TEACHING ENGLISH IN CHINA: A HISTORIOGRAPHIC RETROSPECTIVE

Abstract

Relevance of the problem: China officially implements an educational policy to introduce English as a standardized compulsory subject for all learners at elementary, middle, high school, and university students too. English today takes an important place in all educational institutions in China. As a compulsory subject, English is taught from primary to postgraduate education, taking a special place. However, it was not always like that. The purpose of the article is to characterize the historical retrospective of English language learning in China. The analytical methods, informal or traditional, that belong to qualitative methods, and formalized, that belong to qualitative-quantitative methods were used in the paper. The result of the research: the paper highlights different stages of teaching English in China: the period of the late Qing dynasty, the republican period, the period of the socialist revolution, the period of the open door, the modern period. The period of the late Qing Dynasty was marked by China's limited contact with English-speaking countries and the absence of official educational programs for the study of the English language. Language learning was concentrated in separate groups. During the republican period, the study of the English language began to gain popularity, but it was under the influence of political and social restrictions. The period of the socialist revolution in the study of English was short-lived, and language teaching often interwoven political propaganda elements. The period of open doors in China was the beginning of the country's opening to the world community, and the study of the English language began to be actively promoted in order to modernize and increase the country's competitiveness. In the modern period, the study of English in China has become increasingly popular, there are the foundations for ensuring access to higher education and good career prospects. Official curricula and teaching English methods in China have become more diversified, and the financial support from the government and local authorities have helped to develop educational opportunities. It is concluded that the English teaching in China has a rich history. Although the periodization is not constant, the main periods of English language teaching are distinguished.