This text provides teachers of English to Chinese students with information on the linguistic, cultural and pedagogical backgrounds of these students. It analyses the importance of this background, and offers information on successful classroom teaching methods and student learning strategies.

Newly arrived Chinese immigrant students face the hardest imaginable situation in the classroom: most often, this is the only place where they can listen to and practice English, having little if any opportunity to do so at home. The burden is then on the teacher to further these students' English education and at the same time create a classroom environment that appreciates and respects their culture and language. Danling Fu has experienced these difficulties firsthand as a teacher, as a student, and as a parent. In An Island of English, she brings together her extensive research in New York's Chinatown, where she worked as a literacy consultant at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Middle School, her personal story as an immigrant, and the stories of her son as an immigrant student. She extends her findings to other immigrant populations and applies her keen research talents to devise practical recommendations for educators and policymakers.

Come with us now to the first day of class to teach English in China. Both students and teacher's hearts pound with anticipation as students file into the room, chatting and pretending not to notice the foreign teacher standing behind his desk. But they can't help glancing at him anyway for a first look. Laughter mingles with the sound of books and chairs clanking together. A buzzer sounds in the hall, and Bill Burkett, affectionately known in China by his students as "Mr. Bill," begins. A Manual for Teaching English in China takes us from the first day's buzzer through the first weeks, months, and semesters of teaching English in China, sharing numerous stories, laughs, interesting facts, and many effective ways of teaching ESL. A Manual for Teaching English in China is packed with Bill Burkett's practical ideas, methods, and teaching techniques that can actually be used to teach ESL anywhere. Bill Burkett recently returned from a seven year stint of teaching English in the universities and training schools of Henan, China. An internationally renowned public speaker, Burkett has lived in 46 nations in the last 43 years. He developed a strong interest in linguistics which was fueled by his close association with interpreters. In Chinese classrooms where he taught English, he conducted active research, experimenting and taking student polls. He concentrated on eliminating speech impediments and strong accents. His education, experiences, and research shaped his philosophy of teaching English as a Second Language and formed the basis of his first ESL book, A Manual for Teaching English in China. Following the manual is Secrets to Better English which reveals a proven method of teaching ESL without accent. Although Burkett's doctorate is in philosophy, his love is making a difference in his students' lives by teaching diction and the skills of speech.

This up-close look at Chinese ESL teachers documents undertakings at formal and informal levels to support and sustain their expertise in ways that balance collaborative and competitive efforts, situated and standards-based programs, ethnically responsive and government-based efforts, and traditional and 21st-century teaching visions. English is a mandated subject for approximately 400 million Chinese public school students. Making transparent the training and professional development received respectively by pre-service and in-service teachers, this book provides a rare window into how Chinese English Language teachers (ELTs) reconcile the two needs with the responsibility to teach large numbers of students while also navigating societal, cultural, and institutional cross currents. It also explores the range of ways China invests in the training and professional development of its English language teachers.

This up-close look at Chinese ESL teachers documents undertakings at formal and informal levels to support and sustain their expertise in ways that balance collaborative and competitive efforts, situated and standards-based programs, ethnically responsive and government-based efforts, and traditional and 21st-century teaching visions. English is a mandated subject for approximately 400 million Chinese public school students. Making transparent the training and professional development received respectively by pre-service and in-service teachers, this book provides a rare window into how Chinese English Language teachers (ELTs) reconcile the two needs with the responsibility to teach large numbers of students while also navigating societal, cultural, and institutional cross currents. It also explores the range of ways China invests in the training and professional development of its English language teachers.

Providing an East-West flow of language teaching knowledge and know-how to balance prevailing Western-centric perspectives, this book is an in-depth investigation of the impact of Western-based language teacher education on the pedagogy and practice of Chinese English language teachers who received their training in Western institutions or those that emphasize Western-based teaching approaches. A significant and growing number of these teachers will influence millions of language learners in China over the next decades. The Pedagogy and Practice of Western-trained Chinese English Language Teachers: Forefronts Chinese teachers’ voices and experiences in the context of their workplaces and classrooms Connects and balances theory and practice using a sociocultural lens Discusses the Chinese government’s policies on the training of teachers and analyzes them in terms of their impact on both American and Chinese higher education institutions This is a must read book for anyone interested in learning theory adopted from a Western perspective and applied within an Asian setting.