Breaking the silence: Unveiling the realities of communicative language teaching in China’s business English class

This qualitative study explores the perceptions of Chinese teachers and students regarding the implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT) in Business English (BE) courses. A total of 24 BE students and 14 teachers from 4 colleges in Sichuan, China, participated in the semi-structured interview. Furthermore, the researcher observed 16 BE courses to investigate the actual implementation of CLT by Chinese teachers and students. The findings indicate that adopting CLT in the context of BE in China remains challenging. While teachers and students generally hold positive views about CLT, classroom practices diverge significantly from CLT principles. Several challenges contribute to this misalignment, including the English proficiency levels of students and teachers, teaching facilities, class sizes, examination systems, textbooks, and teachers’ understanding of CLT. These challenges highlight a disconnect between CLT’s pedagogical goals and its practicality in the current landscape of Chinese BE education. The study emphasizes the need for comprehensive educational reforms to address these issues, aiming to bridge the gap between CLT’s theoretical ideals and effective implementation. Ultimately, this could enhance the communicative effectiveness of BE teaching in China.