From EAP Teaching to English-Medium Instruction: Innovation in EFL Curriculum at Tsinghua University in China

Abstract

This chapter, taking Tsinghua University, a research-oriented university in China as a case, reports on its innovation in developing an integrated English curriculum system (IECS) for undergraduate students in the Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The design of the IECS, as argued, is in conformity with language learning principles, nature of higher education, and learners’ needs analysis. This system is featured with shifting EFL teaching focus from English for general purposes (EGP) to English for academic purposes (EAP), integrating English learning into general education and professional education, emphasizing the shift from language learning to language using, and enhancing continuous exposure to the English language. The IECS comprises three course series (i.e., EAP courses for language learning, EMI courses for general education, and EMI courses for professional education) and one EFL learning environment platform. Empirical research evaluating the IECS indicates that Tsinghua undergraduate students seem to be satisfied with the EAP courses and the EMI courses they have completed, suggesting that the changes implemented in the EFL curriculum at the University have been successful.