Zero-Degree Course Design

The present study has put forward the concept of designing zero-degree course for English writing course to address the pitfalls inherent in the contemporary writing course for English writers and then with the theory of zero-degree and deviation, constructs the framework of English writing course for the English majors,tending to lead the learners away from the duck feeding and avert them to a course bottom-up model, featuring zero objective, zero textbook, zero subject, zero classroom.The zero-degree writing course is open-ended and flexible, realizing two conversions: one from teacher centered instruction to learner centered instruction, and the other from focusing on knowledge impartation with tedious content but without individuality to focusing on sublimation of individual quality in the process of mutual stimulus and struggle. The two conversions will lead to a brand new interpretation of English writing course.Instead of adhering to traditional top-down spoon-feeding teaching, the present study, based upon grassroots designing, devolves the right to speech on all participants in the classroom. In addition, much importance is attached to accumulation of zero-degree knowledge, fostering of rhetorical awareness and creative capability. Through deconstruction of speech hegemony of course designing experts, supervisory experts and teachers, participants reconstruct a harmonious and equal relationship.Zero-degree English writing course goes beyond the boundary of disciplines and develop in a pluralistic way which makes possible vertical transformation of courses by means of modern network and information technologies, harboring more resources and more researching space. The self-negation inherent in such designing enables the courses to generate and develop continuously and the meaning of the courses keeps being constructed and enhanced, leading to deviation and expansion of the primary point of the courses.By the method of documentation, the author has collected relevant literature on writing course which was later analyzed after being categorized, gaining insight into the laws of development, the status quo, the area that has not been researched, and the current trends of the English writing course. And then the conversion from the system of curriculum development to the system of understanding curriculum has been explained, together with the development of the western writing theories under the influence of the conversion in question. The origin and development of the zero-degree English writing course for English majors were reviewed before the main features and theoretical rationale were distilled. Next an interpretation has been made of the history of researches relating to zero-degree deviation theory, ranging from the zero-degree deviation theory scattering in the rhetoric, stylistic and linguistic theories, to the ideas of zero-degree and deviation embraced in ancient Chinese philosophy, and to the ideas of zero-degree and deviation featuring contemporary Chinese scholars on rhetoric. This paper ends with the constitution of a proposed overall framework for the zero-degree writing course.Such a framework features case studies, consisting of the following procedures: two preparations (grouping of learners and determination of topic), four stages (learning needs driving, task driving, achievement driving, and diagnosis & introspection ), and seven stepss (audio input, drafting, advanced input, classroom discussion, composition correcting, positive and negative deviation analysis and revision and documentation). These back to back procedures move from macro operations to micro operations, creating a classroom context where authentic perception and infinite questions can be possible, and varieties of cases are found.Questionnaires are distributed to gauge the effects of zero-degree writing course such as writers, the process and result of implementing zero-degree course and the opinions of course designers with regard to the zero-degree course.Here comes the conclusion of the study: through deconstruction of speech hegemony of course designing experts, supervisory experts and teachers, participants reconstruct a harmonious and equal relationship. In such open-ended classroom, traditional roles of experts and teacher-learner relationship are abandoned, and thus every participant in the course can be course designer, sense interpreter and creator; furthermore, each participant can act as a key instructor. In this manner, learners'self-awareness can be promoted, and their potentialities can be brought into full play in their pursuit of freed interests. Not only does the significance of zero-degree course lie in the construction of the English writing course, but an implication of providing a universal framework and methodological guidance for all other course designs.