On Postgraduates’ Participation In International Academic Activities And Its Implications For English Curriculum

With the development of internationalization of graduate education, exchanges of scholars, cooperative education and organizing international conferences have become part of daily activities of Chinese universities. Academic internationalization is an inevitable choice for Chinese universities in the context of global development; it is also inherent developmental requirement of university education. Graduate students’ participation in international academic activities is often limited by their English competence. To cultivate internationalized talents, universities need to attach great importance to improving graduate students’ English.The purpose of this study is to investigate the current situation of internationalization of graduate education and graduates’participation in international academic activities and to find out some clues how to improve English Curriculum for Postgraduates in order to support their international academic participation. The author adopted questionnaire as research instrument. Firstly, the results showed that Chinese universities have realized the importance and necessity of internationalization of higher education and have attached importance to it. Secondly, graduate students show interests in international academic activities. However, their English level limits their participation in internationalized academic activities. The language barrier may frustrate their enthusiasm in participation in international academic activities.Based on the results, the study suggests that English Curriculum for Postgraduates should focus on strengthening communication skills and writing skills. English Curriculum for Postgraduates should attach great importance to English for Specific Purpose. Meanwhile, universities should introduce more original teaching materials in English. As for teaching forms and methods, English teachers of graduates should avoid pure explanation, increase oral communication, and make full use of multi-media and network. What’s more, universities should widely promote bilingual education in specialized courses.