A Study Of Curriculum For English Majors Based On Needs Analysis

The development of globalization poses new challenges and requirements forEnglish majors. English major talents are not only required to have proficientlanguage skills and sufficient language knowledge, but also are required to acquirenecessary humanity and science knowledge with analytical ability, internationalperspective and core values. This study centers on improving the current curriculumfor English majors of Shanghai University, by examining whether the currentcurriculum meets the cultivation needs of general talents and how to realize theexpectations of general education.Based on the needs analysis theory, this study adopts both quantitative andqualitative methods to analyze the students’ needs through a questionnaire andinterviews. The questionnaire and the interviews are designed on the basis ofHutchinson&Water model. Moreover, an employment survey of graduates is usedto analyze the social needs. Then the students’ expectations for the curriculum andthe social expectations for English major talents are discussed. Combining theexpectations of general education, the goals of the curriculum are integrated andevaluation is made on the current curriculum, in respects of learning goals, coursearrangement and teaching activities, and the suggestions are proposed to adjust andimprove the curriculum.This study finds out that: as for the learning goals, the current curriculumgenerally meets the expectations, with a large coverage of knowledge and involvingthe cultivation of multiple skills and interdisciplinary skills in the courses; as for thecourse arrangement, there is an unbalance existing among and across the courseclusters, and unbalance in the allocation of the credit hours in different grades; as forthe teaching activities, the students-centered principle is not implemented well andthe traditional teaching methods still prevail in teaching. Based on the discussions ofthe findings, this study puts forward suggestions on improving the currentcurriculum as a dynamic system, such as: optimizing the course arrangement and adjusting the allocation of the credit hours; advocating seminars and groupdiscussions to enhance interaction between teacher and students, and thus tocultivate students’ autonomy ability; conducting needs analysis regularly to getfeedbacks from students, in order to modify and improve the curriculum.