Abstract
English Language today, has a special position in Chinese education as it is taught as a foreign language at all education levels ranging from primary to postgraduate education. At the university level, College English is a compulsory course. The teaching and learning of English at the tertiary level witnessed a paradigm shift with the implementation of the 2016 College English Teaching Reform (CETR). This reform saw a move from a traditional teacher-centered approach to a more learner-centered communicative approach. Therefore, this paper presents students' perspectives on College English. The study involved 611 university students from two institutions of higher learning in Central China. Data were collected via a questionnaire and interviews. The quantitative findings revealed that students held moderately positive perceptions of College English in terms of its learning objectives, language skills, teaching methods and teaching resources. Nonetheless, a mixed response was indicated in the qualitative findings as a number of students felt that EFL classrooms continued to be teacher-centered with EFL class enrolments being still large and this inhibited student-teacher interactions. Hence, the three main challenges faced by students were their limited English language proficiency, minimal teacher feedback and a lack of motivation to learn English. All these findings indicated that though the CETR has some positives, it is not without its share of limitations and these shortcomings need to be addressed if the true aspirations of the CETR are to be realized.
Highlights
Rapid technological and economic development worldwide and people’s necessity to interact and communicate globally contribute to the increasing use of English, especially among non-native speakers, which has imposed substantial challenges on the current teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL, hereafter) at the tertiary level in China
Students’ perceptions of all the four main aspects were explored in the study, namely learning objectives, language skills, teaching methods and teaching resources
They held fair and positive perceptions with regard to College English Teaching Reform (CETR) learning objectives (M=3.75, SD=0.95), indicating that a majority of students positively agreed that College English helped students achieve their learning objectives
Summary
Rapid technological and economic development worldwide and people’s necessity to interact and communicate globally contribute to the increasing use of English, especially among non-native speakers, which has imposed substantial challenges on the current teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL, hereafter) at the tertiary level in China. With the impact of globalization and internationalization, EFL at the tertiary level has undergone many reforms in China since 1999 The curricula such as College English Teaching Syllabus issued in 1999, College English Curriculum Requirements issued in 2004, College English Curriculum Requirements issued in 2007 and Guidelines on College English Teaching issued in 2016 played important roles in College English Teaching (CET, hereafter) reforms. Guidelines on College English Teaching was launched by the Ministry of Education of China in 2016 to initiate a shift in the teaching and learning of EFL in all institutions of higher learning (IHL, hereafter) in China. This reform witnessed a shift from a traditional teacher-centered approach to a more learner-centered communicative approach
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