This thesis is in response to an idea that EFL teaching should be comprised of
listening, speaking, reading and writing. From presented discussion, it will become clear
that Chinese native speakers would likely benefit from the use of these new methods, and
they are likely willing to try the activities in their English language learning.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like begin by thanking my thesis committee chair Dr. Tracey McHenry,
who looked over each of my drafts and spent many hours helping me to revise them. Her
attention to the details of each section and guidance on each step of my entire thesis
writing process has been superb. I greatly appreciate her accessibility and time that she
has offered in my studies and my thesis writing. I would also like to thank Dr. LaVona
Reeves, who helped me create a great activity that helps make my thesis research more
useful for the classroom. Her advice on teaching and writing has been instrumental in my
education for my MATESL degree. The guidance I have received from Dr. Reeves and
Dr. McHenry has taught me how to be both a researcher and a teacher. I also want to
thank Dr. Dave May, who was very kind to be on my thesis committee and gave some
extremely thoughtful comments on my draft. Finally, I want to thank my family who has
stood beside me in my education and has always believed in my abilities to become an
EFL teacher.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ...........................................................................................4
Acknowledgements ........................................................................5
List of Figures ..................................................................................9
List of Appendices .........................................................................10
Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................13
English as a Second or Foreign Language .........................14
The Importance of Chinas Economy ................................15
English Learning in China .................................................16
Overview of Thesis ............................................................18
Chapter Two: Overview of English in China ................................20
English as a Foreign Language in China ...........................20
The Evolution of EFL in China .........................................24
Crazy English .....................................................................35
Chinese EFL Learner Strategies ........................................38
Chinese EFL Student Learning Styles ...............................42
Conclusion .........................................................................44
Chapter Three: The Chinese Written Language ...........................46
The Evolution of the Character ......................................... 46
The Elements of a Character ..............................................47
Chinese: A Logographic Writing System ..........................48
The Ideophonetic Compound .............................................49

Conclusions ........................................................................52
Chapter Four: Contemporary Brain Research and its Relevance to Language Learning
............................................................................................53
The Brain ...........................................................................53
Pinyin and Chinese Readers...............................................60
Dyslexia in Chinese Readers ............................................ 62
Conclusions ........................................................................64
Chapter Five: Visual Stimuli in the EFL Classroom .....................66
Introduction ........................................................................66
Visual Rhetoric ................................................................. 67
The Six Language Arts and the Absence of Visual Representation
...........................................................................................70
A Visual EFL Classroom ...................................................72
Imagery ..............................................................................74
Lesson Plan: Hopes and Dreams........................................76
Teacher Read-Aloud: Obamas Trips to Kenya.................77
Flow Chart Graphic Organizer...........................................80
Venn Diagrams ..................................................................81
Conclusion .........................................................................82
Chapter 6: Conclusion....................................................................84
Introduction ........................................................................84
Limitations of Current Study .............................................85
Recommendations for Future Research .............................86

Conclusions ........................................................................86
References ......................................................................................89
CV

............................................................................................96

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Evolution of Chinese Characters ....................................46
Figure 2: Explanation of the Radical + Pronunciation...................50
Figure 3: ALE Map .......................................................................56
Figure 4: Neural Map .....................................................................57
Figure 5: Brain Volume Activation Map .......................................58
Figure 6: The brain, demonstrating Brocas and Wernickes area 59
Figure 7 Comparison of brain scans ..............................................62
Figure 8: Normal and Dyslexic Brain Scans..................................64

LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Features of the English Curriculum in Five Periods since the Founding of
the PRC ..............................................................................87
Appendix 2: The 214 standard Chinese Radicals ..........................88

10

Language Learning Profile

Updated July 16, 2009
My language learning experiences have come in three stages in my life. During
high school and my first Bachelors degree I studied German, and finally traveled to
Germany for one month during the summer of 1999. During my second Bachelors
degree I began to study Chinese, and continued to do so for two school years. I
eventually traveled to China for one month (and Thailand for almost two weeks) during
the winter of 2006 to study the language and culture. Most recently I have been studying
Japanese at Eastern Washington University, and I will continue my studies when I travel
to Japan to teach English with the JET Program.
A recurring theme in my language learning is fun. I havent necessarily learned a
language to help me get a job or prepare me for travelalthough I hope to visit many
countriesI have learned different languages mostly for fun. During high school my
German studies gave me a reason to even go to school, and it was a lot of fun to me to
learn about a different language and culture. While I didnt know it at the time, studying
German was the most helpful thing I have ever done to improve my writing. I learned
about the parts of speech and how to apply rules to my writing in English. It was during
this time that I really began to improve my writing. While in college I focused on
learning more vocabulary and intricacies of the language. When I traveled to Germany I
focused more on vocabulary and culture and how to improve my language learning. It
was at this time that I really began to learn about my learning style.
During my second Bachelors degree I began to learn Chinese, and once again for
fun. The class was offered at a convenient place and time, and after a couple class

11

meetings I really enjoyed studying another language again. I found that the entry level
Chinese that I learned was quite an easy language to speak because of its logic, and
because it was so different from any language I had previously studied. The sentence
structure and word forms are very logical and there is no verb conjugation for tenses to
confuse me. My least favorite part of learning Chinese is the character. I only learned a
handful of very basic characters, which may have made me feel so easy about speaking.
Although, my speaking abilities have declined since I do not practice speaking regularly.
Since July 2008, I have been learning Japanese, once again mostly for fun. I
started with listening to Pimsleur audio cds in my car, because I have come to realize
over the years that I am an audio type of learner. In September 2008 I started formal
classroom learning and increased my level substantially. While I clearly remain to be an
introductory learner, my confidence in my ability to learn Japanese has grown
substantially. This has become even more important as I prepare to teach in Kutchan in
Hokkaido, Japan with the JET Program.
In reflection of my language learning experiences, my language learning has
allowed me to learn about other cultures, but also myself. I have learned that listening to
things is the most effective way for me to learn and retain information. While this helps
with my language learning it has also helped in earning my two bachelors degrees, my
M.B.A., and my MATESL. It is clear to me that by learning languages I have learned
about my strengths in learning, which I am sure will continue to serve me well in the
future.

12

Chapter 1: Introduction

English A Worldwide Lingua Franca

A macro view of todays worldwide economies shows that many countries rely on
foreign economies in order to buy and sell the goods and services produced and desired
by its people and industries. In order to accommodate this need for international trade,
English has become highly regarded as the language of international business (Connor et
al., 2005; English, 2005; Gilsdorf, 2002; Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007). Furthermore,
English has been widely accepted as the lingua franca of international business (Connor
et al., 2005; English, 2005; Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007). A lingua franca can be
described as a common language which is used by speakers of different languages. For
example, if a native Chinese speaker and a native German speaker were to conduct
business negotiations in English, the lingua franca would then be English. Studies
around the world in places such as Finland, Turkey and Hong Kong all confirm that
English is an important element of communication in international settings and just as
important to many business people around the world (English, 2005). While English is
not the first lingua franca known to the world, and it is unlikely to be the last, it is likely
to remain the lingua franca of the world for at least the next fifty years (Connor et al.,
2005; English, 2005). As Gilsdorf (2002) asserts, one simple indicator of the
importance of English as the lingua franca is the fact that nearly 75% of websites hosted
on the internet are created and hosted in English.

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English as a Second or Foreign Language

English as a Foreign Language, or EFL as it is known in the industry, is the
teaching of English to non-native speakers in a context where it generally is not spoken
on a regular basis or where it is not spoken by most people in the community in which it
is being learned, for example, a non-Anglophone country such as China. English as a
Second Language (ESL), is when non-native speakers will be using English as a second
(or third, or fourth, etc.) language generally while living or communicating in an English
speaking country. In addition, there is also English for Specific Purposes (ESP), English
for Academic Purposes (EAP), English for Occupational Purposes (EOP), and English
for Business Purposes (EBP). In the pedagogical environment, EAP, EOP and EBP have
all been described to fall under the category of English for Specific Purposes or ESP
(Esteban & Canado, 2004; Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007).
While it may seem that English is new in China, which is reflected in its EFL
status, in fact English learning has a history in China dating back over 50 years. While
English course names have changed over the 50 years, English courses remain to be
focused towards foreign trade and business (Zhang, 2007). In China during the 1950s
and 1960s, business English programs were called English Translation for Foreign
Trade (Zhang, 2007). The program names evolved to English for Foreign Trade in the
1970s and 1980s, English for Specific Purposes (international trade) in the early 1990s,
English (economics and trade) in the late 1990s, and finally to English from 2000 to
the present (Zhang, 2007). Given this evolution of the terms throughout its history in
China, the term business English can suffice to represent the teaching of strategic
communication with an emphasis on business to second language learners. Since English

14

has historically been focused towards students learning for business purposes as these
different labels suggest, this thesis will undoubtedly be applicable to teaching business
English. However, the thesis will also attempt to offer analysis of methods and
recommendations for English teaching to Chinese native speakers for any EFL purpose.

The Importance of Chinas Economy

In todays global economies, China has increasingly become an influential player
in international business (Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007; Zhu, 2006). This increase in
international business has created a large demand for business people who can speak the
international lingua franca, or English within China (Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007).
For these reasons, English has been increasingly taught at the university level due to the
university students level of English and prior business knowledge (Pang et al., 2002;
Zhang, 2007).
On November 10, 2001, China finally gained entry into the World Trade
Organization (WTO). This was the result of a great deal of effort, and had been worked
towards since the early 1980s when China first opened its doors to international trade
(Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007; Zhu, 2006). According to Pang et al., (2002), Chinas
economy is expected to maintain an annual growth rate of 7 percent, and the expected
values of imports are expected to exceed $2.5 trillion over the next decade. This boom in
the Chinese economy has created a level of unprecedented importance for English and
business English in the Chinese educational system (Bolton 2002; Pang et al., 2002). The
move towards a market economy started a new demand for students of business to begin

15

to learn English, and in turn, students of English to begin to learn business (Bolton, 2002;
Pang et al., 2002; Zhang, 2007).
English Learning in China
In colleges and universities throughout China, English has become a compulsory
course and has led to the development of the national College English Test (CET Band 4
and Band 6) (Pang et al., 2002). Pang et al. (2002), explains that this was developed to
test students knowledge of the English language and further asserts,
The certificate of CET 4/6 has attained such a high social value that it is
now believed to be a passport to better-paid employment in business
trading firms or joint-venture companies in Chinas increasingly
competitive job market. In fact, English is considered so important that a
great majority of universities in the country pursue a policy of no CET
4/6 certificate, no graduation diploma so as to push their students to
improve their English proficiency (pp. 202-203).
In addition to the CET 4/6, other national tests have been created. These include
the China Public English Test System (PETS, which tests English skills of the society at
large as well as the Business English Certificate (BEC), which tests the level of
knowledge in business English (Pang et al., 2002).
In addition to these compulsory course requirements within the educational
system, there are additional reasons for Chinese people to learn English. According to
Ding Ying and Ni Yanshuo (2003), the recent entry of China into the WTO and the 2008
Olympics has created a need for Beijingers to make great efforts to learn English and
create an internationalized language environment (p. 23). Furthermore, learning

16

English has become fashionable, and is exerting a subtle influence on peoples lives
(Ding Ying and Ni Yanshuo, 2003, p. 23).
Testing in China is also a motivating factor for students to learn English. The test
may be for the aforementioned CET 4/6, or the Test of English as a Foreign Language
(TOEFL), which is required by many foreign universities to study abroad, or the GMAT,
GRE, or MCAT, which are required for studying abroad in graduate schools, as well as
others. Students who score well on an exam are even praised for their achievements as
discussed here by Chen et al. (2005), by scoring high on an exam, a person in China will
immediately be lauded for his or her capabilities much as a sports icon is in the United
States (p. 622). Furthermore, these high achievers can also become iconic in their own
right among other test takers in China as further discussed by Chen et al. (2005),
Chinese bookstore shelves are crowded with bestsellers on test taking, often written by
authors who have made their mark by setting some kind of record on one exam or
another (p. 622). These examples certainly demonstrate one difference in the cultures
between America and China on what is valued in schooling, and this will be discussed
further in chapter two.
The increase in demand for both business and English multiplied the number of
students taking courses related to business English (Bolton, 2002). According to Chen et
al. (2005), more than three million college freshmen in China are studying English, which
is nearly twice the number of all college freshmen within the United States. The increase
in importance of international business to Chinas economy and people has increased the
number of students studying English, which in turn has and will continue to increase the

17

demand for teachers who are competent in teaching business English and EFL (Bolton,
2002).

Overview of Thesis
The purpose of this thesis is to explore research that can shed light on the best
ways to teach EFL to Chinese students. In order to do this, first a discussion on ways that
Chinese students have been taught and the evolution of English in Chinas education
system, and learning styles and strategies employed by Chinese learners of English
should be covered in order to give a foundation of how Chinese students have
encountered English in the past. In chapter three, the Chinese character and its visual
makeup will be discussed to give a foundation on the writing system in China before I
present a discussion about the writing system and learning. In chapter four, the ways that
the brains of Chinese native speakers have been observed to store and access information
will be discussed in order to find if brain research can help us understand how Chinese
speakers store and use language. Chapter five will discuss visual stimuli, visual rhetoric,
and imagery, and their importance in our English speaking society today, as well as the
six language arts and the relative absence of viewing and visual representing in teaching
methods in Chinese EFL classrooms.
The purpose of reviewing these many seemingly unrelated topics is to discuss the
visual properties of the Chinese character and how it may influence the way that the
brains of Chinese native speakers access and organize information because of the visual
make-up of the character. To understand what we should or should not do in the EFL
classroom, it is important to understand how the culture and history of English education

18

in the past influences the way that English is taught in China today, which shows that
visual representation is not often addressed. Finally, the research will review visual
stimuli, visual rhetoric, and imagery and offer one activity that can be used in the EFL
classroom to take advantage of this natural predisposition of Chinese native speakers to
store and recall visually presented information. While the purpose of this thesis is not to
categorize all native Chinese speakers as rote memorizers of visual information, so all
English teaching should be visual, it intends to shed light on how English has been
taught in China and the reasons for increasing the use of viewing and visually
representing with other reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities in the EFL
classroom.
Assumptions
I entered the research process with the assumption that there is a connection
between native language writing and foreign/second language learning. Furthermore, my
assumptions in this thesis includes the idea that that the Chinese written character has an
effect on the way that the brain of native Chinese speakers organizes and stores
information, including language. If this effect can be observed in brain activity, it seems
reasonable that we can learn which areas are activated in language use in native Chinese
speakers and apply teaching methods in the classroom that support the pathways used in
native language processing, including the use of visual rhetoric. Since visual rhetoric is
difficult to define and understand, a thorough discussion will be given to discern if it
would be a useful tool in the EFL classroom. My final assumption is that visual rhetoric
will be very useful in the EFL classroom.

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Chapter Two: Overview of English in China

English as a Foreign Language in China

English is a core course required by all students in secondary and tertiary
education in mainland China (Ouyang, 2000), and Chinese students have been studying
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Chinese universities and public schools for over
fifty years. Over those years, many different teaching methods have been employed in
the classroom, often in accordance with the current political atmosphere. Historically,
the methods have included the audio-lingual method, the grammar-translation method
and communicative language teaching. However recently, there have been movements to
an English learning craze, popularized by Li Yang and his Crazy English approach, and
a blending of many methods with the audio lingual method to improve English learning.
In addition, with improvements in technology and its availability in the language learning
classroom, computer assisted language learning (CALL) has also been employed in
Chinese EFL classrooms. However, through a discussion of these methods, it will
become clear that the use of visual stimuli and imagery has not yet been really employed
in any method used in the EFL learning classroom in China.
The Audio-Lingual Method
The audio-lingual method used in teaching EFL in China has mostly been focused
on the use of pattern drills to form correct speaking habits through the learning of basic
grammatical structures in English (Xu, 1993, p. 7), and is mostly used in Chinese middle
and high schools. These basic grammatical structures include but are not limited to

20

learning passive voice, modal auxiliaries, auxiliary verbs, verb tenses, and basic word
order.
The goal of the audio-lingual method in Chinese classrooms is to allow students
to form correct speaking habits by providing lots of opportunities to practice and speak
English in the classroom (Xu, 1993). By speaking in the classroom, Xu (1993) asserts
that students will acquire correct speaking habits which will help them become capable of
identifying the meaning-structure rules in effective communication, and that they will
become totally comfortable with receiving and producing language naturally (p. 7). Xu
(1993) found in her classrooms that the mechanical drills were extremely helpful to her
Chinese students through performing mechanical drills in chorus that helps students
overcome their fears of speaking in class where other students, and especially the teacher,
can hear their mistakes. The audio-lingual method also allows for natural language
production through communication in the classroom with other students. While the
benefits of the audio lingual method used in EFL classrooms in China allows for every
student to be included and enhances speaking and listening skills, there is generally not
much emphasis on the use of visual stimuli which can prompt and enhance the English
language learning by these students.

The Grammar-Translation Method

With the use of the grammar-translation method, English can be taught to students
in their own native language. This method is also used in middle and high schools in
China quite often. With grammar-translation, students are generally asked to translate
vocabulary lists, printed grammar rules and sample sentences from their native language

21

to the target language, or vice versa. With this method, students also rote memorize those
same vocabulary lists, grammar rules and sample sentences. (Among other topics,
chapter two discusses a widely held belief that the Chinese language also requires
students to rote memorize their own language, which may play a role in the prominence
of use of this method).
According to Xu (1993) there are several advantages to using the grammar
translation method to teach English to Chinese EFL learners, and gives three examples of
these advantages. First, grammar translation can reduce the use of Chinglish the
incorporation of some Chinese vocabulary or grammar when communicating in English.
This can usually be found in writing by a university student who is a native Chinese
speaker where the words in a sentence are English, but the sentence structure is Chinese.
The second advantage as asserted by Xu (1993) is that grammar translation can be
economical and effective in explaining a concept. The example she uses is if a teacher
was to try and explain the meaning of a word such as electricity. The first step would be
to define the word, but the definition may contain more difficult and complicated words
such as electrons, protons, voltage, amperage, etc., and would only cause more difficulty
and confusion in trying to learn the word. However, if the translated Chinese word for
electricity is given, much time can be saved in class for other activities and the confusion
of other insignificant trivial words can be fully avoided. The third advantage of using the
grammar translation method as asserted by Xu (1993) is that students may become
translators in the future and for that reason, learning how to perform translations can be
helpful. With grammar translation the question has not been if translation should be used
in the Chinese EFL classroom or not, the question has often been how much, and how, so

22

that it can most positively enhance the students use of English (Xu, 1993). While there
is not much discussion by Xu (1993) on the usefulness of visual media with the use of the
grammar translation method, there is likely an opportunity in the EFL classroom in China
to include viewing and visually representing in student activities and assignments that
will enhance learning with the grammar translation method.
Communicative Language Teaching
In the communicative language teaching (CLT) classroom, students learn English
through communicative activities in a student-centered classroom, and CLT is most often
used to teach EFL in Chinese universities (Ouyang, 2000). A typical week in an EFL
university classroom in China where the teacher uses CLT will often consist of seven
hours of English classes (Ouyang, 2000), which is the case at the Guangzhou Institute of
Foreign Languages in southeastern China. The students would be assigned 20 to 30
pages of English reading in a week, which is equivalent to a whole semesters reading in
an intensive reading class with a grammar-translation or audio-lingual method approach
(Ouyang, 2000). Over the course of that week, students learn about a cultural topic
through skimming or scanning passages and listening to conversations (Ouyang, 2000).
Additionally, the students participate in speaking and writing activities to practice what
they have learned in their listening and speaking activities (Ouyang, 2000). Examples of
those activities include, exchanging information to fill information gaps, role playing, or
writing short essays, all the [while] simulating authentic communication in English
(Ouyang, 2000, p. 400).
With the communicative language teaching approach, grammar and language
points are rarely explained in detail by instructors, and students are rather expected to

23

build on their experiences learning grammar and language points from middle and high
school in addition to learning from the numerous encounters with the target language
content in context (Ouyang, 2000, p. 400). Examinations in the CLT classroom test
students performance in using English appropriately and comprehending English in use
(Ouyang, 2000). Particularly valued and encouraged in the CLT classroom are critical
thinking, questioning, and experimentation (Ouyang, 2000, p. 400-401). Furthermore,
in the CLT classroom, instructors are expected to follow a mostly open-ended approach
in their instruction, and to organize many diverse activities in the classroom, playing the
role of mentor or consultant.

The Evolution of EFL in China

As discussed previously, English has been taught in China as a foreign language
for over fifty years since the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was established in
1949, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized control of the country. Since
that time, there has been five major periods which have defined EFL teaching in Chinese
schools, and, which in turn, has been shaped by the political atmosphere in China. The
leaders of the CCP realized early on that the country would need English speakers in
order to acquire technological expertise and to foster internationalization (Adamson &
Morris, 1997). In order to teach English in the public schools, the CCP organized a
curriculum committee, and while the committee members changed over the years, the
committee remained responsible for, designing and producing the various components
of the official national curriculum, especially syllabuses and textbooks (Adamson &
Morris, 1997, p. 4). However, these committee members were not free to create their

24

curriculum in response to the needs of the students. In fact, the curriculum in the EFL
classroom was mostly focused on promoting the CCP and discrediting the English
speaking West, often at the cost of learning for the EFL student (Adamson & Morris,
1997).
There are five different periods that English Language Learning (ELL) can be
divided into in China. These five different periods have been connected by Adamson and
Morris (1997), and are: The End of Soviet Influence, 1956-60; Toward Quality in
Education, 1960-66; the Cultural Revolution, 1966-76; Modernization under Deng
Xiaoping, 1977-93; and, Toward Nine Years Compulsory Education, 1993-present.
Appendix 1 by Adamson and Morris (1997), charts the five different periods of ELL in
China with factors which played a role in EFL curriculum design.
Period 1: The End of Soviet Influence (1956-60)
In the years following the communist revolution in China that put the CCP into
power in 1949, the Chinese Ministry of Education often turned to the Soviet Union for
advice and models in foreign language curriculum and materials (Adamson & Morris,
1997). In addition, with the lack of official attention paid to the teaching of English by
the CCP, and the failure of the United States to recognize the PRC, the teaching of
Russian not English was recommended to be taught in schools, although, priority in
classrooms was given to teaching Chinese, mathematics and science (Adamson & Morris,
1997).
By 1956, it was officially announced that English would become more prevalent
in public schools, and at this time the Ministry of Education asked the Beijing Foreign
Languages Institute to create a syllabus and textbooks for English learning in Chinese

25

classrooms (Adamson & Morris, 1997). The first EFL textbook was published in 1957
and focused on reading passages, grammar exercises and pronunciation as demonstrated
in this passage from Lesson 15 in Book 2 (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 9):
We have a new text every week. Our teacher reads the text and we read
after her. Then she explains the text. We listen carefully because there
are many new words in it. If we do not understand, we put up our hands,
and she explains again. Our teacher asks us questions. When we answer
her questions, we must try to speak clearly. We do a lot of exercises in
class. We make sentences. We have spelling and dictation. Sometimes
we write on the blackboard. Sometimes we write in our notebooks. We
learn to write clearly and neatly. I like our English lessons. I think we are
making good progress.
This passage demonstrates the hallmarks of the teacher-centered grammartranslation method of second language pedagogy, which was used in Chinese EFL
classrooms and characterized by an emphasis on reading and writing skills, constant
references to the learners mother tongue, a focus on grammatical forms, and
memorization of grammatical paradigms (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 9). In addition
to the classrooms of this time being teacher centered and the pedagogies being focused on
the grammar-translation method, the content of the textbooks were full of political
rhetoric. The English in the textbooks was not the same English from any Englishspeaking country, and textbooks were not compiled according to any linguistic theory or
within any teaching methodological limitations, but were rather created to support the
philosophy of redness and expertise in accordance with the CCP (Adamson &

26

Morris, 1997). The writers that created the textbooks for the EFL classroom borrowed
and interlaced reading-based, teacher centered pedagogy with passages that carried
strong political messages directly from Soviet Union models (Adamson & Morris,
1997). As time grew closer to 1960 though, the Soviets were removed from China and
the Peoples Education Press (PEP) began to create the curriculum materials and
textbooks without the help of the Soviets. However, this new series reflected the
contemporary climate of politics to the fore by using political tracts written by or about
national leaders almost exclusively (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 11). As a result, the
texts and curriculum were soon abandoned not only because of political developments
but also because teachers found them unteachable (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p.11).
Period 2: The Search for Quality in Education (1960-66)
In the early 1960s, there were many changes in English teaching curriculum.
The CCP became increasingly disaffected with Khrushchevs Revisionism, and longstanding territorial disputes surfaced once again with the Soviets (Adamson & Morris,
1997). In addition, grassroots calls for changes in English language teaching pedagogy
became more prevalent (Adamson & Morris, 1997). With the dissatisfaction and
rejection of the Soviet models, and the move in China toward a more professional
orientation, the Chinese began to stand on their own feet in the English education
classroom. An example of this is given in a statement made by teacher Tang Lixing in
Adamson & Morris (1997, p. 11-12):
In the field of English teaching, dissatisfaction over the Russian-style
textbooks and the prevailing spoon-feeding method of teaching rose and
there was a wide-spread desire to discard or at least improve them. With

27

the focus on reforming the curriculum, compiling teaching materials,

experimenting with new teaching methods and improving teaching
facilities, education boomed.
As a result of the desire to reform materials, the PEP organized a committee with
an outlook of creating new syllabuses and textbooks once again. While these materials
were created by the PEP and teachers from the Foreign Languages Department of Beijing
Teachers University, and the books and materials contained more dialogues and sentence
pattern drills for oral practice, grammar-translation remained to be the primarily method
in the materials and employed by the teachers in the classrooms (Adamson & Morris,
1997). Although the initial curriculum focused primarily on grammar-translation in the
classroom, additional volumes of the books were published in 1962 and 1963. These new
volumes had increased activities focusing on oral skills through audio-lingual drills
including audio tapes. At the same time these new volumes were being created with
more audio-lingual activities, the developing war in Vietnam began to influence the
content of the materials and refocused the books to themes from previous materials to a
new focus on ideological tracts in the new materials (Adamson & Morris, 1997).
By 1966, the demands by teachers and CCP officials improved educational
quality and reduced the amount of political indoctrination by shifting toward an
amalgam of audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods extending the focus from
reading to also embrace listening, speaking, and writing (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p.
14-15). However, as the Cultural Revolution got under way in 1966, all of these
materials, practices, and methods were discarded.

28

Period 3: The Cultural Revolution (1966-76)

The Cultural Revolution created both political and social turmoil in China, and
while it was over in 1976, the impressions left by it were long-lasting in all economic,
political and social realms of the country. This included the educational system. The
main politicized purpose of the Cultural Revolution was to overturn many aspects of
Chinas traditional society, disrupt instruction at schools, and to mobilize students as Red
Guards. These Red Guards were empowered by Chairman Mao as demonstrated in a
letter to Defense Minister Lin Biao dated May 7, 1966 (Tang Jun, 1995 cited in Adamson
& Morris, 1997, p. 15):
While the students main task is to study, they should also learn other
things: that is to say, they should not only learn book knowledge, they
should also learn industrial production, agricultural production, and
military affairs. They should also criticize and repudiate the bourgeoisie.
The length of schooling should be shortened, education should be
revolutionized, and the domination of our schools and colleges by
bourgeois intellectuals should not be tolerated any longer.
It was ideas and statements like these that contributed to the violence and anarchy in the
educational system. Many foreign-language teachers were accused of being spies for
other countries during the Cultural Revolution and were persecuted for worshipping
everything foreign (Tang Lixing in Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 15). As a result, most
schools stopped teaching English altogether until 1970. When it eventually made it back
into the curriculum of some schools, the textbooks and materials were produced at the

29

provincial and municipal levels rather than at the PEP, and their content focused on
political propaganda (slogans and political tracts) in a way similar to the textbooks
produced during the Great Leap Forward (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 16). As
discussed by Adamson and Morris (1997), the teachers began to use activities that
focused on the teacher reading vocabulary lists for students to imitate, before going
through the text and translating it into Chinese, and after students listened to the
translation of the text, written exercises concentrating on grammar or translation would
end the lesson. In short, the Cultural Revolution returned the EFL classroom to one that
is teacher-centered and focused on a grammar-translation methodology. Adamson and
Morris (1997) discuss three of the several possible reasons for this return:
First, audio-lingualism was associated with American methods of
language learning, which had an unhealthy connotation for Chinese
educators at that time. Second, those responsible for curriculum
development were relatively inexperienced and their lack of exposure to
other pedagogical approaches may have limited their choice to the
methodology that they had encountered in learning English and their
mother tongue. Finally, such a pedagogy lends itself to use when
alternative resources are limited, where teachers lack expertise in more
interactive or communication-oriented pedagogy, and where the main
purpose of teaching is to preach political dogma. (p. 16)
The irony of the Cultural Revolution in regards to education is that its aim was to
undermine the traditional role of teachers, but as a result of the Cultural Revolution, the
EFL classroom reverted back to the traditional grammar-translation, teacher centered

30

classroom when there had been many gains in the EFL classroom in the years leading up
to it.
Period 4: Modernization under Deng Xiaoping (1977-93)
In 1976, the death of Chairman Mao and the demise and arrest of the Gang of
Four, the most powerful faction in national leadership at the end of the Cultural
Revolution, signaled the end of a period of political turmoil and economic isolation for
China (Adamson & Morris, 1997 p. 17). Soon thereafter Deng Xiaoping established
effective control as the paramount leader of China. As a result, many of the policies
before the Cultural Revolution were re-activated, including the addition of English to
school curriculums. The importance of the reestablishment of English in Chinese schools
is demonstrated in the political tone of the introduction of a 1978 English syllabus:
English is a very widely used language throughout the world. In certain
aspects, English is a very important tool: for international class struggle;
for economic and trade relationships; for cultural, scientific and
technological exchange; and for the development of international
friendship.
We have to raise Chairman Mao Zedongs glorious flag, and carry out the
policies initiated by the Party under Hua Guofengs leadership, so that by
the end of this century, we can achieve the Four Modernizations of
industry, science and technology, agriculture and defense and make China
a strong socialist country. To uphold the principle of classless
internationalism and to carry out Chairman Maos revolutionary
diplomacy effectively, we need to nurture a large number of red and

31

expert people proficient in a foreign language and in different disciplines.

That is why we have to strengthen both primary and secondary teaching
(Peoples Education Press, 1978 in Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 17).
Although English was once again officially part of the public school curriculum in
China, there was a great demand for revisions to the materials and books. Many teachers
complained that the books they had been supplied with dated from the times of the
Cultural Revolution or even beforehand were too difficult to teach, primarily because of
the emphasis on political content to the detriment of language instruction (Liu in
Adamson and Morris, 1997, p. 18).
In 1978, a new curriculum including books and materials was published for
national use. Also included were teachers manuals and cassettes demonstrating the
reading passages and pattern drills. The pedagogical approach in this new curriculum
was similar to its predecessor in that the audio-lingual pattern drills early in the
curriculum was gradually combined with, and then superseded by, a grammar-translation
methodology (Adamson & Morris, 1997). Furthermore, the content of the materials was
transformed from a focus on political rhetoric to the everyday lives of students, including
descriptions of exemplary behavior such as visiting a commune and listening attentively
to exhortatory lectures (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 18). Other contents are focused on
topics of general education interest, stories with strong moral messages such as The Hare
and the Tortoise, and selections with positive portrayals of foreigners (Adamson &
Morris, 1997).
In 1982 another revision was made to the curriculum and materials for the EFL
classroom in China. While the pedagogical approach in this revision was quite similar to

32

the previous curriculum, short dialogues and oral drilling were emphasized early in the
curriculum, giving way to more reading passages later in the curriculum (Adamson &
Morris, 1997). The intended pedagogical approach of this curriculum revision in 1982
resembled the revisions made in the 1960s before the Cultural Revolution where the
traditional, teacher-centered textbooks and materials were rejected in favor of a more
student-centered classroom (Adamson & Morris, 1997). This curriculum and
pedagogical approach of a blend of the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods
were used until 1993, when a new syllabus, textbooks and curriculum were created
Period 5: Toward the Nine Years Compulsory Education
In 1993, a new syllabus, textbooks and curriculum were created which had more
focus on Chinas Open Door Policy and economic goals, as described in this excerpt
from the preface of a syllabus:
A foreign language is an important tool for interacting with other countries
and plays an important role in promoting the development of the national
and world economy, science, and culture. In order to meet the needs of
our Open Door Policy and to accelerate socialist modernization, efforts
should be made to enable as many people as possible to acquire command
of one or more foreign languages (Peoples Education Press, 1993 in
Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 21)
To accomplish the goals set forth by the PEP in the syllabus, there were
stipulations put on the content curriculum and textbooks which included that materials
should have sound contents and good effects on students moral character (Peoples

33

Education Press, 1989 in Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 22). In addition to these
stipulations, the PEP asserted some goals for the students:
The study of English also is expanded to include aspects of foreign
culture. Besides basic training in the four linguistic skills, the program is
designed to develop [students] thinking ability; help them acquire more
knowledge of foreign culture; strengthen international understanding; and
arouse their interest and study and form correct methods and good habits
of study so that an initial foundation can be laid for their further study of
English as well as future work (Peoples Education Press, 1989 in
Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 22).
These guidelines put forth by the PEP assert that the principal goal of the new curriculum
was to foster communication, which greatly contrasted with the past as it was a relatively
marginal goal. To achieve the new goal, the teachers were encouraged to use a variety of
teaching strategies that would help to create situations in the classroom for promoting
communicative competence (Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 22). The PEP went on to
assert that,
Special attention should be paid to turning the language skills acquired
through practice into the capacity of using the language for the purpose of
communication When the students realize that they can communicate in
English, they will go on learning with more interest and motivation
(Peoples Education Press, 1989 in Adamson & Morris, 1997, p. 22-23).
From these statements put forth by the PEP, it can be seen that their revised
curriculum of 1993 made the pedagogical parameters more holistic and communication-

34

oriented. Teachers became free to choose their own methodologies to suit their
individual students needs, and language performance was stressed over the students
knowledge of details. Most notably, as stated by Adamson and Morris (1997) is that
oral communication is viewed as their principal goal (p. 23).
The pedagogical approach that was implicit in the new course materials and
explicit in the teachers manuals was classified by some as being eclectic (Adamson
and Morris, 1997, p. 23). This label comes from the general focus being communication,
but there is also emphasis on the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing,
use of the mother tongue is permitted, and there are elements of the audio-lingual method
employed in the drills used (Adamson and Morris, 1997). In addition, the content of the
material and the textbooks focuses on the daily lives of children their own ages, and
cultural information about the United States, Britain, and Australia is presented through
descriptions of food, festivals, places of interest, sports, and language (Adamson and
Morris, 1997, p. 24). Materials focused on science, ethical behavior, and stories all make
up the content of the new textbooks. This is an extreme shift when considering the
purpose of the material in during and shortly after the cultural revolution of the 1960s.

Crazy English
Crazy English is a method used by Li Yang, his assistants, and students to teach
English to Chinese speakers and has been popular in China since the early 2000s. While
some in the English teaching world dismiss the strange techniques and equate Lis
following to that of a cult, the students who learn with the methods are convinced of its
effectiveness. Furthermore, there is no denying the grip of English fever, (as the

35

English learning phenomenon is known in Chinese), and its effects on English learning
by students and members of Chinese society (Osnos, 2008, p. 3).
Crazy English is part business, and part English teaching. The 38 year-old
founder Li has authored several books and language programs, and sold millions of
copies of his English teaching materials. The idea for crazy English came to him when
he was learning English in college and studying for English exams. He discovered that
the louder he read aloud, the better he felt, and the more he was able to learn and retain
(Osnos, 2008). Reading aloud led to reading louder and eventually shouting. Now when
teaching at his seminars, his students are often found to be shouting English words and
phrases in unison, repeating after him.
Lis seminars are often held in stadiums, holding thousands of English learners,
all shouting and learning together. Lis full-throated pitchmans baritone (p. 3) of a
voice is his trademark, and he is considered a master performer of his art teaching
English (Osnos, 2008). However, the techniques he employs in his teaching are more
closely related to the ways that the teachings of Chairman Mao were taught than the way
English has traditionally been taught in the EFL classroom. It is characterized here by
Osnos (2008):
He mocks Chinas rigid classroom rules, and directs his students to hold
his books in the air, face the heavens, and shout in unison a tactic known
in Crazy English and other teaching circles as T.P.R., or total physical
response, a kind of muscle memory for the brain. (p. 3)

36

While his methods of shouting to learn English are non-conventional, he and his students
remain convinced of their effectiveness.
The students who study with the help of crazy English are often working
professionals, and before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing many were sent to his seminars
by Beijing Olympic organizers in a way to make the city more English friendly, and to
help ease communications between visitors and doctors, merchants, cab drivers, hotel and
restaurant staff and the like. There are many anecdotal stories by his students who have
learned with the use of his methods. In his language camps that are held in different parts
of China, students tales of traveling for days in a car to attend are commonplace. The
camps often have military motifs where supervisors where camouflage and carry
megaphones to encourage the students. Students are found throughout the camps yelling
and shouting English words and phrases to each other.
While his techniques are non-conventional, many of his students are convinced
that his methods have helped them learn. More importantly, it may help reduce
inhibitions to speak, and to love losing face, as declared by Li (Osnos, 2008, p. 5). He
further states in Osnos (2008), you have to make a lot of mistakes. You have to be
laughed at by a lot of people (p. 5). Although this may be viewed by some as anecdotal
evidence, it is nonetheless evidence that non-conventional teaching methods and
strategies in EFL are generally embraced by some learners and can be effective for EFL
teaching and learning. Furthermore, while Lis techniques do not explicitly use viewing
and visually representing as learning strategies and teaching methods, it suggests that
Chinese EFL students are open to different ideas and ways to learn English and that
viewing and visually representing may be embraced as crazy English is.

37

Chinese EFL Learner Strategies

While knowledge resulting from studies of Chinese EFL learner strategies is
believed by many researchers to be relatively insufficient, there has been some discussion
over the last decade that gives insight into the strategies used by Chinese EFL students.
Language learning activities have been described as overt, conscious and intentional by
Gan et. al (2004). Language learner strategies are described as specific actions taken by
the learner to make learning faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective,
and more transferable to new situations (Oxford in Nisbet et. al., 2005, p. 100).
Language learning strategies are further described by Goh and Foong (1997) as a
specific type of action on behaviour resorted to by a language learner in order to
improve performance in both using and learning a language (p. 40).
As discussed by Zhang (2003), it is generally agreed that a good language
learner is someone who is metacognitively aware of the processes in language learning
and uses metacognitive and socioaffective strategies flexibly and effectively (p. 286).
Gan et. al (2004) further propose that metacognition is regarded as essential for effective
learning to take place, and that metacognition includes control or management of
cognitive processes through planning, monitoring, and evaluating activities or strategies
or both (p. 231). Metacognition in this situation can be described as the Chinese
students being aware of the strategies they are employing in their language learning, and
aware of what strategies are required. Gan et. al (2004) proposes that, successful
students demonstrate a greater use of learning strategies or more appropriate application
of strategies to the learning task, whereas less successful or unsuccessful students use a

38

limited or inappropriately applied repertoire of language learning strategies (pp. 229230)

The purpose of discussing language learning strategies is two-fold. First, it is
believed that through learning about strategies employed by good language learners, the
same strategies can be demonstrated or taught to poor language learners so that they may
also employ the successful language learning strategies. Second, if a language teacher is
aware of the successful strategies employed by students, the teacher can use teaching
methods which allow students to employ these successful methods.
A study of the language learning strategies of Chinese students was conducted in
1997 by Goh and Foong. In this study, the researchers found that Chinese students
reported using metacognitive strategies more frequently than all other types of strategies.
Metacognitive strategies are, executive processes that regulate and manage learning, and
include strategies for planning, monitoring, and evaluating (Goh & Foong, 1997 p. 46).
Another finding was that memorization was the least frequently used strategy by the
students which seems to contradict the commonly held beliefs of the learning strategies
of Chinese students. Their findings also suggest that the high proficiency level students
used more cognitive strategies and compensation strategies than the low proficiency level
students. These strategies include skimming, finding the meaning of a word by dividing
it into parts they could understand, practicing the sounds of English, and finding patterns
in the language (Goh & Foong, 1997, p. 49). The most frequently used technique
students reported using was using a synonym for a word when they couldnt think of the
word in English that they wanted to use.

39

A similar study to that conducted by Goh and Foong (1997) was conducted by
Nisbet et al. in 2005. In this study it was also found that metacognitive strategies were
the most frequently used strategies, but this time the subjects were students who had just
taken the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. The researchers also found
that memorization strategies were also the least frequently used much like Goh and
Foong (1997) found. Through multiple regression analysis, TOEFL scores were
significantly correlated with metacognitive strategies which demonstrated that students
who scored high on their TOEFL exams also used metacognitive strategies.
A study by Gan et al. found that all the successful students of their 2004 study
stated that English vocabulary learning was a very important part of their language
learning: Words are the bricks a building is made up of. Without bricks where will the
building be? (Gan et al., 2004 p. 234) Some students in the study briefly discussed the
issue of culture, suggesting that to learn a language also means to learn the culture as
well. Other findings of the study were that while successful students were motivated
both extrinsically and intrinsically, and by the desire to communicate with English, nonsuccessful students were extrinsically motivated by the need to pass the compulsory
examinations in order to graduate. Also, successful students reported the use of more
strategies to learn English than unsuccessful students. Furthermore, data collected in the
study indicated that
the successful students attributed their success to controllable factors such
as effort and strategy use, that they generally felt optimistic about their
performance in English, and that the majority of them appeared to be able
to determine their own learning goals, to locate a learning problem and its

40

causes, and then to take corresponding measures to overcome the problem

(Gan et al., 2004, p. 234).
Another study was performed in 1985 by Huang to investigate the learning
strategies for oral communication. The investigation she performed identified a large
number of learning strategies and techniques of a functional or formal nature, such as
talking to oneself and memorizing lists of words (Huang, 1985, p. 167). She also
conducted statistical analyses to determine which strategies and techniques were most
critical for improvement in oral proficiency. She found that the functional strategies such
as thinking in English; speaking English with other students, with teachers, and with
native speakers, when available; participating actively in group oral communication
activities; and reading extensively out of class (Huang, 1985, pp. 167-168) were among
those most successfully used. Her findings also indicate that good learners,
Especially those at intermediate and advanced stages, exhibit a high level
of independence and that motivation plays a very important role. In
addition, the findings show that good language learners in China are in
many respects similar to good language learners elsewhere (Huang, 1985,
p. 168).
As we can see from these different studies, the more successful language learners
employ metacognitive strategies in their language learning. Motivation is another large
element of language learning. Successful language learners have been shown to be both
intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. However, one of the most important elements
when it comes to language learning and Chinese students is presented by Huang. It is
important to remember that good language learners in China are likely to be much like

41

good language learners from other nations in many respects, especially in the language
learning strategies that they employ.
Society today is being shaped by technology be it by cell phones and texting or
computers, the internet and the creation of visual text and electronic print (which will be
discussed in more detail in chapter five). These visual elements of information in society
and the creation of electronic print and visual texts are developing a need for viewers to
decipher the meaning of the visually presented information. Furthermore, viewers are
increasingly being tasked with storing and recalling visual information considering this
movement. Chapter four will discuss how the brains of Chinese native speakers are
predisposed to this storing and recalling of visual information.

Chinese EFL Student Learning Styles

The term learning style is discussed by Kolb in Wang (2007), and it is described
as, the individuals preferred or habitual ways of processing knowledge and
transforming the knowledge into personal knowledge (409). It is further described by
Wang (2007) as,
the habitual preference learners demonstrate in their learning activities;
formed from the interaction of factors such as individual experience,
cognition, personality and environment; and having the characteristics of
individuality, consistency and stability (pg. 409).
Wang performed a study to determine the preferred learning styles of 152 first
year college students in a Chinese university from eight different majors of study. What
he found was that there was a large variety of learning style preferences distributed

42

unevenly among the sample population, and global, visual, and sensing learning styles
were preferred by a large number of students over intuitive, verbal, and sequential
learning styles (Wang, 2007). It is further recommended by Wang for a teacher to be
aware of the many different learning styles of their students and to try to increase their
ability to appreciate and understand learners varied needs (Wang, 2007, p. 416).
According to Peng (2007), Chinese students are long accustomed to a formal
disciplined atmosphere in the classroom. He goes on to state,
to Chinese students, English, in aspects of sound system, structure,
vocabulary, is totally different from their mother tongue. To learn this
new language, they need a teacher to explain systematically these
elements, helping them to clear away doubts and remove the difficulties in
their learning process (p. 48).
Similar findings have been discussed by Wang (2007), where he states,
Many EFL [and ESL] learners encounter the frustration that their teachers
teaching does not appeal to their own learning preferences because most
teachers teach the way they learn. The unfavorable learning condition
consequently undermines students motivation and diminishes their
language learning potential (p. 408).
Furthermore, native speaking teachers as a whole generally advocate free thinking and
discovery learning. This can create problems with Chinese speaking students who are
looking for a systematic lineal procedure (Peng, 2007, p. 49) to follow. This creates a
gap to be filled in order to help facilitate learning. It is proposed by Peng (2007) that
Chinese students should change their traditional learning styles as well as their own

43

roles and expectations. To build on the strengths of both sides to achieve a happy
medium is the best and most practical solution to the problem of disparity (p. 49.)

Conclusion
As recognized previously, there are two purposes for discussing language learning
strategies. First, it is believed that through learning about strategies employed by good
language learners, the same strategies can be demonstrated or taught to poor language
learners so that they may also employ the successful language learning strategies.
Second, if a language teacher is aware of the successful strategies employed by students,
the teacher can use teaching methods which allow students to employ these successful
methods. In the Chinese EFL classroom, researchers found that Chinese students
reported using metacognitive strategies more frequently than all other types of strategies.
Another finding was that memorization was the least frequently used strategy by the
students, which seems to contradict the commonly held beliefs of the learning strategies
employed by Chinese students. From these different studies, we have learned that the
more successful language learners employ metacognitive strategies in their language
learning. Therefore, in the classroom and in English learning activities, EFL teachers
should use teaching strategies that allow students to use metacognitive strategies in their
language learning, and encourage students to employ them.
Chapter two also discussed the large role that motivation plays in language
learning. Successful language learners were found to be both intrinsically and
extrinsically motivated. Therefore, it would be logical for EFL teachers to employ
teaching methods that will encourage students to become both intrinsically and

44

extrinsically motivated in their language learning. In conclusion, it is not enough to

simply employ teaching methods and encourage strategies which have been successful in
the past. Society today is being increasingly shaped by technology and visual
information. The visual aspects of information today and the creation of electronic print
and visual texts mean that viewers/learners need to decipher the meaning of the visually
presented information. Chapter three will build on the learning strategies employed by
Chinese EFL learners in Chinas English learning past, and discuss the Chinese character
in writing. This discussion will help inform us about how Chinese native speakers store
information visually in the brain, which will be discussed in chapter four.

45

Chapter Three: The Chinese Written Language

The Evolution of the Character

Oracle bones dating over 3,000 years old are said to hold the oldest Chinese
character markings known to exist, and while these 4500 characters known as Shang
signs (named after the Shang dynasty, the second dynasty in China) on oracle bones
would be incomprehensible by most literate Chinese people today, many would discover
similarities in the Shang sign and the simplified characters used today (Robinson, 1995).
The Chinese character has evolved since the Shang dynasty (1766 BC 1122 BC), and
the evolution has been divided between six different scripts: the Shang, Great Seal,
Small Seal, Scribal, Regular, and Simplified (from earliest to newest). Figure 1 below
(DeFrancis, 1984 cited in Robinson, 1995, p. 185) demonstrates the evolution of two
Chinese characters from Shang signs to todays simplified characters.
Figure 1: Evolution of Chinese Characters

Figure 1 (DeFrancis, 1984 cited in Robinson, 1995, p. 185) demonstrates the evolution of the
characters lai (come) and ma (horse) since the Shang dynasty (1766 BC-1122 BC).

46

The Elements of a Character

In order to read a character, the viewer must understand a few basic
conventions of the Chinese written language. First, the reader must view the character
or graph as an organic whole, which is composed of discrete, conventionally
identifiable elements (Allen, 1992, p. 193). The boundaries of radicals and characters
which create a larger character must be understood. Second, the viewer must know the
alphabet, or the stroke order which make up the radicals which in turn make up the
characters (Allen, 1992). When writing characters, there is a system to the order of
which strokes of a character are drawn before others. Third, the reader must know how
to say the alphabet, which means that the accepted terms of reference for the radicals
and characters must be understood (Allen, 1992). After these basic conventions of the
written language are understood, the details of the radicals and characters can be
discussed.
There are about 7,000 frequently used characters in the Chinese language today
(Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli, 1994). These basic characters are joined with radicals and
other characters to create the approximately 40,000 Chinese words that are found in
daily use (Ho & Bryant, 1997). To break it down even further, there are about 800
phonetic elements, and 214 standard radicals which make up characters (Allen, 1992).
Appendix 2 (Allen, 1992) is a chart of the 214 standard Chinese radicals charted
together by W.M. Hawley.

47

Chinese: A Logographic Writing System

Until recently, there has been an ongoing discussion on how to classify Chinese
characters. This discussion was made more important as educators became more
interested in how Chinese students learn to read. If we are to consider the traditional
Western linguistic point of view, then Chinese characters must fall into one of three
writing system categories: logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic (Li, 2002). However,
when classifying Chinese written language, the restraints of these three categories are
too restrictive and do not allow for the differences found in the composition of the
Chinese written character.
The Chinese written language has long been categorized as a logographic writing
system (Ellis et al., 2004; Robinson, 1995; Everson, 1994; Shu & Anderson 1997; Li,
2002; Everson, 1998; Tan et al. 2005; Ho & Bryant 1997; Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli,
1994). A logographic writing system is one that uses symbols to represent meaning
directly and have no or comparatively few cues to pronunciation (Ellis et al., 2004, p.
438). Logographic writing systems are further characterized as being capable of
communicating ideas without the intervention of phoneticism, or spoken language
(Robinson, 1995). Furthermore, it has long been asserted that Chinese orthography
does not readily indicate the pronunciation of the character, and provides few
systematic clues in the printed character that indicate how it is pronounced (Everson,
1994, p. 5). However, categorizing the Chinese writing system as a logographic writing
system that has little or no cues to the pronunciation of a character would imply that
Chinese learners must memorize the 3,000 to 4,600 frequently used logographic
symbols when learning the written language (Ho & Bryant, 1997; Li, 2002). It would

48

also imply that when a Chinese speaker is faced with a character they have never seen
before that they would be incapable of pronouncing it until they hear it or see it written
in Pinyin. Pinyin, meaning assembling sound, was created in the 1970s, and is
comprised of a set of 26 English letters and 13 letter groups (e.g. zh, ch, ang, etc.) (Chen
et al., 2002, p. 1089). Pinyin will be further discussed in chapter four.

The Ideophonetic Compound

While there are certainly characters that are made up of only symbols or are
simply pictographic in nature (Everson, 1998, p. 196), these characters represent only
a small number of characters used today. In fact, 80% to 90% of characters commonly
used are compound characters that are formed with a phonetic component (Li, 2002).
While some of those phonetic components will actually represent the pronunciation of
the character, others may only represent the beginning of the character (Li, 2002).
These compound characters are generally made up of two-character or two-syllable
words in the Chinese oral language and have resulted in the development of a twocharacter assembly strategy by Chinese readers (Li, 2002, p. 373).
Whereas in the past Chinese has been labeled a logographic language, there are
many researchers today who classify it as being made up of both a phonetic component
as well as a semantic or meaning component (Ho & Bryant, 1997; Allen, 1992; Schmitt,
Pan & Tavassoli, 1994; Tan et al., 2005; Everson, 1998; Shu & Anderson, 1997; Li,
2002). This new understanding of the makeup of characters has given way to a new
label, the Ideophonetic compound (Ho & Bryant 1997; Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli, 1994).

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The Ideophonetic compound is comprised of a semantic1 component, the radical,

and a phonological component, the phonetic. Both must be present to qualify as an
Ideophonetic compound. The character is composed of a semantic radical and a
phonetic character, where the radical represents the semantic meaning of the character
and the phonetic reflects its pronunciation, but together they create a character with its
own meaning.
An example of an Ideophonetic compound is presented by Ho and Bryant (1997,
p. 279) in the character [dng] which means lamp. The radical [hu] ,which
means fire and appears on the left side of the character, is given as a cue to the meaning
of the character (as fire was needed to light an oil lamp in the past), and [dng],
which means climb and appears on the right side of the character, is the phonetic, and
gives a cue to the pronunciation of the compound (Ho & Bryant, 1997, p. 279). The
character is made up of both a radical which gives semantic cues, and a phonetic which
gives phonetic cues. In the example of [dng] lamp, both the radical and phonetic are
also characters by themselves, which occurs often.
Another example to demonstrate how characters are created by both a semantic
and a phonetic element comes from Allen (1992, p. 194). Figure 2 shows the door
radical on the left
side of the character
combined with the
phonetic on the right
side of the character creating their own character, which means building. The word

Semantic comes from the Greek word for significant, and is the study of meanings.

50

would then be pronounced as fng and mean building. However, the spoken word fng
could also have different meanings and the meaning would be learned from its context in
the sentence or its written form.
There have been many labels applied to classifying Chinese characters between
the stages of the logographic and Ideophonetic compound labels. These labels have
included logographic phonetic (DeFrancis, 1989 cited in Everson, 1998, p. 196), and
morpheme syllable (Hoosain, 1991, cited in Everson, 1998, p. 196), although when
researched further, the labels were found to classify a very small percentage of Chinese
characters in use today (Everson, 1998). However, the concept of the Ideophonetic
compound has also had other labels including phonogram (Tzeng & Hung, 1988 cited
in Ho & Bryant, 1997, p. 196), and phonetic compound (Hoosain, 1991 cited in Ho &
Bryant, 1997, p. 196). Eventually though, it was determined that Ideophonetic
compound is most appropriate since it indicates that characters are composed of both
semantic and phonetic components.
Regardless of the label applied to Chinese writing, be it ideographic, logographic
or Ideophonetic compounds, there remains a visual element to the writing system. This
visual element lies within the 214 Chinese radicals (the semantic component of a
character) and 800 phonetics (the phonetic component of a character), which together
create the 50,000 characters in the Chinese writing system, of which about 7,000 are in
general use (Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli, 1994). Tan et al. (1994, p. 8781) discusses the
Chinese character as being comprised of
Strokes and sub character components that are packed into a square
configuration, possessing a high, nonlinear visual complexity. Significant

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spatial analysis is intrinsic in learning a Chinese character, and visual

orthographic processing is an important part of character reading.
While English has many thousands of words, its alphabet is restricted to 26
alphabetic letters that are all directly linked to phonetic sounds. This pales in
comparison to the thousands of combinations of words created in Chinese by visual
representations and used in Chinese writing.

Conclusions
Chapter three has focused on the way that Chinese characters are created, and
through this discussion Chinese characters have been found to in fact qualify as
Ideophonetic characters and not ideographic or logographic characters as it has long
been accepted in the Western world. Furthermore, through a discussion of the make-up
of the characters, it has been discovered that characters are comprised of both a semantic
and phonetic component, which give clues to both meaning and pronunciation. This
knowledge helps refute the commonly held belief that Chinese native speakers have
memorized all the characters in their vocabulary, and this new knowledge can help us
understand the way that Chinese students learn to read and write in their native
language. From the information presented in this chapter, it has been ascertained that
Chinese characters are Ideophonetic, but there remains a large visual element to the
character as asserted by Tan et al. (1994) where the authors discuss the visual
orthographic processing necessary in reading characters. Chapter four will build on the
visual element of the character and in it I will discuss how the brains of Chinese native
speakers are predisposed to storing and recalling visual information.

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Chapter Four: Contemporary Brain Research and its Relevance to Language

Learning
The Brain
As discussed in chapter three, the Chinese character can best be categorized as an
Ideophonetic compound, and it has been found through numerous studies to be processed
in the brain differently than its English alphabetic counterpart (Nakai et al., 1999). The
processes and areas of the brain which are activated when a character is read or viewed
can be learned with the technology and medical information available to us today,
including the use of fMRI2, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, and activation
likelihood estimation (ALE) maps3. This new information is useful to advance our
understanding of the universality and particularity of the organization of language
systems in the brain as proposed by Tan et al. (2001, p. 836).
Over 100 years ago, the Oxford physiologist, Charles Sherrington, observed that
blood flow in the brain increases locally with increased brain activity (Matthews et al.,
2003). Then, in a seminal experiment in 1990, Ogawa et al. (cited in Matthews, 2003)
discovered that changes in blood flow with neuronal activation can be detected as an
increase in an MRI signal.

This experiment eventually led to the use of fMRI

alongside the gold standard Wada test4 in defining language lateralization for temporal
lobe epilepsy patients, in addition to other brain scanning tests (Matthews et al., 2003).

fMRI is a specialized type of MRI scan which measures the blood flow in the brain in response to related
neural activity whereas an MRI simply looks at tissues.
3
ALE maps were first presented by Peter Turkeltaub in 2002 as a new and quantitative meta-analysis
method to synthesize data gathered from a single 3dimensional point of activation within the brain (Laird
et. al, 2009)
4
The Wada test is a test given to epilepsy patients to test language and memory activation on one side of
the brain at a time to determine which side of the patients brain controls language and thought, has better
memory, and which side their seizures are coming from.
(http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/surgery_wada)

53

Eventually, the fMRI was used to determine activated areas of the brain in language
users, which may help researchers learn which areas of the brain are activated in
response to different stimuli.
Since the implementation of the fMRI, the changes in brain activation with
changes in stimuli have become more recognizable. Furthermore, research has been
performed with the use of the fMRI and has found that the left middle frontal gyrus (or
left middle lateral frontal region), plays an important role in reading Chinese at both the
sentence and the word level (Chen et al., 2002; Gabrieli et al., 1998; Matsuo et al., 2001;
Matsuo et al., 2003; Matthews et al., 2003; Mo et al., 2005; Nakai et al., 1999; Siok et
al., 2008; Tan et al., 2000; Tan et al., 2001; Tan et al., 2005). In addition, other parts of
the brain have been found to be activated when different activities of either reading or
writing of characters are employed. These strong activations in the specific areas of the
brain are believed by many researchers to be associated with the unique square
configurations of the Ideophonetic Chinese character (Tan et al., 2005). In other words,
the composition of the Ideophonetic character influences the way that the brain stores
and recalls information.
In 2005, Tan et al. reviewed 19 published brain mapping studies of phonological
processing in reading, and quantitatively synthesized them. Six of the studies were
performed with the use Chinese characters as stimuli, and 13 were performed with
alphabetic language stimuli. The study included the research performed by Chen et al.
(2002), Siok et al. (2003 & 2004), and Tan et al. (2001 & 2003), among others. The
findings of the meta-analysis of the functional neuroanatomy of phonological
processing in visual word recognition study demonstrated that there is high

54

concordance of brain activation across multiple studies in each of the writing systems,
and the analysis further suggested that there are significant differences of activation
likelihood between Chinese and alphabetic languages (Tan et al., 2005, p. 87). In other
words, there are large differences in the activated areas in the brain when stimuli of
alphabetic words are presented compared to when Chinese characters are presented.
These differences are demonstrated in Figure 3 on the following page. In the figure,
ALE maps showing significant activation of areas of the brain are presented, when a
subject is presented with a: Chinese characters; and b: alphabetic words. Part c:
demonstrates a direct contrast of the two writing systems presented where warm colors
(reds) represent Chinese minus alphabetic, and cold colors (blues) represent alphabetic
minus Chinese (Tan et al., 2005, p. 86). Part c of figure 3 is likely most interesting since
it demonstrates the differences of parts a and b as if the two were laid over each other.

55

Figure 3 shows ALE maps showing significant activation likelihood across studies of
phonological processing of written words where part a: demonstrates Chinese characters used as
stimuli, part b: Alphabetic words used as stimuli, and part c: a direct contrast of the two writing
systems where the warm colors are Chinese minus alphabetic stimuli and cold colors are
alphabetic minus Chinese stimuli. ( (Tan et al., 2005, p. 86)

56

In the same 2005 review of research, Tan et al. discussed the neural systems for
phonological processing of Chinese characters and alphabetic words as demonstrated in
figure 4 below. In the figure, subvocal rehearsal and feedback from phonology to
orthography are processed in similar areas in the brain for both written alphabetic words
and Chinese characters, there is an area to process addressed phonology and
phonological store when processing Chinese characters which is not present in any
written alphabetic word processing. In addition, there is an area which has been shown to
process assembled phonology in the brain when processing alphabetic words, which is
not present at all when processing Chinese characters. Assembled phonology is also
processed in the same area as subvocal rehearsal when processing written alphabetic
words.
Figure 4 (left) The
neural systems for
phonological
processing of Chinese
characters (top) and
alphabetic words
(bottom) (Tan et al.,
2005, p. 87).

In a 2000 study by Tan et al., the researchers found that the processing of
written Chinese characters and words is left lateralized in the frontal and temporal
cortices and right lateralized in the visual systems, parietal cortex, and cerebellum (p.
25). The volume (mm3) of total activation when presented with alphabetic and Chinese
57

character stimuli was measured in voxels the volume of an area in a 3D picture to

determine the total area of the brain activated when presented with a Chinese character
and the results are shown in figure 5 on below (Tan et al., 2000, p. 25). In the figure, L
= left hemisphere and R = right hemisphere. The dark blue line demonstrates the area in
voxels stimulated when the subject is presented with a precise-meaning character, the
red line for a vague meaning character, and the light blue line for a two-character word.
Their findings demonstrate that while there is some difference in the voxels of area
stimulated when a reader is presented with different characters, the stimulated areas of
the brain remains relatively close in proximity. In other words, characters and words
activate the same areas of the brain regardless of their meaning and make-up. Their
meaning and make-up do, however, influence the amount of activation in the respective
areas of the brain.
Figure 5 (Tan et al., 2000, p. 25) Volume measured in mm3 of total activations in frontal,
parietal, temporal, and occipital cortices, and cerebellum.

58

While Tan et al. (2000) found that information was processed in the cortices,
cortex and cerebellum in the brain; Nakai et al. (1999) found processing taking place in
Brocas and Wernickes areas. Their study suggests that Wernickes area of the brain is
active in the early phonological processing of auditory stimuli, and semantic
processing takes place in Brocas area and the angular gyrus (Nakai et al., 1999, p. 36).
Figure 6: The brain, demonstrating Brocas area in purple and Wernickes area in
yellow.

While their findings are consistent with the findings of other researchers, their
study focused on Chinese, Hungarian and English speakers, and even when the subjects
were presented with meaningless information, they still processed it in the predicted
areas of the brain considering their native languages. Furthermore, their study
demonstrated that semantic information is processed in Brocas area and the angular
gyrus (in red above), and phonological information was processed in Wernickes area,
regardless of their native language (although the level of processing is not discussed).

59

The findings in regards to Chinese semantic processing are corroborated by Tan et al.
(2001), who found that peak activation in the processing of logographs was located in
the left lateral middle frontal cortex, a region above Brocas area (p. 840) Matsuo et al.
(2001) found that while many areas may be activated in preparation for processing
semantic or phonological information of a Chinese written character, the demands for
each area for actual information processing will differ according to the type of the
character presented and the purpose of viewing it.

Pinyin and Chinese Readers

For over 4,000 years, Chinese characters have been the only form of writing that
was conventionally used and officially recognized by both the reigning dynasty or
government, and the masses that used them for written communication. However pinyin,
which means assembling sound (p. 1089), was developed to represent sound symbols
for Chinese characters. Pinyin is now taught in schools all over China before children
learn to read characters, and while it is not generally used as a written script nor is it
mixed with Chinese characters as Japanese kana is, it is predominantly used to facilitate
input of Chinese characters into a computer using alphabetic keyboards (Chen et al.,
2002). Furthermore, the use of pinyin can be used in fMRI studies alongside Chinese
characters to learn differences in how the brain processes the different meaningful stimuli
in subjects. Chen et al. (2000) performed such a study where they tried to measure brain
activity when presenting auditory information and asking if it sounded like the visually
presented Chinese character or pinyin word. The study found that while the reading
process involved similar activated regions in the brain (the inferior frontal, middle, and

60

inferior temporal gyri, the inferior and superior parietal lobules and the extrastriate
areas), there are regions where specialized processes associated with reading via
predominantly pinyin (there was a greater activation in the inferior parietal cortex
bilaterally, the precuneus, and the anterior middle temporal gyrus) or Chinese character
procedures (the left fusiform gyrus, the bilateral cuneus, the posterior middle temporal,
the right inferior frontal gyrus, and the bilateral superior frontal gyrus) (Chen et al.,
2002, p. 1088). These findings are represented in figure 7 (Chen et al., 2002, p. 1089).
In figure 7, the left side of each brain pictured is the right side of the brain as if it is
facing down. Line (a) represents a subject reading a Chinese character, minus the
fixation (the default control stimuli), line (b) represents pinyin reading minus fixation,
line (c) represents Chinese character reading minus pinyin reading, and line (d) represents
pinyin reading minus Chinese character reading (Chen et al., 2002). While there were
nine subjects, all of the functional maps are overlaid on one subjects brain warped into
a standard brain space (Chen et al., 2002, p. 1089). Overall what these findings
demonstrate is that, differences in language surface form appear to determine relative
activation in other regions (p. 1088) or in other words, there are both similar and
different areas of the brain activated when alphabetic pinyin or Chinese characters are
processed (Chen et al., 2002).

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Figure 7 Comparision of brain scans with Chinese characters and pinyin

(Chen et al., 2002, p. 1089)

62

Dyslexia in Chinese Readers

Developmental dyslexia is characterized by unexpectedly low reading ability in
people who have adequate intelligence, typical schooling, and sufficient sociocultural
opportunities (Siok et al., 2008, p. 5561). According to Siok et al. (2004), dysfunction
of the left temporoparietal brain regions are associated with impaired reading of
alphabetic scripts, and through fMRI, the researchers have discovered that the
functional disruption of the left middle frontal gyrus is associated with impaired reading
of the Chinese language (p. 71). The researchers further assert that reading impairment
in Chinese is manifested by two deficits: one relating to the conversion of graphic form
(orthography) to syllable, and the other concerning orthography-to-semantics mapping
(Siok et al., 2004, p. 71). This is important because both of those processes are
critically mediated by the left middle frontal gyrus which functions as a centre for
fluent Chinese reading (Siok et al., 2004, p. 71). These findings were followed up on
Their 2008 study found that there was atypical development of gray matter in the left
middle frontal gyrus in
dyslexic Chinese readers in
comparison with normal
controls (Siok et al., 2008, p.
5564). Figure 8 left (Siok et
al., 2008, p. 5563) shows the
difference in activity when a
normal reader is presented
with reading stimuli compared

63

to a dyslexic reader who is presented with the stimuli. According to Siok et al. (2008),
the fact that Chinese and Western dyslexics show structural abnormalities in different
brain regions suggests that dyslexia may even be two different brain disorders in the two
cultures (p. 5564). If we take this suggestion one step further, it could be determined
with the use of dyslexic studies on subjects that reading information is in fact processed
and stored differently in the brain depending on the subjects native language and
writing script.

Conclusions
In chapter four, it has been asserted that the composition of the Ideophonetic
character influences the way that the brain stores and recalls information. Furthermore,
with the use of fMRI technology and ALE maps, researchers have been able to track the
activated areas of the brain in language users, and we have learned that when Chinese
written language is used as stimuli, different areas of the brain are activated than when
an English alphabetic stimuli is used. There are even similar and different areas of the
brain activated when alphabetic pinyin or Chinese characters are processed as discussed
by Chen et al., (2002). It is important for EFL teachers to understand that Chinese
native speakers have been using visual parts of their brain in their native language
learning because it can help us gain a better understanding the natural strengths students
have in their native language learning, which may overlap into their English language
learning. While it is unlikely that these strengths are concrete enough for us as teachers
to transform our entire teaching pedagogy to being purely visually oriented, the evidence
is compelling enough to encourage us to implement some visual teaching methods and

64

strategies for our students to employ in their language learning. Chapter five will review
the use of visual stimuli, visual rhetoric and imagery, as well as the six language arts as
a way to offer teaching methods and classroom activities which can be implemented in
the in the EFL classroom.

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Chapter Five: Visual Stimuli in the EFL Classroom

Introduction
It is believed by many that visual information plays an important role in society
today (Cyphert, 2007; Landau et al., 2009; Phillips & McQuarrie, 2004; Sherwin et al.,
2007; Brumberger, 2007; Tavassoli, 1999; Pan & Schmidt, 1996). This has been
demonstrated as far back as 1970, when Stanley Meltzoff asserted that visual rhetoric is
the Iconography of the twentieth century (p. 27). While that may have been true for the
twentieth century, the prominence of technology in the twenty first century has caused
society to become even more visually oriented. However, in American culture, and
possibly other cultures which use a phonetic alphabet, this has not long been the case.
According to Horn (1998 in Brumberger, 2007), Western society has essentially treated
verbal and visual thinking as separate and unequal since the Phoenician alphabet was
developed and words and imagesbegan to take separate routes (p. 379). This
division has been traced to ancient Greece where sensory activities such as art were
distrusted and dismissed whereas purportedly intellectual activities and related
disciplines, such as mathematics were privileged (Brumberger, 2007, p. 379). An
example is given by Poggenpohl (1998 cited in Brumberger, 2007) who stated, The
shadows in Platos cave have historically cast doubt on the trustworthiness of images (p.
379). Brumberger (2007) goes on to state that although the history of privileging verbal
texts is a long one, photography, film, and, most recently, computers and digital media
have brought verbal and visual communication closer together (p. 379).
It is asserted by Brumberger (2007) that scholars agree there are at least two
modes of thought: verbal and visual. In our culture, verbal thinking has been considered

66

to be intellectual, systematic, rational, and analytical (Brumberger, 2007, 379).

Contrastingly, visual thinking has often been considered to be purely intuitive,
unsystematic, nonrational, and sometimes even subconscious by those outside (and, at
times, even within) visually oriented disciplines (Brumberger, 2007, p. 379).
Brumberger (2007) offers a more productive model to classify these two modes of
thought. She suggests that there are multiple modes of thought, of which verbal and
visual are only two. In such a pluralistic model, no mode is dominant or superior;
instead, individuals rely on different modes to different degrees (Brumberger, 2007, p.
379). She goes on to claim that an individual might also rely on different modes for
different tasks, if that individual has the flexibility necessary for switching between
modes (Brumberger, 2007, p. 380). Through this discussion she concludes that visual
thinking and verbal thinking are distinct cognitive modes that are interconnected and
comparable in their complexity (Brumberger, 2007, p. 380). From this, we can learn
that 1) students are likely to employ both visual and verbal thinking in their studies, 2)
one form of thought is not necessarily better than another, it is simply different, and 3) it
would be appropriate to employ teaching methods and strategies which allow students to
use both visual and verbal thinking in the classroom to prepare them for the information
they see as a productive member of society. Most of that type of visual information is
presented to students in the form of visual rhetoric.

Visual Rhetoric
In 2004, Charles A. Hill and Marguerite Helmers published a seminal book on
visual rhetoric titled Defining Visual Rhetorics. However, instead of beginning with a

67

definition of what visual rhetoric is and demonstrating the concept with examples, the
book set out to give examples of definitions from which other researchers were working.
This turned out to illustrate that the term visual rhetoric is actually a concept or heuristic
of how to assess visual information. While the seminal work helps inform the concept of
visual rhetoric, it falls short at giving a definition to attach the term to. For that reason, it
may be helpful to start with a philosophical definition of visual rhetoric.
Philosophically, it could be asserted that any and all visual information is
rhetorical. This would loosely fit an assertion by Meltzoff (1970) who stated that all
pictorial forms have meanings. These meanings group into larger meanings that in turn,
by force of context, control the smaller meanings that rhetoric applies (p. 31). From
this, we learn that pictures, which are visual, are generally rhetorical in their purpose of
transmitting information to a viewer. He goes on to state, the objective of a picture is to
transmit a message that is larger than the sum of its parts (Meltzoff, 1970, p. 31). This
fits with the concepts asserted by Amare and Manning (2007) that visual information
should be identified as a system in which graphics and text are seen together as a whole
unit and should be: 1) organized in a rhetorical manner; 2) semantically and aesthetically
appropriate to be paired together, 3) action-provoking, and 4) audience appropriate. In
the past this description would have very closely fit a description of visual
advertisements, but likely little else. However, today this definition can be applied not
only to advertisements, but also the compilation of a textbook, a legal document, a
business document, a video or video clip, or really any stimuli which is composed of
visuals and words which are paired together to achieve a purpose.

68

It is important to teach students today about visual rhetoric not only because they
are consumers of visual information, but also because the way they will view and design
documents has changed in the last two decades (Brumberger, 2007). In the past, it would
often be a technical writers responsibility to design a document. However, today that
responsibility often falls to the documents writer (Brumberger, 2007). Furthermore, the
audiences of documents have changed in the last couple decades. Also in the past the
audiences of documents were often considered readers; however, today those readers
have transformed into users of information and do not necessarily read documents in
the traditional sense of the word (Brumberger, 2007). These users of information have
become accustomed to documents that communicate on a variety of levels through a
variety of media (Brumberger, 2007, p. 377). Today, this variety of media likely most
often means the rhetorical organization of visual and textual information on a document
to be viewed as a whole to accomplish a purpose of informing or persuading the viewer,
or user of the information. While this usage and creation of visual documents may be
extremely applicable to students in classrooms of any discipline, it is also applicable to
our EFL students who are increasing in numbers in our non-EFL specific classrooms.
In 1993, Brasseur asserted that language is not the sole medium of thought and
expression (p. 129) and from the previous discussion, it is clear that visual information
may play as important of a role in the communication of information to viewers as
language (which can be interpreted as textual information on a document). However,
after the previous discussion of the concept of visual rhetoric, it is clear that while we
should educate our students about viewing visual documents, explaining the rhetorical
concept of these visual documents may be best reserved for students who are advanced in

69

both their language ability and cultural understanding, but also their discipline of study.
While EFL students will often reach these levels, visual rhetoric is likely not an effective
tool in the basic EFL classroom considering its inherent rhetorical purpose in documents
and requirements of advanced language and cultural knowledge.

The Six Language Arts and the Absence of Visual Representation

The six language arts that are used and employed by speakers of seemingly every
language are reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing.
Among the research that discusses the language arts is a 2005 article by Tan et. al. where
the authors state, language development entails four fundamental and interactive
abilities: listening, speaking, reading, and writing (8781). While the article has some
redeeming qualities, it is noteworthy to recognize that it is one of many that fail to
recognize viewing and visually representing among the language arts. The purpose of
discussing this is to show that there is more to teaching language arts and through the
discussion thus far, it has been offered many times that Chinese EFL students have a
predisposition to storing and accessing visual information. Furthermore, as discussed in a
1944 article by Russell, in considering the language arts, [teachers] have usually
emphasized the language rather than the arts (404). If we do not recognize viewing and
visually representing as part of language arts as ways to teach language to our students,
then are we employing our students strengths in their language learning?
In the sixth edition of Language Arts Patterns of Practice, Gail Tompkins asserts
that language teachers should incorporate opportunities for students to use all six of the
language arts everyday in their language learning. Furthermore, the six language arts

70

should not be taught separately, but instead they should integrate many of those six
language arts into the activities and assignments in the students language learning. The
six language arts as defined by Tompkins (2005), are listening, speaking, reading,
writing, viewing and visually representing. While the first four in this list are generally
well understood and represented in the classroom, viewing and visually representing are
often neglected in the classroom and may even have negative feelings associated with
them due to their misuse in language learning.
Viewing is defined in language arts as the viewing of visual media including
film and videos, print advertisements and commercials, photographs and book
illustrations, the Internet, and CD-ROM (Tompkins, 2005, p. 34). Furthermore,
Tompkins (2005) asserts, because visual media, including the Internet, are
commonplace in American life today, [students] need to learn how to comprehend them
and to integrate visual knowledge with other literacy knowledge (p. 34). The internet
has become important to the lives of students, and carries so much visual media, it is
important for students to be able to understand the information they are being presented
with. In the EFL classroom, viewing might include watching classmates act out a scene
from the trade book, examine photos which are not necessarily from the trade book but
are related, and watch video of an event related to the book.
Visually representing is defined in language arts as creating meaning through
multiple sign systems such as video productions, computer programs, dramatizations,
illustrations on charts, posters, and books, creating models, and so on (Tompkins, 2005,
p. 34). According to Harste (1995, cited in Tompkins, 2005, p. 34), seeing something
familiar in a new way is often a process of gaining new insights. Tompkins (2005)

71

further suggests that through the use of visual representation, students will gain a better
understanding of audience, purpose and form as they create visual texts (p. 34). This
understanding will be important in any writing activity the student completes because
audience, purpose and form are central to any writing and composing process. Visually
representing activities in a language function unit might include creating geographic
maps of a site from the book, creating papier-mch models of important items from the
book, putting on a puppet show for other students to view, creating charts on large poster
boards to record information and for the students to view, creating word related print
such as newspapers, maps and calendars for students to also view.
It is clear from the discussion in chapters one and two of the activities and
methods employed in teaching, and the styles and strategies employed by students in
learning that viewing and visually representing are not employed at high rates (or at all)
in English learning by Chinese EFL students. The purpose of increasing the role of
viewing and visually representing in the EFL classroom is not to replace reading, writing,
listening and speaking as activities and skill sets. Instead it is to enhance the other four
language arts by engaging students who would benefit from the use of visual stimuli and
to increase engagement in assignments and activities. Furthermore, considering the
natural tendencies for Chinese native speakers to visually encode and store information,
employing these activities is logical.

A Visual EFL Classroom

While there are certainly many ways to use visual stimuli in the classroom, one
way is through helping students understand that perceptual structures embody the forces

72

and tensions of their ideas, they then can use visual thinking to become consciously
aware of these structures (Brasseur, 1993).
Another tool that can be used in the classroom is visual stimuli. With visual
stimuli, the teacher can show the students the ways in which the visual elements of a
page, such as typography, arrangement of textual elements, white space, and images, help
support a writers intended meaning (Brasseur, 1993, p. 130). Typography and font
could be used to color cold words blue or hot words red. Words that are associated with
boys could be printed in blue or green, and words that are associated with girls could be
printed in pink or yellow. The arrangement of textual elements could be used to teach
prepositions such as over, under, above, next to, etc. by placing the words in visual
relation to the other for the students to view. White space could be used to draw attention
to certain parts of an essay. Images can be used in many different ways, but a good
reason for using images of items from the target language is that it not only allows the
student to see the item, but the student can see the item in a culturally reflective way.
This way vocabulary and culture could be taught at the same time.
There are many other ways to use visual media in the ESL classroom. In the
composition classroom, activities such as drawing a picture can help a student recognize
the different elements of their topic. Also drawing a sequence of events with arrows can
help the student visualize the steps, and appropriately explain those steps in an essay.
Audience could be taught with the use of visual stimuli by demonstrating pages with
different amounts of text, pictures and typography. It can then be discussed which page
would be appropriate for which audience and why. This will give the teacher the
opportunity to teach audience in a meaningful way to the students.

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As alluded to by Brinton in Celce-Murcia (2001), it is important to be careful as

to not fall in the trap of only using visual media in the classroom. For the ESL
classroom, it may be more important for students to create their own forms of visual
media. By giving our students directions and the different parts of a paper doll, they can
assemble the doll with the paper clothing, therefore learning the different parts of
clothing in a more meaningful visual form. For professionals who need to work on a
resume different parts of a mock resume could be scattered loosely on a desk, and the
discussion could focus on which parts of the resume should go where and why. This
would be a very interesting conversation with non-native English speakers to learn more
about their formatting styles while teaching forms of resumes.

Imagery
Imagery, both obvious and subtle, can be a crucial element to language learners.
Due to its useful elements, it can greatly enhance the learning of a Chinese EFL student.
Fleckenstein (2004) argues that imagery in its myriad forms infuses all enactments of
literacy, as scholars have pointed out (p. 613), and is a process and a product
inextricable from language (p. 617). From her discussion, it is seen that imagery is not
limited to explaining the graphic image itself, but images also serve a rhetorical purpose
of expressing meaning and importance by what is contained in an image, and what is left
out. Fleckenstein (2004) defines an image as,
a temporal-spatial experience, one that shifts as we experience it because
we experience it. Polymorphic literacy opens up our classrooms to this

74

fluidity, inviting explorations of the points where meaning shift as a result

of the transaction between image and word, image and image (p. 617)
While her writing becomes quite philosophical, we can learn that aspects of
creativity can sometimes not be accessible through words alone and alternative modes of
expression can be used to reveal that creativity consists of an array of vivid images
lodged in our muscles, minds, and words (Fleckenstein, 2004, p. 615). Fleckenstein
(2004) further asserts that while images and words can complement each other in
insightful and delightful ways, the hard realities of communication prevent us from fully
tapping that complimentary (p. 615). Thus, both images and words should be used
together in imagery to achieve the highest level of understanding and meaning expressed
by the writer, and viewed by the reader.
In addition, imagery includes visual rhetoric, but is not limited by it. As asserted
by Fleckenstein (2004), imagery embraces the importance of a rhetorical exploration of
all modalities of imagery, including kinesthetic, olfactory, auditory, and so forth, and
that the category of imagery encompasses all incarnations of imagery, from mental to
verbal, enabling us to examine specific incarnations and the ways in which they permeate
one another (p. 621). Whereas visual rhetoric has been traditionally used by marketers
and graphic designers and for that reason gained a negative stigma, imagery moves
beyond the persuasion of visual rhetoric and can be used in education. Imagery also does
not require cultural information to understand visually presented information, whereas
visual rhetoric does. Imagery also includes the two language arts viewing and visually
representing, and the two could be considered as subcategories of Imagery along with
visual rhetoric.

75

In a class here at Eastern Washington University, I have had the opportunity to

create a lesson plan which implements many of the visual activities discussed, based on a
biography. This includes viewing videos, using graphic organizers, drawing pictures, and
viewing pictures on the internet. This lesson plan and its accompanying materials follow.

Lesson Plan: Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama

Chapter 2 Young Barry
Learning Objective
4.4

Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of segments of an appropriate

video that has been aired in class (music, biography, news, movie clips, speeches,
current events, peer presentations) (Okabe, 2009, p. 131).

Materials: Journal 1.2, book Hopes and Dreams, YouTube clips: Obamas Roots, and
Obamas Kenyan Roots. Graphic organizers: Flow Chart and Venn Diagram
Equipment: Computer with internet access, projector and document viewer.
Procedure
1.

Teacher reads aloud the text from pages 37-38 to the students (Figure 10). Ask
students to look for differences between the two trips during the reading and
create a Flow Chart (Figure 11) of the two trips while listening. Suggest that
students follow along in their text and draw information from it. Remind students
that information should be in chronological order (6 minutes).
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/flow.pdf

2. Ask for student volunteers to offer their information and create a Flow Chart as a
class (4 minutes).

76

3. Ask students to refer to the reading and draw a picture that represents something
from that section to include in their Obama Binder (Obama binders are like
Me Boxes in concept) (5 minutes)
4. Ask students to volunteer and explain their picture to the class on the document
camera (5 minutes). (This will increase comprehension and gives the instructor
an opportunity to learn what the students found important in the section.)
5. Conduct Journal 1.2, comprehension journal (7 minutes).
Journal 1.2
You have just listened to your instructor read about Barack Obamas trips to Kenya and
how they were two very different experiences. How is the second trip different from the
first? How has Barack changed from his first trip to his second trip? Which do you think
he enjoyed more and why? Try to include reasons and write at least 100 words.
6. Ask for student volunteers to read their Journal 1.2 (4 minutes).
7. Watch videos 1 and 2. Ask students to listen to the similarities and differences
between the reading and the video. Ask students to fill out a Venn Diagram
(Figure 12) on similarities and differences. Watch each video twice as a class (14
minutes). http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf
Video 1: Obamas roots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOn9NtEUiv4 (2:36)
Video 2: Obamas Kenyan roots (3:19)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UreJZMY_2IY&feature=fvw
8.

Ask for student volunteers to share their information and create a Venn Diagram
as a class. Discuss the Venn Diagrams as a class (5 minutes).

77

9. For homework, ask students to look on the internet for a picture of an item that
they want to include in their Obama Binder with the picture they drew, and
write a caption why their pictures are important to Baracks trips to Africa.
Evaluations
Primary trait 1: Students will create a correct sequence on the Flow Chart for each of
Baracks trips to Kenya.
Primary trait 2: Students will categorize appropriate information and give good detail in
the Venn Diagram when comparing the reading from the book to the viewing of
the video.
Primary trait 3: Students will write at least 100 words in Journal 1.2 and include reasons.
Grading: Students will be graded on a High Middle Low scale where high achievers
achieve excellent information included, Middle achievers will achieve satisfactory
information included and Low achievers will achieve incomplete information
included.

Teacher Read-Aloud: Obamas Trips to Kenya

The first time he arrived in Kenya in 1987, Obama was a twentysix-year-old Chicago community organizer preparing to enter Harvard
Law School. He landed at the airport to find that his baggage had been
lost en route and he roared into Nairobi in an aunts beat up Volkswagen
Beetle with a knocking engine and no muffler
Later on his way to his ancestral village of Kogelo, in rural western
Kenya the land immortalized in Hemingways Green Hills of Africa he
78

took an all night train to the town of Kisumu and rode from there for hours
in an overcrowded and rickety jitney-like matatu with bald tires and few
seats. On his lap during the bumpy ride were his half sister Auma, a
squealing baby that a stranger asked him to hold, and a basket full of
yams. It was not exactly as he had often fantasized his visit to the land of
his father as a homecoming clouds lifting, old demons fleeing, the
earth trembling as ancestors rose up in celebration.
Nineteen years later, that fantasy seemed to come true before his
eyes. When Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters, Malia
and Sasha, landed at Nairobis Kenyatta International Airport in the
summer of 2006, the U.S. ambassador met their plane, and they were
whisked past a throng of waiting reporters and ferried into town in a
twelve-car motorcade.
Rapturous crowds of Kenyans wearing T-shirts emblazoned with
his name and likeless chanted Come to us, Obama! as he visited a
memorial at the site of the U.S. embassy bombing in Nairobi.
Foregoing the all-night train ride, Obama and his family flew to
Kisumu where thousands lined the route to Kogelo, many climbing trees
for a better view of the motorcade carrying the American that the local
Luo tribespeople loudly claimed as their own. Hes our brother, said
one. Hes our son. (Dougherty, 2009, p. 37-38)

79

Flow Chart Graphic Organizer ( from Houghton Mifflin)

80

Venn Diagram Graphic Organizer (Houghton Mifflin Company)

81

In todays visually oriented society, the use of visual information and imagery can
help students bridge the gaps in creating connections in information in both their reading
and listening (or input), and their writing and speaking (or output). Fleckenstein (2004)
asserts that,
If we transform the frame by which we understand reading and writing,
we can potentially transform our teaching, necessary in this postGutenbergian5, image dominated age, in which we are subject to an
unending stream of information melding words with mental, graphic, and
verbal imagery (p. 615).
While it is true that in the past that language has overshadowed image, preventing us
from recognizing the essential role of imagery in meaning (Fleckenstein, 2004, p. 619),
imagery remains important in todays visually oriented society. It is also important to
increase the use of this technique with both our native English speaking students, but also
our Chinese EFL students who have demonstrated to have a predisposition to learning
with the use of visual information as discussed in chapter four.

Conclusion
In chapter five it has been determined that visual information is playing an
increasingly important role in society. While visual rhetoric may not be appropriate for
all EFL classrooms, it may be best suited for students with high levels of cultural
understanding who are advanced in their education. Instead of employing visual rhetoric
in the EFL classroom, it may be more effective to employ viewing and visually

Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468) is credited with being the first European to use movable type printing
and in 1439 invented the mechanical printing press.

82

representing, or imagery as proposed by Fleckenstein (2004). These methods lend

themselves to activities that allow students to use both visual and verbal thinking in the
classroom to prepare them for the information they see in society. Interestingly, research
indicates that viewing and visually representing are not employed at high rates (or at all)
in English learning by Chinese EFL students. Furthermore, as previously stated the
purpose of increasing the role of viewing and visually representing in the EFL classroom
is not to replace reading, writing, listening, and speaking as activities. Instead, its
purpose is to enhance reading, writing, listening and speaking by engaging students with
the use of visual stimuli in methods, assignments, and activities.

83

Chapter 6: Conclusion
Introduction
The purpose of this thesis is to explore research that can give insight as to the
ways that may be beneficial in teaching EFL to Chinese students. Ive discussed the
history of English education in China and briefly mentioned the various strategies
employed by Chinese learners of English. In chapter three, I analyzed various critical
understandings of the Chinese language in order to discern the importance of the visual
aspect of the Chinese character. Chapter four presented research about the neural
pathways of Chinese language users. Chapter five discussed the importance of visual
rhetoric and its place in EFL methodology for Chinese speakers.
These wide-ranging topics share one common focus: the importance of the visual
aspects of language, whether it be Chinese characters or English electronic
communication. We need to understand how culture and history of English education in
the past influences the way that English is taught in China today before we can discuss
contemporary English language education in China. Lastly, the contemporary world,
including China, uses electronic media frequentlyand electronic media often includes a
large amount of visual information. While the purpose of this thesis is not to categorize
all native Chinese speakers as rote memorizers of visual information, so all English
teaching should be visual, it is instead to shed light on how English has been taught in
China and the reasons for increasing the use visually representing with other reading,
writing, listening and speaking activities in the EFL classroom.

84

Limitations of Current Study

This study has a number of limitations. First, it is difficult to discuss Chinese EFL
learners without sounding essentialist, which was not my intention. However, Ive found
it difficult to completely avoid discussing Chinese learners as a single entity, even though
I am fully aware that each learner is his/her own person. My intention is not to confirm
the stereotype of Chinese students as rote memorizers of language. In fact, my research
indicates memorization is not the most commonly used method to study English in China.
Secondly, the wide range of topics addressed leaves little room for in-depth analysis. In
short, this thesis presents a brief introduction to some important topics but is by no means
an exhaustive account of those topics. Lastly, this thesis is admittedly theoretical and not
practicalit is not a curriculum or even a how-to guide for teaching Chinese learners.
That is a topic beyond the scope of this current project.

Recommendations for Future Research

There are many possible ways to build on this research. While this thesis focuses
on China and Chinese speakers, there may be related information about Japanese and
Korean languages. It would be interesting to see if there is research addressing these
languages and brain research. Another research topic would be a curriculum explaining
how to actually implement visual rhetoric and/or imagery in the EFL classroom. This
would be the natural progression from this thesis. Also, it would be interesting to explore
visual imagery in the English 112 classroom to see if including visual rhetoric helped
Chinese students learn English. This kind of project would involve getting IRB approval,
of course.

85

Conclusions
As previously stated, the purpose of increasing the role of viewing and visually
representing in the EFL classroom is not to replace reading, writing, listening, and
speaking as activities. Instead, its purpose is to enhance reading, writing, listening and
speaking by engaging students with the use of visual stimuli in methods, assignments,
and activities. This thesis was meant to be an introduction to this topic, as well as an
introduction to the idea that the brain processes languages differently, based on whether
theyre alphabetic or ideophonetic. However, as it has become clear that there a lack of
consensus about which Chinese characters can be called ideophonetic, there can be no
broad assumptions concerning all Chinese characters or all Chinese speakers. Rather, this
thesis is meant to introduce current and future EFL teachers to these interesting and
related topics.

86

Appendix 1: Features of the English Curriculum in Five Periods since the

Founding of the Peoples Republic of China

Modernization
under
Deng
Xiaoping
1977-93

Toward
Nine Years'
Compulsory
Education
1993-

Social
revolution

Economic
modernization

Economic
modernization
and
compulsory
schooling

Developing
cultural and
scientific
knowledge

Vehicle for
propaganda

Developing
trade: cultural
and scientific
knowledge

Developing
trade: cultural
and scientific
knowledge

No national
series, but
some
produced
regionally

Series 6-7

Series 8 and
competing
series
produced by
regional
sellers
Anecdotes,
stories;
scientific and
cultural
information

Eclectic

The End
of Soviet
Influence
1956-60

Toward
Quality in
Education
1960-66

Macro
National
priorities

National
socialist
construction

Quality in
education to
support
development

Role of
English

Access to
scientific and
technical
information

The Cultural
Revolution
1966-76

Sets of
official
textbooks

Series 1-3

Series 4-5

Content
of
Texts

Anecdotes,
stories
scientific and
politicized
texts

Anecdotes,
stories,
scientific
texts;
some
politicized
texts

Highly
politicized
texts

Anecdotes,
stories,
scientific texts;
some
politicized
texts

Pedagogy
of texts

Grammartranslation

Audiolingulism
and grammartranslation

Grammartranslation

Audiolingulism
and grammartranslation

Adapted from Adamson and Morris (1997) charts the five different periods of English
language learning in China with factors which played a role in EFL curriculum design.
87

Appendix 2: The 214 standard Chinese radicals

(by Hawley as cited in Allen, 1992, p. 196).

These radicals are the most basic forms of Chinese writing, and while some of them alone
represent characters and phonetics in and of themselves, they are generally combined
with other radicals and characters to create more characters.

88

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Curriculum Vitae

Lance M. Chase, M.B.A.

Email: chaselance@gmail.com

EDUCATION
Master of Arts English TESOL
Certificate in the Teaching of Writing
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA

Jan. 2008 July 2009

Master of Arts MBA Finance

Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington USA

Aug. 2005 May 2007

Bachelor of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies

Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA

Sept. 2003 June 2005

Bachelor of Arts Business Management

Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA

Dec. 1997 June 2002

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Instructor English EFL
July 2009 - Present
Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme
Hokkaido Board of Education, Kutchan, Hokkaido, Japan
Assist in teaching English to Japanese middle and high school EFL students.
Instructor English Composition
Sept. 2008 June 2009
Exposition and Argumentation (ENGL 101)
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA
Created and taught a curriculum in English composition focusing on visual
analysis and argumentation.
Responsible for leading and directing all classroom activities, assignments and
assessments.
Integrated technology and external resources into teaching curriculum.
Intern English Grammar
Jan. 2009 Mar. 2009
Language Structure & Use (ENGL 360)
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA
Assisted in classroom discussions and presented information to students.
Assisted professor with classroom group work.
Proctored and graded exams in the classroom.

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Intern English Composition

Principles of Effective Thinking and Writing (ENGL 201)
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA
Led classroom discussions on visual analysis.
Assisted in classroom discussions.
Assisted professor with classroom group work.

Jan. 2009 Mar. 2009

Intern English Composition

Sep. 2009 Dec. 2009
Writing English for International Students (ENGL 112)
Eastern Washington University, Cheney Washington USA
Assisted in teaching English composition to international students.
Created a 10 week lesson plan with a biography about Barack Obama.
Increased activities for students to hone writing and presentation skills.
Assisted in classroom discussions and presented information to students.
Assisted professor with classroom group work.
Graduate Research Assistant
Aug. 2005 June 2007
Economics
Gonzaga University, Spokane Washington USA
Collected and analyzed data for research publications in economic journals.
Created an online research data gathering site about current economic conditions
and managed the site online.
Co-founded the M.B.A. Student Association on campus.
Assisted with classroom activities and student assessments in introductory
economics classes.
Coached and tutored students with their GMAT examinations.
PRESENTATIONS
Conference Presenter
Student Research and Creative Works Symposium
Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA USA

May 2009

Conference Presenter
Nov. 2008
Washington Association for the Education of Speakers of Other Languages (WAESOL)
Western Washington University, Bellingham WA USA
Presented on how a single biography can be the basis for a curriculum in the EFL
classroom and how viewing and visual learning can enhance English language learning.
PUBLICATIONS
WAESOL World Newsletter
Dec. 2008
Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA USA
A short reflection letter on my experience presenting at the 2008 WAESOL Convention.
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GRANTS AND ASSISTANTSHIPS

Graduate Assistantship
Sept. 2008 June 2009
English Composition Department
Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA USA
Awarded a partial tuition waiver and stipend to teach English composition.
Travel Grant Recipient
WAESOL
Eastern Washington University, Cheney WA USA
Awarded a competitive travel grant to present at the WAESOL conference.

Nov. 2008

Graduate Assistantship
Aug. 2005 May 2007
Business Administration Department
Gonzaga University, Spokane WA USA
Awarded a partial tuition waiver and stipend to assist in business market research.
LANGUAGE STUDY
German Study
Sept.1994 Aug. 1999
Study Abroad in Lubeck Germany, Summer 1999; I speak elementary level German.
Chinese Study
Sept . 2003 June 2005
Study Abroad in Beijing China, Winter 2006; I speak introductory level Chinese.
Sept 2009 June 2009

Japanese Study
I speak introductory level Japanese.
SKILLED EXPERIENCE

Electrical Administator
July 2004 July 2009
Cheney Appliance Repair, Cheney, WA
Managed company financial transactions.
Marketed company to prospective customers.
Performed duties as electrical administrator holding 07 electrical licenses with
Washington State Electrical Board.
Personal Banker
Feb. 2007 June 2007
US Bank, Spokane, WA
Managed relationships with current and prospective banking clients.
Recommended appropriate financial products to customers.
Assisted with the operation of everyday banking activities.

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