A Practical Exploration of Academic English Teaching forNon-English Majors in Guilin University of Technology

杜雅琳 陳欽

【Abstract】Since entering the 21st century， a series of reforms have taken place in college English teaching in China. Nevertheless， it still cannot satisfy the demand of the students and the development of modern society. Taking Guilin University of Technology as an example， this paper aims to analyze the necessity and feasibility of setting up Academic English courses for non-English majors.

【Key words】Academic English; demand; reform

1. Introduction

In the 21st century， college English teaching is in the period of transition from English for General Purposes to English for Academic Purposes，and Academic English has become a high-frequency word. It is a new subject and concept in English education and there are some problems should be solved. In this paper，the necessity and feasibility of setting Academic English course are discussed. It is hoped that this study will shed some new light on Academic English teaching in China.

2. The Necessity of Setting up Academic English Courses for Non-English Majors

Spolsky said that the number of the papers written by those scientists who came from the third country is much more than five percent in some top international academic journals. What caused this phenomenon？ According to the analysis by Stuart Govan， apart from the research topic is not new， many writers cannot express themselves clearly enough in language expression in their academic papers. In addition， Chinas policy “National medium-term and long-term educational reform and development plan outline （2010-2020 ） ” points out that， teachers should train students into talents who have broad horizons， and the ability to participate in international events and competitions. So the demand of professional English talent is great， and its quite necessary to set up Academic English courses.

3. The Feasibility of Setting up Academic English Courses in GUT

Taking Guilin University of Technology for example， with the exchanging with foreign universities， some academic exchanges are also gradually increasing， and the demand of professional English talents in non-English majors is large. Although some non-English majors have already selected some Academic English courses， it still cannot satisfy their needs. Whats more， the teaching content of such course is relatively single till now. Moreover， since students come from different majors， the professionalism and universality of teaching materials are difficult to attract students attention and cultivate their strong interest in a short period of time. All in all， the feasibility of setting up Academic English courses in GUT is very high.

4. Practical Analysis of Academic English Teaching in GUT

4.1 Target of Academic English Courses

Academic English courses are set to improve students cross-cultural communication skills and their abilities to use English to promote professional learning. Meanwhile， the curriculum will be student-centered.

4.2 The Requirement of Teaching

English for Specific Academic Purposes must be a required course for undergraduates when they have completed English for General Academic Purposes courses，as generic literacy （ such as： predicting，paraphrasing，summarizing and synthesizing） is decontextualized and takes on meaning only when it is situated in the context of disciplinary studies. Disciplinary practices differ not only in content but also in the way this content such as： disciplinary theories and knowledge is constructed and disseminated.English for Specific Academic Purposes or disciplinary literacy is involved with genre，rhetorical and linguistic knowledge underlying each respective competence.After studying， the student will possess such academic competence so that they can become qualified members of their disciplinary communities.

4.3 Teaching Contents and Teaching Methods

General English is the main part of the English courses， while there are few academic English courses. Therefore， we will innovate and set different kinds of Academic courses， based on students needs. Teaching practices are being carried out in GUT in the new teaching form of conceptualizing the knowledge and skills， presenting and evaluating with innovations in teaching contents， classroom structure and evaluation system. Moreover， we will spare no efforts to satisfy the needs of different students and offer various kinds of courses， so that students will not feel bored during learning.

4.4 Course Features

We will establish an English learning platform including： Academic English listening， vocabulary， reading， writing and so on to expand students interest and enthusiasm in English. In addition， college English teachers can comprehensively discover their knowledge foundation and their advantages. Meanwhile， colleges can provide opportunities for both English teachers and students to broaden the knowledge and offer them advanced interdisciplinary studies. The use of classroom stage is important for students to create a unique and intuitive learning environment， so that they can have a better learning of Academic English and make good use of them rather than rote learning.

4.5 Evaluation System

The course evaluation will be divided into two parts： the formative assessment and the summative assessment which takes up 40% and 60% respectively. The formative assessment includes students personal assessment， panel evaluation and teachers evaluation， based on students autonomous learning， degree of participation， team spirit， and contribution in cooperative study. While the summative assessment focuses on checking whether the curriculum and the teaching quality can satisfy students and meet their needs.

5. Conclusion

When facing with the economic globalization and the internationalization， college English needs to reorient itself. If the college wants to cultivate students with international competitive competence， academic English courses will be highly necessity. We are trying to improve students cross-cultural communication skills and their abilities to use English. More importantly， it also nurtures their academic literacy such as the ability to study， create and communicate. From these points， academic English should be a must for undergraduates.

The exploration of the feasibility of Academic English reform in GUT is a new experiment and there are some shortcomings and flaws， such as： the lack of the teachers， whether the curriculum can meet the needs of students and so on. What we need to do is to keep an open mind on the recommendations and suggestions from teachers and students to improve this teaching system continuously.

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