On Course Design Of Business English Specialty

Business English develops prosperously in this new era with the further development of China’s opening-up policy and the propelling force of social advancement. Since1980s China accelerates its speed of development in all areas under the influence of globalization which saw more and more frequent trading communication and business between countries. Rapid economic development stimulates society’s needs for talents who master proficient language competence and business knowledge well. Responding to needs of social development in the new era, studies on Business English theories are strengthened in a great number of non-English speaking countries and the scale of Business English teaching enlarges. Since the year of2000, Business English, as an independent specialty, has been set up in universities and wins recognition of the society. Course design of Business English being the key link of Business English teaching attains much attention of scholars in this field. The Southwestern University of Finance and Economics was accredited by the Ministry of Education to establish Business English Undergraduate Programs in2009. Therefore, it is meaningful to make a survey on the current course design of BE.The course design of Business English should not only comply with the requirement of the National Curriculum for BE Undergraduate Program (trial) stipulated by Ministry of Education. It also should satisfy the needs of learners and the society. Students’needs for course design cannot be the same forever. Therefore, surveys on learners’needs for course design of Business English should also be in a dynamic process and in a regular basis. Nonetheless, needs analysis is a forgotten area in the activities of Business English teaching. Based on theories of needs analysis and the instruction of ESP theories, this present thesis conducts a survey on the course design of Business English at School of Foreign Languages for and Economics and Trade in the University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE thereafter). On the one hand, Business English majors’learning needs and attitudes towards course design of Business English are surveyed through questionnaires. On the other hand, Business English competences needed in workplaces and society’s needs for Business English talents are investigated by distributing questionnaires among job-experienced English graduates and analyzing recruitment information for Business English talents collected from domestic websites with high credibility published in the past two years. This present thesis aims to find out the fact whether the current course design of Business English at School of Foreign Languages for Economics and Trade in SWUFE satisfies the needs of learners and the society.This present thesis consists of four chapters in its body part. Chapter One makes a profile of BE teaching history and studies on course design of BE in the past few decades. Apart from this, the current course design of BE at SFLET in SWEFU and the National BE Curriculum are presented as well in the end of this chapter. In Chapter Two, four frameworks of needs analysis are discussed. Dudley-Evan&St. John’s needs analysis model and Hutchison&Waters’ learning-centered needs analysis model are stated in detail. Research methodology of this survey is the sub-center of this chapter. It mainly describes research questions, research subjects and context, instruments and procedures of data collection, which are specific directions of this survey. In Chapter Three, BE majors’learning needs are analyzed by discussing their future career design, motivation, needs on business knowledge, attitudes towards the current course design of BE. In Chapter Four, qualifications and competences needed when one is involved in business activities are summarized by analyzing information collected through Questionnaire II and analysis of recruitment advertisements collected. The conclusion ends this thesis by answering questions put forward in Chapter Three, presenting merits and demerits of the current course design of BE at SFLET in SWEFU and providing suggestions on eliminating deficiencies of the current course design of BE.In general, Business English teaching at the undergraduate level in China is at the trial and preliminary stage. SWUFE, as one of the universities which are authorized to establish Business English undergraduate programmes, has its advantages in the course design of Business English. It is also sensible that there exist some disadvantages. It is hopefully that this survey may help to make progress in course design of Business English and Business English teaching in China.