College English Curriculum At Art Academies

The purpose of this thesis is to address, from the perspective of curriculum rather than teaching methodology, the reform of college English curriculum and instruction at art academies in China as exemplified by the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, in response to the newly-issued Collge English Curriculum and Teaching Requrements by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China in 2004 and in view of the characteristics of art students and the conditions of art academies in China.Among the research methods are: literature review, historic study, case study and comparative study. Based on a review of literature of theoretical studies on college English curriculum at art academies in China and on the history of its development, the thesis penetrates into the social aspect of college English curriculum with a focus on the case of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. And the present study indicates the necessity of offering the college English curriculum to college art majors, in light of a comparative study of the general educational course of English as a foreign language in China's Taiwan province.The thesis is divided into four parts in addition to an introduction, in which three key theoretical concepts, i.e. curriculum, college English curriculum and art academies, are defined and related literature is reviewed, and a conclusion on the reform of the college English curriculum at the art academies.The first part provides the basic theoretical framework for college English curriculum reform at the art academies in China from the angle of general education and from Doll's post-modern perspective on curriculum.The second part is a survey of the historical development of the curriculum over the past nine decades from the perspective of curriculum sociology, with a summary of its main features.The third part analyzes the present problems facing with the college English curriculum at the art academies in China as exemplified by the Hubei Institute of Fine Arts and their main causes. It also points out the necessity as well as the possibility of its reform.The fourth but not the least addresses the solutions to problems of the curriculum reform for college art students, including the system of English courses, curriculum sources, and curriculum assessment, among others.