From Silence to Spoken Interaction: A Foreign Teacher’s Perspective on Teaching Colloquial English in Chinese Higher Education

This paper presents a pedagogical practice report examining the challenges and possible solutions involved in teaching Colloquial English to large, mixed-proficiency EFL classes in a Chinese higher-education context. The study is based on the author’s teaching experience at Wenzhou Business College, where an elective course was delivered to 173 students aged 18–23 across five class groups with diverse linguistic backgrounds and proficiency levels. Drawing on classroom observations and anonymous student questionnaire responses collected after the final assessment, the paper explores strategies for increasing learner engagement, encouraging spoken interaction, and creating a supportive classroom environment. The report identifies several context-specific challenges, including limited voluntary participation, language anxiety, heterogeneous proficiency levels, and the difficulty of designing activities accessible to all learners. To address these issues, the article describes a pedagogical approach combining rapport building, demonstration-based instruction, Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL), particularly the use of Kahoot!, and continuous assessment practices. The implementation of these strategies suggests that interactive activities, practical language content, and low-stakes opportunities for communication may contribute to increased student participation and motivation. While the findings are limited to one teaching context, this case study provides practical insights for EFL teachers working in large multilingual classrooms, particularly those seeking to balance communicative language teaching principles with the realities of Chinese higher education.