A Comparative Study on English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education between the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan

Abstract Facing the world curriculum reform, the Chinese Mainland issued English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in 2001. After ten years of implementation, it was revised and English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education (2011 Edition) was issued. Likewise, in the Chinese Taiwan, Grade 1-9 Curriculum was started to implement in 2000, and the English curriculum standards of the Chinese Taiwan, which is entitled Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines (English Subject), was issued in 2000. The new version of the Taiwan English Curriculum Guidelines came out in 2008 after several amendments. 70999

The Chinese Mainland and Taiwan share the same culture background, including the similar foreign language learning environment. In compulsory education period, English is a core subject in both the Chinese Mainland and Taiwan. Therefore, comparing the Chinese Mainland English Curriculum Standards with the Taiwan English Curriculum Guidelines may help us have a deeper understanding of the English education of both sides of the Straits.

This paper mainly takes as research objects English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education (2011 Edition) in the Chinese Mainland, and Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines (English Subject) in the Chinese Taiwan. After introducing the research background, the thesis mainly compares the two “Standards/Guidelines” in five aspects, the overall structure, the curriculum rationale, the curriculum goals and objectives, the performance standards and the implementation proposals. The research finds that similarities of the two “Standards/Guidelines” exist. For instance, the overall structure of the Chinese Mainland “Standards” is basically similar to that of the Taiwan “Guidelines”, namely. Both of them are student-centered, and focus on inpidual development and the connection between English learning and the real world. However, there are differences between them. For example, the requirements for language skills and knowledge are different. The Chinese Mainland “Standards” emphasizes the language knowledge while the Taiwan “Guidelines” focuses on the basic communicative ability.

Key Words: English Curriculum Standards; the Chinese Mainland; the Chinese Taiwan; Compulsory Education; Comparison

中国大陆与台湾地区义务教育英语课程标准之比较研究

摘  要面对课程改革的世界潮流，中国大陆于2001年颁布了《全日制义务教育英语课程标准（实验稿）》。经过十年的实施后，对此课程标准进行了修订，并颁布了《义务教育英语课程标准（2011年版）》。与此同时，中国台湾于2000年启动了“九年一贯课程”，《国民中小学九年一贯课程纲要语文学习领域（英语）》也于2001年开始实施。随后几年，相关学者及教师深入检视了 “课程纲要”内容，对其内容进行了调整，并于2008年颁布了新版《国民中小学九年一贯课程纲要语文学习领域（英语）》。

大陆和台湾有着相似的文化背景以及相似的外语学习环境。不论在大陆还是台湾，英语都是义务教育阶段的一门核心课程。因此，比较大陆和台湾的英语课程标准能够帮助我们深入地了解两地的英语教育的状况。

本文以《义务教育英语课程标准（2011年版）》与《国民中小学九年一贯课程纲要语文学习领域（英语）》为研究对象，从框架结构、基本理念、课程目标、分段能力指标和和实施建议等五方面对两地的“课标”进行比较。研究发现,两岸课程标准存在一定的相似之处，如：整体框架结构相似，“学生中心”导向，注重学生的个人发展，重视英语教学与实际生活的联系。但是两者也存在着一定的差异，如：在语言知识技能方面，大陆更加强调语言知识本身的掌握，而台湾更加注重实际的交流与沟通以及语言的使用是否得体。