Knowledge Elicitation for Spoken English Teaching through the Design Thinking Process

Abstract

As the international lingua franca, English serves as a communication medium for people from diverse linguistic backgrounds. In China, junior high school marks the beginning of systematic English learning for most students. However, spoken English receives insufficient attention, and this phenomenon is particularly evident in public junior high schools. This research employed the five steps of the Empathize-Define-Ideate-Prototype-Test in design thinking to explore challenges and elicit insights for improving current spoken English teaching in public junior high schools in Chengdu. Firstly, the current standard of spoken English teaching was analyzed using a combination of questionnaire data from students and English teachers, which was structured according to the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model. Additionally, the key problems and root causes of these problems in current spoken English teaching were identified through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with experienced English teachers. Subsequently, divergent information on how to effectively address the identified problems was derived by organizing interview data and reviewing relevant literature. Furthermore, important knowledge was elicited by considering the diverse obstacles faced in spoken English teaching in public junior high schools. Finally, the advantages and applicability of the elicited knowledge were validated through a comparison with the current teaching practices. The findings highlighted the significant gap between the actual practices and ideal standards of spoken English teaching and proposed actionable knowledge to bridge this gap. This research is intended to provide valuable insights for English teachers to enhance their spoken English teaching skills and support the positive development of spoken English education in public junior high schools.