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Chapter 10. Curriculum innovation through concept borrowing

The case of “learner autonomy” in English language education in Chinese universities (1978–2007)
  • Shi Pu
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Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching
This chapter is in the book Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching

Abstract

This chapter analyses how the concept of learner autonomy was incorporated into the national college English curricula in China between 1978 and 2007. Adopting Quentin Skinner’s intentionalist approach, it examines this concept in relation to linguistic convention and practical context in China, discussing its meaning in the Chinese context and the intentionality of promoting this concept for curriculum innovation. The findings reveal that learner autonomy was taken to refer mainly to students’ ability to learn on their own outside the classroom. The importation of this concept has pushed teachers and policy makers to attend to students’ individual needs, but it has also manipulated dominant academic and pedagogical discourse in China in a way that steered curriculum innovation away from its original aim.

Abstract

This chapter analyses how the concept of learner autonomy was incorporated into the national college English curricula in China between 1978 and 2007. Adopting Quentin Skinner’s intentionalist approach, it examines this concept in relation to linguistic convention and practical context in China, discussing its meaning in the Chinese context and the intentionality of promoting this concept for curriculum innovation. The findings reveal that learner autonomy was taken to refer mainly to students’ ability to learn on their own outside the classroom. The importation of this concept has pushed teachers and policy makers to attend to students’ individual needs, but it has also manipulated dominant academic and pedagogical discourse in China in a way that steered curriculum innovation away from its original aim.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Information about the authors vii
  4. Introduction
  5. Chapter 1. How can perspectives from Applied Linguistic Historiography improve our understanding of innovation? 2
  6. Part I. Product innovation
  7. Chapter 2. Tart–scriblita–torta–torte–torta–tortilha: A piece of cake! 24
  8. Chapter 3. Teaching phraseology in the 19th century 43
  9. Chapter 4. Innovation in monolingual English learner’s dictionaries 59
  10. Part II. Innovation through scientific discovery
  11. Chapter 5. La linguistique appliquée 82
  12. Chapter 6. Classroom-oriented teacher research in modern languages 104
  13. Part III. Oscillations along a continuum
  14. Chapter 7. Change without innovation? 122
  15. Chapter 8. “Reflection on language” 137
  16. Part IV. Adaptation in specific contexts
  17. Chapter 9. Describing and learning the Chinese languages 164
  18. Chapter 10. Curriculum innovation through concept borrowing 180
  19. Chapter 11. Beyond written texts 199
  20. Index 217
https://doi.org/10.1075/aals.20.10pu

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Information about the authors vii
  4. Introduction
  5. Chapter 1. How can perspectives from Applied Linguistic Historiography improve our understanding of innovation? 2
  6. Part I. Product innovation
  7. Chapter 2. Tart–scriblita–torta–torte–torta–tortilha: A piece of cake! 24
  8. Chapter 3. Teaching phraseology in the 19th century 43
  9. Chapter 4. Innovation in monolingual English learner’s dictionaries 59
  10. Part II. Innovation through scientific discovery
  11. Chapter 5. La linguistique appliquée 82
  12. Chapter 6. Classroom-oriented teacher research in modern languages 104
  13. Part III. Oscillations along a continuum
  14. Chapter 7. Change without innovation? 122
  15. Chapter 8. “Reflection on language” 137
  16. Part IV. Adaptation in specific contexts
  17. Chapter 9. Describing and learning the Chinese languages 164
  18. Chapter 10. Curriculum innovation through concept borrowing 180
  19. Chapter 11. Beyond written texts 199
  20. Index 217
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