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When we deal with in-service teacher training at such a time when "change" has been forced by administrators, the following features of current teacher training in China have been taken into account.
Firstly, most school teachers received pre-service training before they became teachers of certain subjects, except a small number of teachers' who were transferred from other vocations, like English interpreters. This means that most teachers have either received training in a four-year programme at a teachers' college/university, or a two/three-year programme at a teachers' college, in which they studied the subject, for instance, English for English teachers and Maths for Maths teachers, and other relevant courses dealing with education, such as Education, Psychology and Teaching Practice. Among teachers of all subjects, English teachers were regarded as the most needed because many English teachers, even some trainee English teachers, were tempted away from classrooms by better-paid jobs, such as joint ventures and foreign companies where English language competence is highly valued. Teachers, especially English teachers, who remained at school were regarded as being well-trained, experienced and qualified.
Secondly, in pre-service training, college/university-based courses occupy most of the three or four years and teaching practice takes up comparatively little time, 6 weeks or so in the third or fourth years, in which trainee teachers work in teams, observing, analysing lessons, jointly preparing, rehearsing lessons, together with experienced teachers (Paine, 1990). In subject study, i. e. English study in this case, as being noticed by Oatey (1990 a), the goal is to comprehend and store "correct" knowledge about English, emphasising mastery of the linguistic form of the language, rather than its function.
Thirdly, in university classrooms, knowledge about educational principles and teaching skills is passed from trainers to trainees. Especially in Methodology, Education and Psychology which are regarded as primary elements in providing training, it is common to find, as Paine described, "... lecturers read their notes with marked slowness so that students could transcribe virtually the entire text" (Paine, 1992:190). This leads to the result that "even those who have graduated from a teachers' college still lack teaching experience" (Yu Yining, 1990:64).
Fourthly, since the 1980 s, in-service teacher training courses have been increasingly available in universities and colleges to meet the need for systematic training in current methodologies (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996). In the case of English teachers, a number of international cooperation projects have provided chances for teachers to attend in-service courses, such as the Sino-British projects supported by the ODA/British Council. These projects provide one-year courses for English teachers. Projects as such have contributed greatly to the development of English teachers in China and have been described as "doing a lot of constructive work in ELT, especially in teachers' colleges and as teacher trainers themselves"(Dzau, 1990 a: 37). But, several studies revealed that teachers who attended these courses had difficulties in putting new skills into practice due to situational constraints when they returned to their teaching environment (Maley, 1995; Ward & Chai, 1995).
Apart from the features described above, it is important to notice that there is an aspect of "three-centredness" in English teaching in Chinese classrooms due to the influence of traditional foreign language teaching (Yen, 1987). Teacher-centredness has limited the role of students in the classroom to that of a passive listener or a note-taker. Textbook-centredness has made both teachers and students regard the textbook as the source of language and wisdom, and the duties for teachers and students are to understand, and learn by heart what the textbook provided (Maley, 1986). Along with these two centrednesses, grammar is highly respected, and a text is not read for meaning but to explain and justify the grammar rules, and to extend vocabulary lists (Yen, 1987). Along with this feature of "three-centredness", there have always been heated debates on two issues in English teaching in China. One issue is the goal of English language learning/teaching, which will be discussed in Chapter 2, where changes of syllabuses are presented. The other issue is the role of teachers and students. The current reform is regarded as the most important reform in the education history of China since 1949, but the key issue is the teachers—whether the teachers are ready for such change and how such change is interpreted and promoted.