As we cross the threshold into the new century, human society is beginning its move from the industrial age into the knowledge-based times. In this information age, along with the innovation of our country and the demand for deeper communication with the outside world, English has become an essential tool to the citizens of the 21st century. The society has an increasing requirement for the people who have the ability to use the language from one field to another. As a result, English studying and teaching discipline has attracted more and more attention from people than before. English studying in China is facing a great challenge, although the course has been continuously reformed and is adjusting itself to the developing social condition. Like other disciplines, English teaching also has the responsibility to pass on knowledge, to develop intelligence, to improve abilities, and to increase morals. However, English teaching still has its own specialty, because of the differences in grammar system, culture background, and ideology manner between Chinese and English. These lead to the problems, which will be talked about here, both in studying and teaching English.
　　One of a teacher's most useful tasks is to identify the problems and weaknesses in the students' learning and mastery. (The danger in such a discussion is, however, that it may be misunderstood that undue emphasis may be given to it, leading to a negative evaluation of the program and the progress.) We all share this opinion that Chinese students are very able language learners, and achieve levels that are commendable for second language learners. It is in the spirit of continual self-improvement that I offer the following observations, although I realize that correction of these problems is such an immense question of study which involves all kinds of situations I have ever seen. They are not the result of academic research but are based simply on my gains in the classroom, my knowledge of materials absorbed from papers and books, and my discussions with my teachers in Wuxi normal school. I hope that this paper is not a thorough error analysis of specific problems, but rather an attempt to deal with the problems. These are only some generalizations and tentative considerations based on my limited knowledge.
　　I divide my comments into two main areas, attitudes and methods. Of course, these are closely linked, the latter being the direct result of the former. Methods of study cannot be improved until basic attitudes toward language mature, so I will discuss these first.
　　A. Problems on Study Attitudes
  　　1. Goals
　　We often have an unrealistic notion of what is possible in our study. Granted, it is better to aim high but miss than to aim low but hit. However, students who not only aim high but also fully expect to reach this goal must be disappointed and lose morale. We will fall to have the sense of success and progress that one needs to continue a long, difficult struggle. We will even miss out on the thrills of achievement and the pride of progress, which are motivators to further study. Therefore, teachers must attempt to set down clearly what the student should expect to master in the first year, the second, and third, such as ' After the second year of study, a student will be able to write simple, and coordinate sentences, talk simply on the subject of weather … etc."
　　2. Art and Science of Language
　　Language can be both an art and a science. More attention to the beginning of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, however, leads to a very linear, barren appreciation of language and an inability to perceive the small differences of intonation, punctuation, connotation, inference, irony, etc. Some students of us have difficulty associating the English language with ideas, both stated and unstated, feelings, and visual images. They tend to look for truth in parsing and beauty in subject-verb agreements. The problem is not a new one. It seems the attitude about what language is must change before progress will be made in this area. Even at the beginning levels, teachers must have some awareness of linguistic and be ready to point out to students the innumerable features, which cannot be explained grammatically.
　　3. Complexity of Language
　　Another difficulty, which arises from unjustified emphasis on grammar, is a lack of awareness of the very complex multi-dimensional nature of language and its continually changing face. Again, a knowledge of linguistics on the part the teachers will help making students aware of linguistic and paralinguistic features of the language, of the variations in the language brought about by time, place, individual preference, social context, purpose, etc. The subtleties of language must be emphasized from the beginning. Grammatical forms and punctuation must be taught in such a way as to bring this to light. The following is an example of very simple forms of punctuation, which bring about different, though subtle results: He is my father and friend. He is my father, my friend. The punctuation here is not determined by rules but by desired differences in feeling and nuance. In spoken English, it is intonation, which is often not mastered well enough to detect or produce nuances of meaning. Our speech is often brusque as a result, and our comprehension is weak beyond the literal level.   
　　4. Dictionary skills
　　During the studying, we experience great frustration in our diction, resulting again, I think, from lack of linguistic awareness─ natural communication is actually much more complicated than a simple dictionary search. At the beginning levels, teachers must point out the complexity in word usage, the difference between synonyms and equivalents, between strong and weak equivalents, positive and negative connotation. For instance, the difference between 'industrious' and 'ambitious'. Only in this way can we avoid later frustration and confusion, when we find we are not using words correctly. Translation brings additional problems, of course, in that Chinese and English do not always have equivalent forms. The dictionary may give an explanation of a word, but this does not mean it can be used where the Chinese word would be. The Chinese word '发展' for example, shows three English words: develop, expand, grow. These are not, however, used interchangeably. Nor can the usage be explained to students in easy, linear language. Only language sensitivity can lead the students to correct use of words. In the meantime, they must be prepared for 'trial and error'.
　　B. Problems on Methods of Study
　　1. Learning by Translation
　　We have already seen a few analyses on the deficits of this method, which need not be elaborated here. An eclectic approach to language study uses translation, but not as a major method of teaching or learning. Students who use this method master the rudiments, but fail to develop language sensitivity, fail to learn the internal logic of English, and persist in applying Chinese forms to English words. Translation is one branch of language study, with the purpose of training this one skill. As demands from various areas, teachers must aim at training students' most well rounded ability in the language. The more disparate the languages, the less useful is translation as a learning method. The model for study must there fore be second language itself, rather than English as a translation of Chinese. Only by following this principle from the earliest stages of language learning can the tendency toward Chinglish be checked, and transfer takes place. I believe dependence on the translation method is the reason for the gap between competence and performance, for the lack of transfer from textbook to conversational fluency. It explains why students who have been studying English for several years still use in oral and written form: How to say…in English? Why the author uses this word?
　　2. Global Comprehension
　　Based on my own experience in study, I find that some of us have trouble with skimming and scanning because our reading method has been encouraging intensive reading and grammatical analysis for too long. Students fail to accept that global comprehension is sometimes adequate, and that 100% is not always necessary or even desirable. They must have more practice in reading skills, beginning in the first year: closure, predicting, context clues. I applaud the thoroughness that students attack each text with, but mourn the fact that only a very small amount of material can be dealt with, and their lack of progress in the area of independent reading. Reading for global comprehension can be taught with supplementary texts even at the beginning levels. The worst problem of the present method is morale; students feel discouraged when faced with texts they do not understand 100% and fail to see the progress they have made. 
　　3. Imitation
　　There is no doubt that Chinese students of English gain much benefit from our ability to memorize. While the memorization method is closely linked to imitation, the patterning of one's communication on another's. This is a very effective method of learning new structures and we as teachers and students use it all the time. However ,it should not be taken to extremes; the student who tries to 'write like Bernard Shaw' is doing just that. He has confused an imitation of written patterns and essay development with imitation of creative style. The problem was particularly noticeable in the Composition course─ students often wrote much 'better' prose in home assignment than we did in class. It is just because we can 'imitated' the masters' without any barriers. However, the result is that the abstruse, convoluted, turgid prose, which always took us several hours to finish, could not match the simple but clearer style we had when we wrote spontaneously. It is said that babies should practice walking before they try to run, and parents should be content that they may never reach the Olympics. 
　　4. Cultural Barrier
　　Students who study foreign language always need help in crossing the cultural barrier to deep understanding of the prose written in it. Second language learners tend to attribute to a passage themes or ＆#118alues from their own cultures rather than investigate carefully and determine the author's own ideas and attitudes. So a story about a father and son will have something to do with filial piety; an essay about economic failure in the US will be anti-capitalist, etc. The students who wrongly assume the author's intention confuse their own ＆#118alue with the authors; they project theirs onto the author. The study of original texts, even simple ones, and exposure to ideas which are different than those found in Chinese literature seems to be the only way to develop this broader ability to comprehend.
From above, we have seen the problems I observed in the Chinese students' study of English. Whether it is something like a storm in the teacup or not, I just express some opinions about the traditional English education system. Now let's put them on some psychology theories. Bloom's taxonomy of learning outcomes (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) provides a useful tool in determining learning outcomes for any learning program. Students in China seem to stress the knowledge level of learning, and treat English study as the mastery of certain givens. Fluency in any language does require, however, competence at the higher levels. Problems that can be attributed to negligence of the higher levels of learning outcomes are the following:
　　1. Making choices─ students learn many patterns and words; using them effectively means making a choice, as does scanning and skimming mean choosing that which is important in one's reading, rather than accepting and dealing with everything.
　　2. Independent work─ students must be willing to figure out on their own the meaning in texts, to synthesize their knowledge.
　　3. Analysis─ not only grammatical, but that of development, theme, progression, etc.
　　4. Distinguishing─ different registers, techniques of irony, etc.
　　5. Synthesis─ using knowledge not only of the language but also of human behaviors to understand meaning.
　　6. Evaluation─ the ability to make a personal judgement.
　　This supplied analysis is, as mentioned earlier, not a thorough error one of specific problems, but rather an attempt to deal with the root of the problems. These questions are an objective fact, whereas the new methods that are popular today are still not perfect. We will have a long way to go before we succeed. However, the temptation to examine these problems means to question the traditional education system, which is such a great challenge for me to battle. I just hope to finish this in the future, and now I leave it to others with more ability to do research and conduct a proper academic study.
REFERENCES
　　1. Strevens, P. 1983. New Orientations in the Teaching of English, 3rd Edition. London, Oxford University Press.
　　2. West, M. 1975. Teaching English in Difficult Circumstances. London, Longman Press.
　　3. Piaget, J. 1989. The Language and Thought of the Child. Manchester University Press.
　　4. Anderson, T. 1983. Children's Learning of a Second Language: Another View. Modern Language Journal.