A Study On The Course Design For Applied English Major (Business English-Oriented) In Gansu United University On The Basis Of Needs Analysis

Various forms of ESP appear in English teaching in the last two decades in China. As an important branch of ESP, Business English has been an important discipline in colleges and universities in China (Wang, 1997; Chen, 1999; Lin, 2004). Business English teaching in Higher Vocational and Technological Colleges (HVTC) has also developed rapidly, which are faced with great opportunities and challenges due to the expanding recruitment scale year by year.This study is an empirical research on course design for Applied English major (BE-oriented) in Gansu United University, it aims to find out whether the current course design can meet the learners'needs and social needs. The thesis puts forward 3 research questions:1. What are the needs of BE learners in Gansu United University?2. What are the employers'demands on BE graduates?3. Can the current BE course design meet the above needs? If not, what needs to be done to improve the current course design?A clear outline of those needs is gained through in-depth needs analysis by employing questionnaires among 30 employers, 150 students and 10 teachers. The results of needs analysis are concluded as follows:The current BE course can not completely meet the students'needs in terms of cultivating the students'effective communication ability and knowledge application. The most important three abilities they expect to obtain from the course are: business knowledge and skills, language knowledge and skills, and cross-cultural communication ability respectively, but business knowledge and skills and cross-cultural communication ability are what they lack at present; they have strong desire to improve speaking among the five language skills. Besides, the current teaching environment hasn't come up to the students'expectation.The employers stress the cultivation of students'comprehensive ability. They put forward higher demands on BE graduates'language ability, business knowledge as well as practice. And specific requirements on each ability are also proposed, for example, strengthening speaking and writing; making use of possible opportunity to practice; cultivating the awareness of cultural difference and so on.The result indicates that the current BE course design can not completely fulfill both the learner's needs and social needs. Therefore, based on the need analysis, with reference to The National Curriculum for Business English Undergraduate Program (trail) and The Criteria for English Major Establishment in HVTC in 2006 (discussion draft), some suggestions are put forward. At first, much importance should be attached to cultivating students'communication ability and knowledge application ability in the current talents cultivation plan. Secondly, BE teaching system should be improved in terms of talents cultivation stage and modules distribution. Besides, suggestions are also proposed on teacher development, the selection of teaching materials and methods, and the practicability of assessment as well as learning conditions.It is expected that the study is of great significance in improving the current BE teaching in Gansu United University as well as providing further implications for other HVTC.