Abstract

Ecology is a science which studies the interrelationship between organisms and the environment (Harckel, 1866). Ecology has become a new interdisciplinary subject with structural integrity. The concept of “educational ecology” was first introduced in 1932. The American educator Walle Willard (1932) firstly put the idea of classroom ecology in his research. In China, the classroom ecology is a study focus which attracts many researchers since 2000. The Chinese National Educational Reformation requires all the schools from primary schools to universities to incorporate their English teaching and learning activities with modern information technology. It is a great challenge for the traditional classroom ecology because the utilization of the technologies has changed the ecology factor, here, the classroom environment. The classroom is no longer balanced (Law, 2014). To figure out methods which can make the informatization-based Chinese EFL classroom balance again are a hot subject that researchers are scrambling to study these days. To analysis, the Chinese informatization based EFL classroom ecology balance, the classroom ecology structure should be studied first. The relevant researches are mainly driven from these two perspectives: the structure view and the dynamic view & process view. In this research, both views would be applied to study the classroom ecology structure and try to present a clear view of the current Chinese EFL classroom ecology balance situation. Meanwhile, for the classroom ecology functions are also a significant part in this research. The general functions of an ecological system are information flow, materials circulation and information transmission. Classroom ecology is a micro-ecological system in the field of education, and that makes it gains the general functions of an ecological system (Liu Changjiang, 2011). For EFL classroom, it should have basic four functions to meet the country’s English teaching and learning goal: the structure optimization function; the relationship coordination function; the evolution promotion function and the education function. Only if the informatization-based Chinese EFL classroom ecology makes its structure, as well as its functions, suits the country’s education development target, the classroom teaching and learning could have high efficiency and sustainability.

Key words: Classroom ecology balance, Classroom ecology structure, Classroom ecology functions