College English Public Speaking, Teaching Status Of Research

The present study investigates English public speaking courses offered by Missouri State University in the United States and by several China's "211 Project" universities situated in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing. It attempts to answer the following questions: 1) what is common practice of public speaking in Western college teaching? 2) what is the current situation of EFL public speaking teaching at China's institutes? 3) What are the potential problems presented in Chinese undergraduate's English speeches?The findings indicate that, compared with American model of English public speaking, Chinese teaching model still have limitations in developing students' communicative competence, teacher qualification and teaching practice. Problems discovered in Chinese students' speeches reflect on linguistic features, speech content and communication effect, which will give implications for classroom teaching plans and activities.Based on the findings, suggestions are made for establishing a more native-oriented, systematical and practical EFL public speaking teaching model at China's higher institutes.