Abstract：Abstract: This paper examines teacher learning in China’s foreign language education tradition from the anthropological perspective of holism. The data were collected through the narrative history of the 11 senior teachers at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). The qualitative analysis shows that in the first 30 years of New China, foreign language teachers at BFSU have learned how to teach in the Community of Collective Practice for Learning through full participation in the practice, active interaction with the others and self-reflection. After sorting out the unique ways and features, the paperexplores the background of the beliefs and practices. And the data analysis further indicates that the ways and the features of teacher learning are decided by multiple factors and formed in the specific historical period, social context, and social culture as well as teacher culture.
Key words: China’s foreign language education tradition; teacher learning; the anthropological perspective of holism; Community of Collective Practice for Learning
