Preface　　This research reports an enquiry into Chinese primary and junior high school English teachers perceptions of， and responses to The Revised Curriculum Standards 2011 （the RCS， henceforth） for Full?Time Compulsory Education. This document claims to hold a very different view of English teaching from previous curricula， but this claim is largely unexplored.　　The research first aims to understand the challenges the RCS poses for primary and junior high school teachers of English in the PRC. On the basis of this， the research also aims to understand teachers beliefs about the RCS and what challenges they identify. Research into effective teaching gives a prominent role to teacher beliefs and knowledge not only about teaching， but also about changing any existing practices. Fullan （1993） argues that any educational reform ultimately relies on teachers， so their views and perceptions are pivotal to the success of the RCS.　　The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 involved a document content analysis of the 2001 and 2011 curricula to identify the changes aimed for in the RCS and evaluated how these changes might affect teachers. In this phase of the research， a novel approach was taken to examine teachers views of the RCS through their activities on web forums in China. Their comments were sampled and analysed using NVivo to generate a map of their views and the relationships between them. The Phase 1 research showed that the RCS is different from the 2001 version in some important ways. It foregrounds the humanistic value of student?centred teaching and learning， while giving teachers free choice of teaching method and a new role by contributing to curriculum development for the classes they teach from reflecting on the effectiveness of their methods and practices. Phase 2 of the research， based on the findings of Phase 1， used written teacher questionnaire responses and semi?structured individual interviews in order to collect the views of a wider sample of teachers. This research reports the results and analysis of the teachers views and perceptions. The findings amplified the findings from the Phase 1 research and suggest that teachers have a range of concerns. The teachers in this study were uncertain about their new role； they were not clear about what a shift to student?centred teaching and learning implied. The teachers were also uncertain about the nature of reflection on their own practice and the possible accountability this reflection might entail. This study suggests these teachers were finding it challenging to understand the notion of the teacher as a professional who does not simply know and deliver the curriculum according to the new definition， but is seen as responsible for designing and creating the curriculum for their own particular students. This study also identifies an important tension between the published curriculum and the assessment system for English in China which， if left unresolved， is likely to leave teachers unable to meet the demands of both.　　I would like to thank all those who took part in this research project for doing so and for allowing me to use the data for publication purposes. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Jane Medwell for her selfless dedication to my research. Her willingness， wisdom， patience and support helped me through my study. Without her support， I would not have finished my research so smoothly.　　I want to thank Dr. Richardson Katherine and Dr. Steven Cowan for their good suggestions and help academically. I am also grateful to my colleagues and friends for their encouragement during my study.　　I would like to acknowledge the important contribution of all the teachers and headteachers in the province of Jiangxi， China for their support and patience in my fieldwork. Their participation in this study made this work possible.　　I am indebted to the staff of the School of Education， University of Nottingham for their kindly assistance and support.　　I extend my thanks to my dear parents for their continuous support， motivation and love in my writing of this book. Their understanding encourages me through this study.