Implementing Communicative Language Teaching in Chinese Local Secondary Schools to Teach Spoken English

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), a Western-originated pedagogy emphasizing real-world communication and the development of second language proficiency in target language environments, offers a significant alternative to traditional methods like the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) that dominate English education in China. Despite the growing importance of spoken English, instructional practices in local Chinese secondary schools remain heavily influenced by exam-oriented systems, prioritizing the teaching of grammar, vocabulary, and test-taking skills at the expense of students' oral fluency and practical communicative competence. This has led to the prevalent issue of 'dumb English,' where students struggle with confidence, accuracy, and fluency in spoken expression.