Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2010-07-14 An Introduction to Major University English Tests and English Language Teaching In China Caiping Sun Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Linguistics Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Sun, Caiping, "An Introduction to Major University English Tests and English Language Teaching In China" (2010). Theses and Dissertations. 2444. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2444 This Selected Project is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. ! An Introduction to Major University English Tests and English Language Teaching In China Caiping Sun A selected project submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Dr. Lynn Henrichsen, Chair Dr. Dan Dewey Dr. Norman Evans Department of Linguistics and English Language Brigham Young University August 2010 Copyright ○C 2010 Caiping Sun All Rights Reserved ! ABSTRACT An Introduction to Major University English Tests and English Language Teaching In China Caiping Sun Department of Linguistics and English Language Master of Arts The purposes of this project were to introduce (1) the four main college level English tests used in the People’s Republic of China to expatriate English language educators, researchers, curriculum developers, and program designers; and (2) the college English language teaching situation in China to expatriates and give them information on where and how to apply for teaching positions there. The project produced two products to fulfill these goals. First, a paper titled an introduction to major university English tests in China: Their nature, development and importance is now ready to submit for publication. It is a paper that introduces all four of the main college level English tests in China to the outside world. It explains these high-stakes English tests to scholars outside of China. Second, a website, http://www.tesolinchina.blog.com, was created to fulfill the second goal of the project. It is the first website that provides those who are interested in teaching English in China with a complete list of major universities in each geographical region of China as well as other necessary information, and links to these universities. Keywords: English test, high-stakes, website, expatriate, the People’s Republic of China ! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I hereby express the greatest appreciation to those who directed, supported, and assisted me during the time I worked on this project. My chair, Dr. Lynn Henrichsen, stepped in after I was somewhat lost for a year and half, wondering what I could do to fulfill the requirements for my master’s degree, and showed his interest in the topic of a presentation I gave in the Graduate Student Forum at TESOL 2009 in Denver, CO. He also inspired me to research this topic by switching from a thesis to a project, and has had so much patience with me. I thank him for his encouragement that carried me through difficult times. His valuable advice contributed greatly to this project. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Dan Dewey and Dr. Norman Evans, my committee members, for their support and patience with all the changes in my program and their willingness to do whatever they could to work with my schedule. Half of the product of this project, the website, was the result of their valuable advice. I want to thank Dr. Diane Strong-Krause, my former chair, for her help in choosing the original topic for my MA program and the additional assistance she gave me. I want to thank Phyllis Daniel, the department secretary, for her constant assistance from the time that I applied for the TESOL graduate certificate program, when I was still on my mission, to today. My thanks also go to Dr. Dee Gardner, for his most- needed encouragement at times when I was about to give up. ! I owe a debt of gratitude to my elderly mother for her understanding of my not being able to visit her for four years. I am grateful to her for her sagacity in education that eventually cause me, a village girl, to become an MA student at BYU. Finally, I want to extend my gratitude to my dear friends Sherry Erwin Peck and Rachel N. Nutter, who have not only helped me throughout my graduate studies at Brigham Young University but also influenced me with their examples of their faith; to my siblings, many teachers, and friends who have assisted me throughout the years. This project could not have been accomplished without their unconditional love and support. "! ! Table of Contents List of tables ......................................................................................................................vii List of figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of acronyms..................................................................................................................x Chapter 1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 Manuscript on major university English tests in China.....................................5 Introduction......................................................................................................................5 Historical overview of English language learning and testing in China .........................9 Exam-orientation and English tests in China.................................................................12 Major English tests in China..........................................................................................13 The National Matriculation English Test (NMET)....................................................13 The Graduate School Entrance English Exam (GSEEE)...........................................19 The College English Test—Band Four (CET-4) .......................................................21 The Test for English Majors (TEM-4 and TEM-8) ...................................................29 Conclusion .....................................................................................................................33 Chapter 3 An online introduction to teaching English in China ......................................37 Purpose of creating the website .....................................................................................37 Structure of the website .................................................................................................38 Advantages of the website .............................................................................................39 Feedback on the website................................................................................................68 Chapter 4 The project development process ....................................................................71 The process of developing the project ...........................................................................71 Changes made to the website based on feedback ..........................................................73 "#! ! Final changes to the project ...........................................................................................74 Possible publication venues for the manuscript.............................................................74 Chapter 5 Conclusions......................................................................................................76 References .........................................................................................................................77 "##! ! List of tables Table 1. Content, Item, Formats and Weights of the Each Sections of the Current CET-4 ………………………………………………………………………..24 Table 2. Content, Item Formats and Weights of the Different Sections of the TEM-4 …………………………………………………………………...31 Table 3. Content, Item Formats and Weights of the Different Sections of the TEM-8.…………………………………………………………………...32 Table 4. Comparison of Major English Tests in China……..…………………….…..34 "###! ! List of figures Figure 1. Numbers of G!ok"o test takers and numbers of test takers admitted to colleges in China …….……………..………………………………..…..14 Figure 2. Numbers of GSEEE test takers ……………………...………………..….20 Figure 3. Numbers of CET-4 test takers between 1987 and 2002……………...…...22 Figure 4. “Home page” for “Teaching English in China”…………………...…..….41 Figure 5. “Home page” continued…………………………………………..……….42 Figure 6. “Holidays& Accommodations”………………………………………..….43 Figure 7. “Holidays& Accommodations” continued……………………………..…44 Figure 8. “List of Universities” ……………………………………………………..45 Figure 9. “List of Universities” continued…………………………….…………….46 Figure 10. “List of Universities” continued …………………………………….…..47 Figure 11. “List of Universities” continued ………………………………………...48 Figure 12. “List of Universities” continued …………………………………….…..49 Figure 13. “List of Universities” continued ………………….………………….….50 Figure 14. “List of Universities” continued …………………………………….…..51 Figure 15 “List of Universities” continued …….…………………………………...52 Figure 16. “List of Universities” continued ………………………………………...53 Figure 17. “List of Universities” continued …………………………………….…..54 Figure 18. “List of Universities” continued ……………………………….………..55 Figure