A Study Of Curriculum Reform And Design For English Major Of Sport Universities In China

The sporting industry in China has been experiencing unprecedented growthphase due to China’s success in hosting the2008Beijing Olympic Games, along withsuccessfully hosting of a series of international sporting events in recent years. Forfrequent international sports exchanging, such as trade and exchange of athletes in theinternational sporting industry, the demand for talents in sport areas that are both goodat their sport and proficient in the English language is increasing. In response to thisgrowing demand, Sport Universities in China, for example, Shanghai University ofSport, Beijing University of Sport, and the Wuhan University of Sport, haveestablished English as a major, specializing in Sport (Sports English). Questionsregarding the educational goals of these majors and their curriculum design haverecently been raised. These issues that have been raised are exacerbated by the lack ofstandards for curriculum design for this type of major. However, the research in thisarea is sparse. Therefore, this dissertation analyses the current situation of curriculumdesign of Sport Universities in China through literature reviews, curriculum designtheories, need analysis theory, and case study. This study begins with a discussion ofthe relationship between sport and English language, and assesses the problems facingby Sport Universities with their English major. Using the Shanghai University ofSport as a case study, a survey of needs was conducted, which included those of thestudents, the teachers, the graduates and the employers. This study concludes with ananalysis of the curriculum and proposes suggestions for improvement of thecurriculum.This study undertook the research on curriculum design for English major ofSport Universities from seven aspects as follow:1) Analysis of "Sport English",incorporating Jorden’s, Hutchinson&Waters’s ESP theory (English for SpecificPurpose);2) The current situation of English major in Sport Universities in China wasalso investigated through conducting surveys among587students in seven SportUniversities, and10experts in ten Sport Universities in China;3) ESP (sport English) competence components were defined based on the theory of languagecommunicative competence theory;4) A needs assessment survey was developedbased on needs analysis theories, which was carried on in2003and2011respectively,on several levels—on the level of the students, the teachers, the graduates, theemployers and administrators;5) A proposal for defining the educational goal ofEnglish Major of Shanghai University of Sport;6)A proposal for a set of standardelements that should be incorporated into a standard curriculum based on students’and teachers’ feedback and employer needs as identified in the survey;7) Suggestionsfor textbook compilations, teaching methods and means, teaching evaluations, andteacher education. The study also has clarified the sport English test model under theguidance of Bachman’s communicative competence theory.With the perspective analysis, the study has found a few key issues in thedevelopment of curriculum design:1)“Sport English”is defined as not only the sportculture manifested in English, but also the language variation used in sport areas;2)ESP (sport English) competence consists of communicative, intercultural andprofessional activity competence. Each of them consists of several interactedcompetences. The development of ESP competence takes place in action and it isbased on students’ experience, and consequently students form new experience;3)The results of the survey of Sport Universities reveal several problems, for instance,insufficient funds, lacking of “double-qualified”teachers, unscientific curriculumdesign, etc., which have seriously restricted the development of English major ofSport Universities in China;4) The needs assessment results illustrate three majorneeds: high proficiency of English language competence, extensive sport knowledgeand high proficiency of communication competence, with innovative ability;5) Basedon the needs survey, under the guidance of “Curriculum for English Major of HighEducation”, the educational goals are defined to cultivate the international, universaladvanced English talents with study English language skill, extensive humanityknowledge, professional competence for sports and ESP competence for sportactivities;6) Relying on curriculum design and ESP theories, this study analyzes theexisting curriculum standards at the Shanghai University of Sport, and proposes for a set of standard elements that should be incorporated into a standard curriculum. Itstresses that the four-year program tends to cultivate students English languagecompetence, ESP competence, communication competence, intercultural competenceand professional competence for sports specialists. The four academic years isgenerally divided into basic stage (1-2grade) and advanced stage (3-4grade). Basicstage emphasizes English language competence. It focuses not only on languagecompetence and intercultural competence, but also on a good understanding of sportculture. At the advanced stage, the focus of education should be on the improvementof ESP competence, intercultural competence and professional competence for sportspecialists. The two elements, relevance and continuity, between the two stagesshould be carefully considered when the decision will be made.7) The dissertationalso puts forward the suggestions for textbook compilation, the teaching methods andmeans, the teacher training as well as the test model and evaluation principles.This study utilizes the theories of curriculum design and ESP, discusses therelationship between sport and English language, classification of Sport Englishlearners, and offers an alternate perspective for English major of Sport Universities inChina to integrate sport and English in their curriculum design. Meanwhile, this study,under instruction of the ESP curriculum theories and the needs analysis of thedifferent levels, analyzes the curriculum problems, clarifies the educational goals ofthe Shanghai University of Sport, and proposes the suggestions for curriculum design.While the proposed changes in the design of the curriculum cannot address all theneeds highlighted by the survey, the adoption of standards and fundamental criteriafor language skills, sports knowledge, intercultural communication, and innovativeability is necessary to form a basis by which future curricula can be developed.