Analysis of Reasons for Chinese College Students’ Lack of Oral English Proficiency

Chinese college students’ lack of oral English proficiency has aroused many attentions during the College English Reform in recent years. The purpose of this article is to (a) summarize findings from the literature of challenges existed in oral English teaching in Chinese higher education and (b) find reasons for Chinese college students’ lack of oral English proficiency. The overarching question of this article is what are reasons for Chinese college students’ lack of oral English proficiency. Several reasons for Chinese college students’ lack of oral English proficiency including teacher knowledge, students’ willingness to communicate, assessment factors, and contextual constraints have been identified from the literature. This study hopes to provide references to the development of Chinese College English Reform in respect to oral English teaching.

In order to meet the growing demands for English proficient talents, College English has been a required course in Chinese universities and colleges for non-English major undergraduate students since the 1980s (Ruan & Jacob, 2009). Almost all of the non-English major college students are required to take College English classes during freshman and sophomore years. These non-English majors must then pass the College English Test (CET) at a certain level in order to get their bachelor degrees. College English course is designed to develop students' English language ability under four dimensions: listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, due to the limited resources and time only listening, reading, and writing skills are assessed during the College English Test (Ruan & Jacob, 2009). Students major in English, although they do not have to take the College English course, are required to take courses that are more extensive and demanding related to English such as English Grammar, American Literature, British Literature, Linguistics, etc. English majors are also required to pass a test designed specifically for them which is called Test for English majors (TEM) at a certain level in order to receive their bachelor degrees.
With the purpose of enhancing Chinese students' English ability, many English teaching methods have also been used along the English education history in China including Direct Instructional Teaching Method in the early 20 th century, Grammar-Translation Method during the mid-twentieth century, Audio-Lingual Method in the 1980s, Communicative Approach of the 1990s, and Task-Based Teaching Approach in recent years (Ruan & Jacob, 2009). Under the application of all these English language teaching (ELT) methods in college English education, much progress has been made. However, the current situation of Chinese college students' oral English proficiency is still far from satisfactory ( (Liu and Dai 2003;Wen 1999). According to the results of a survey conducted in Hebei University of Engineering in China, 55.6 % of students lack confidence in oral English learning, 29% of students have some confidence in oral English learning, only 15.4% of students have enough confidence in oral English learning (Wei, 2012). After studying English for more than ten years, most Chinese English learners still have difficulty understanding or communicating with native English speakers (Wang, 2004).

The development of English education at Chinese higher institutions is influenced by pedagogy from
English speaking countries (Hu & Lei, 2014;Liu, 2012;Lu & Ares, 2015;Sit & Chen, 2010). However, problems exist during the adaptation and assimilation of pedagogy from English speaking countries to the specific cultural, social and historical context of English education in China (Hu & Lei, 2014;Lu & Ares, 2015;Sit & Chen, 2010). Communicative language teaching is an approach to the teaching of language that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the purpose of learning a language (Daisy, 2012). A variety of activities for the communicative language teaching approach include role play, interviews, information gap, pair work, and so on (Daisy, 2012); however, many researchers have shown that a communicative language teaching approach has problems with adaptation in Chinese classrooms (Lu & Ares, 2015;Sun & Cheng, 2002;Yu, 2001). The large class size in Chinese academic settings has limited classroom space for conducting communicative language learning activities (Lu & www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt Studies in English Language Teaching Vol. 8, No. 4, 2020 Published by SCHOLINK INC. Ares, 2015;Yu, 2001). The limited English proficiency and lack of understanding of the communicative language teaching approach for some English teachers in China also make it difficult for teachers to implement communicative tasks (Lu & Ares, 2015;Yu, 2001). Many scholars started to question the authenticity of communicative language teaching in an international setting, and Sullivan (2000) asked the questions of "Whose reality is 'real'?" and "What context is 'authentic'?" (p. 120).
In response to the limited proficiency of Chinese college students' oral English ability, the Chinese Ministry of Education launched many initiatives in the new millennium which include the College English Teaching Reform (Bai, Millwater, & Hudson, 2012 (2006) stated that "the objective of college English is to develop students' ability in a well-rounded way, especially in listening and speaking." In reality, however, the objective proved to be extremely challenging since oral English teaching in Chinese higher education has many difficulties (Chen & Goh, 2011

Teacher Knowledge
The concept of "teacher knowledge" has many different explanations and understandings. Shulman (1999, p.64) classified teacher knowledge into seven domains: 1) content knowledge, 2) general pedagogical knowledge, 3) curriculum knowledge, 4) pedagogical content knowledge, 5) knowledge of learners and characteristics, 6) knowledge of educational contexts, 7) knowledge of educational ends, purposes and values, and their philosophical and historical grounds. However, when Shulman's theory was applied to the area of English language teaching, the pedagogical content knowledge is closely related to the medium of instruction which makes the instruction different from subject-matter instruction (Freeman, 2002). Other perspectives include that "teacher knowledge" has been conceived as "practical knowledge" (Elbaz, 1981 et al.), "professional knowledge" (Tamir, 1991;Tillema, 1994), and "emotional knowledge" (Zembylas, 2007).
The first aspect of teacher knowledge which are lacked in English teaching classrooms in China is English teachers' knowledge of English (Yu, 2001;Chen & Goh, 2011;Wei, 2012). Since most English teachers in China are non-native English speakers, many teachers believe that their knowledge of English are insufficient and are concerned about their low levels of self-efficacy (Chen & Goh, 2011). Liu and Gong's (2000) study showed that among around 550,000 middle school (from grade 7 to grade 12) English teachers in China, only 89.4% of junior middle school (from grade 7 to grade 9) English  (Chen & Goh, 2011). Some English teachers can't express exactly what they mean by speaking English and are having difficulty judging whether students are expressing themselves in the right way or not (Chen & Goh, 2011). All of those situations are preventing English teachers in China from being competent in oral English teaching.
The second aspect of teacher knowledge which are lacked in English classrooms in China is knowledge about pedagogical methods and strategies for teaching oral English effectively (Yu, 2001;Chen & Goh, 2011;Wei, 2012;Chen & Goh, 2014;Chen, 2015). According to the results of a recent survey conducted in China, 73.4% of students believe that direct instructional teaching is the most common teaching method in English teaching classrooms (Chen, 2015). This kind of teacher-dominated traditional teaching method gives little opportunities for English learners to communicate in English during class, leads students become passive receivers of knowledge rather than active speakers of English (Wei, 2012). Since a lot of teachers only know some basic English grammar and vocabulary, the traditional grammar-translation method is the most possible choice for them because they can basically teach English in Chinese (Yu, 2001). Some teachers rely heavily on their learning experience as students which make their teaching strategies hard to meet current students' learning demands (Chen & Goh, 2011). Some advanced English teaching methods such as "blended learning" which involves applying digital technologies in the classroom also provide challenges to the improvement of teacher knowledge (Wu & Liu, 2013).
The third kind of teacher knowledge which are lacked in English teaching classrooms in China is knowledge of English learners' needs (Chen & Goh, 2011;Chen & Goh, 2014;Yazdanpanah, 2015).
Some English teachers find it challenging to effectively motivate students to speak English for teachers are lacking skills in actively engaging students during oral English activities (Chen & Goh, 2011).
Others report they are having difficulty choosing topics or materials that students are interested in and match students' English ability levels (Chen & Goh, 2011). A lot of teaching materials English teachers choose are out-of-date and are not practical in daily communication (Yang, 2010). Difficulties are also existed in teachers' knowledge in dealing with English learners' personalities and learning habits (Chen & Goh, 2011). Some students are active and enjoy group learning while some are introverted and prefer one-to-one discussion (Chen & Goh, 2011). Teachers' knowledge about oral English learners is also an essential part of teacher knowledge which influences English learners' oral English proficiency.

Students' Willingness to Communicate
Except reasons from teacher knowledge in influencing students' oral English proficiency, students' willingness to communicate in English in and out of class are also factors in influencing Chinese college students' oral English proficiency (Peng & Woodrow, 2010;Wang, 2009;Wei, 2012;Yang, 2010;Yue & Li, 2012;Zhou, 2003). According to a survey conducted in a university in Shanghai, only 22% of students are willing to fully use opportunities in English class to practice English; 16% of students do not like to communicate in English during class activities, and believe the traditional direct instructional teaching method is most effective in helping them getting good grades; 21% of students, although know the answers of the questions, are not willing to put up their hands and speak their answers publicly in English classes; 41% of students prefer answering questions after being called on names by their teachers (Wang, 2009). The results of the survey reflect several major factors which influence students' willingness to communicate in English which are students' English ability, learning motivation, psychological factors and cultural factors (Chen & Goh, 2011;Peng & Woodrow, 2010;Wang, 2009;Wei, 2012;Yang, 2010;Yue & Li, 2012;Zhou, 2003).

Students' English Ability
Although college students have been studying English for almost ten years from elementary school until college, some students' English ability are still very limited which influence their participation in English class (Yue & Li, 2012). Common problems exist in their English learning include that students have limited English vocabulary, unclear knowledge about grammar, as well as inaccurate pronunciation and intonation (Yue & Li, 2012). Most students still need to structure their ideas in Chinese and then translate them into English which make their English fractured, stuck and difficult to understand by native speakers (Wei, 2012;Yue & Li, 2012;Zhou, 2003). Yang (2010) pointed out in her study that some students' limited English listening and speaking ability also greatly affected their participation in oral English classes. Some teachers are having difficulty arranging effective oral tasks due to students' limited vocabulary and communicative abilities (Chen & Goh, 2011). What's more, due to different resources and curriculum requirements in different regions, students from developed regions such as Beijing and Shanghai often have better oral English abilities and are more willing to communicate than students from less developed regions (Chen & Goh, 2011).

Learning Motivation
Gardner and Lambert distinguish learners' motivation into two types which are integrative motivation and instrumental motivation (Wang, 2009 (Yang, 2010;Yue & Li, 2012). The author has a positive attitude towards students' clear goals and believes that teachers should motivate students for having multiple motivations to benefit students' English learning (Yang, 2010). Similarly, Wang (2006) conducted a survey and found that both integrative motivation and instrumental motivation benefit students' English learning.
However, some researchers (Chen & Goh, 2011;Lin, 2006;Wei, 2012) found that students who have instrumental motivation for learning English such as passing the College English Test often neglect oral English learning since speaking skill cannot be assessed during the test.

Psychological and Cultural Factors
Some researchers (Wei, 2012;Yue & Li, 2012) found that a lot of Chinese college students lack confidence in their oral English ability. They are worried about making mistakes while speak English especially when they are not familiar with the topic or are not confident with their English (Chen & Goh, 2011). Some students even feel ashamed to speak English because of their strong accent in pronunciation, and this causes much more difficulties in improving their oral English ability (Chen & Goh, 2011). Some students are too shy to speak in front of the public and prefer to keep their ideas reserved (Chen & Goh, 2011;Wei, 2012;Yue & Li, 2012). The feeling of inferiority and fear of speaking English caused much stress and anxiety, finally became great obstacles for their oral English proficiency (Yang, 2010;Zhou, 2003).
Cultural factors, combined with psychological factors, also limited college students' oral English proficiency (Wang, 2009). In traditional Chinese classroom, teacher is the authority of the class while students are not allowed to speak without teacher's permission (Wang, 2009). This kind of teacher-dominate teaching method and classroom environment limited students' willingness to communicate and interact with other students, thus causing a negative effect in oral English learning (Wang, 2009;Wei, 2012). What's more, many students are lack of intercultural communication skills and experience in communicating with native speakers (Dong & Chen, 2015). This factor negatively influences students' willingness to speak when college students choose to study abroad in English-speaking countries (Dong & Chen, 2015).

Assessment Factors
Besides, the assessment of students' learning also limited college students' oral English proficiency (Wei, 2012;Yang, 2010;Zhou, 2003). Neither College English Test (CET) for non-English majors nor the Test for English Majors (TEM) include oral English as part of the tests (Wei, 2012;Yang, 2010).
It is also common for teachers to regard the purpose of teaching College English as solely the transmission of knowledge (Gao, 2013). For many Chinese, the goal of learning English is to cultivate an educated group of scholars with a strong background in English literature rather than the competence to successfully communicate with native speakers of English (Gao, 2013). Wang (2002) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/selt Studies in English Language Teaching Vol. 8, No. 4, 2020 69 Published by SCHOLINK INC.
used the term "magic circle" to describe the content-driven nature of the CE curriculum in his research as "teachers teach knowledge, learners learn knowledge, the tests test knowledge; knowledge is recited before the test and is forgotten after it" (p. 30). The CET causes both positive and negative "washback" effects on English teaching and learning (Li, 2009). The CET greatly motivates teachers' teaching and students' learning in College English classes, however, it also leads to teachers' teaching to the test and a more rapid teaching pace (Gu, 2005).
Similarly, Lamie (2006) examined teacher education and training for College English in China, and found obstacles included large class sizes, the reliance on CET, new materials, and the need for more effective teacher training. The expand enrollment of college students in recent decades increased students' numbers in the classroom which has a negative effect on oral English instruction (Chen & Goh, 2011;Chen & Goh, 2014;Lin, 2006). Teachers report that some effective oral English activities are not practical to implement under a classroom which has up to 90 students (Lin, 2006).

Conclusions
This literature review identifies reasons for Chinese college students' lack of oral English proficiency from several aspects including teacher knowledge, students' willingness to communicate, assessment factors, and contextual constraints. Literature show that teachers' lack of knowledge in English, knowledge in pedagogical methods and strategies, as well as knowledge in identifying learners' needs have negative influences on Chinese college students' oral English proficiency. In addition, students' low English ability, lack of motivation, psychological factors and cultural factors also limited college students becoming fluent English speakers. Lastly, contextual factors such as large classroom capacity, and assessment policies also cause negative influence to students' oral English proficiency.
Due to the limited time and resources, this article still has many limitations. First of all, current literature shows different opinions on motivation in influencing college students' oral English learning.
More review of the literature should be done to investigate integrative motivation and instrumental motivation in influencing college students' oral English proficiency. Secondly, more review of the literature should be done to analyze cultural factors in influencing college students' oral English proficiency, especially language differences in influencing Chinese students speaking English. Thirdly, further discussion also should be done to investigate what teachers, students and policy-makers can do