I suppose it was 14 years ago when I first came to China, and I wanted to identify those who might be successful partners for Macmillan. It quickly became clear that there was just one publishing house at the top of the mountain, which was likely to be the most effective partner for Macmillan, and that was Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. The second British Publishers Mission was our opportunity — when Mr Li Pengyi sought me out, and we had the chance to discuss new publishing possibilities for the first time. It was clear to me that FLTRP had real strategic vision. We started the first readers programme initially, but it was always clear that what was needed was not local reprints or adaptations of overseas materials but books specifically written and edited to suit Chinese conditions and aspirations. It was also clear that the professionalism of the FLTRP team was second to none. So when the Ministry of Education decided to offer English at primary level and Mr Li offered us the opportunity to invest together in a new primary English course, we were not slow to accept!
I believe the co-publishing of New Standard English courses with FLTRP is unique in Macmillan’s history. It has been a genuine cooperation that has not only created learning materials specially developed for schoolchildren in China learning English but has also fostered an intense and open collaboration between our two publishing houses that has changed and allowed all the individuals involved in the project to grow professionally and personally. Both our organisations have had to change during this period to adapt to the world changing around us. This project has opened our minds to new ways of working and collaborating on an international basis, a relationship that has changed Macmillan in a very positive way.
Macmillan has gone to great lengths to find highly experienced and well-renowned authors, editors, trainers and expert advisors who are able to bring to China the best of international teaching and learning pedagogies and apply these to the unique needs in Chinese schools. The success of our English projects has depended on the teams working together on the basis of mutual confidence and friendship. These teams have all been welcomed as true friends by their editorial colleagues in Beijing and at all levels. I would like to thank them all for their ongoing dedication, commitment and creativity over the years.
NEW Standard English uses the most tried and tested methodology of communicative language teaching. Some of the words we use to define and describe communicative include learner-focussed, integrated skills development, language in context, language usage, and everyday English. My role was to explore with my friend and colleague Professor Chen Lin and his team, the relevance of every aspect of this approach in the context of Chinese classrooms. Everything we did reflected the intentions and aspirations of the new curriculum, introduced from 2004. Its objectives include not just a focus on language knowledge but on language skills, on learning strategy, on cultural consciousness, and on affect and attitudes, including national commitment and international vision. Our job was to take this set of theoretical objectives and turn it into a practical classroom course which considers the needs of the learners, the expectations of the teachers, and the aspirations of a national education curriculum. I’m very proud with how successfully we were able to achieve this in New Standard English, but much of the credit must go to the curriculum document itself.
While trying to bring to China some of the best teaching practice through the coursebook, we also encountered some difficulties. Class size in China is perhaps the most significant issue which challenged the introduction of communicative methodology into China. But generally, pair- and groupwork is a device which is commonly used to manage a large class, and during our many weeks of classroom observation, we were delighted to see how well the teachers were integrating it into their work.
For about seven years I came to China from my home in Oxford, UK, every six or seven weeks, and over the past ten years, I’ve spent more than a year living in China. My work in China is the most substantial aspect of my professional life. It has been so for the past ten years, and I expect it to continue. I’ve spent more than one third of my professional life working with my Chinese colleagues, and for Chinese teachers and learners. No other project in my career has required the same commitment from me and I’m very proud of this.
