Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

English Language Teaching In China: Teacher Agency In Response To Curricular Innovations, Sarina Chugani Molina

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

This chapter explores the unique history of English Language Teaching in China, and the role of teacher agency in response to curricular changes. This study employed survey methodology with 72 Chinese English language teachers to understand the ways in which they adapt their curriculum within their local contexts. Interviews with five teachers and one teacher educator selected through purposeful sampling revealed additional factors that contributed to the teachers’ sense of agency. The complexity of the translation of theory into practice is revealed in light of the current ecological systems in which teachers and students are situated.