Needs-based Analysis On Curriculum Design Of Undergraduate Business English Program

This thesis is an empirical research on curriculum design for undergraduate BEprogram in the School of English for International Business in GuangdongUniversity of Foreign Studies. It aims to find out whether the current curriculumdesign can meet the target needs and learning needs, and both qualitative andquantitative methods are applied in this research. A clear outline of those needs isgained through an in-depth needs analysis by employing questionnaires among108graduates and102undergraduates from the BE program, as well as interviews with10employers who have hired BE graduates in recent years. In addition, a CIPPevaluation is also carried out to evaluate existing BE curriculum design.In this research, three questions are put forward and addressed:1. What are the target needs and learning needs for undergraduate BEprogram? Can the current program meet the needs?2. What are the underlying problems of the existing curriculum designaffecting undergraduate BE program?3. How to improve the existing curriculum design of undergraduate BEprogram?According to the results of target needs analysis, the market not onlyrequires BE graduates to master language and business expertise, but also highlevel of business practical skills. The employers generally stress the developmentof students‘comprehensive abilities. They put forward higher demands on BEgraduates‘business knowledge, knowledge of China‘s business practices, as wellas interpersonal communication skills. BE graduates are expected to be equippedwith good awareness of culture differences in order to communicate effectivelyand behave appropriately in business context. In addition, specific requirementson learning abilities, flexibilities and good working ethics are also proposed.In addition, the learning needs analysis shows that most BE students expectto become BE talents with relatively high level of practical skills and strongemployment competencies. However, the current BE curriculum cannotcompletely meet the students‘expectations. The knowledge and abilities most lacked by the students are business practical skills, business expertise andhumanism knowledge.Furthermore, the results of CIPP evaluation indicate that the undergraduateBE program in SEIB has achieved desirable and fruitful outcomes. Even so,there is still some room to improve in aspects like education goal setting,teaching material compilation, internship base construction, specialized testdevelopment, etc.Based on the results of needs analysis and CIPP evaluation of theundergraduate BE program, suggestions are put forward for the improvement ofthe program‘s curriculum design:1. Specific education goal that can meet the market needs for BE graduatesshould be formulated, and more importance should be attached to thedevelopment of students‘practical abilities;2. A more systematically and consistently modularized teaching patternwhich can efficiently cultivate students‘expertise and practical skillsshould be adopted;3. More local business cases should be added to the textbooks andsupportive teaching materials should be constructed;4. Qualifications of BE teachers should be constantly improved, and moresupports should be provided to the teachers‘on-going development;5. Teaching approaches should be enriched and educational technologiesshould be employed to increase teaching effectiveness;6. The implementation of practical teaching should be enhanced, and moreefforts should be made to construct internship bases;7. Tests and assessments that are specialized for BE program should beestablished to better evaluate the BE learners‘English and businessknowledge and skills.The author hopes that the results, though gained from a case study onmerely one school, may provide references and guidance for other schoolsregarding the evaluation and development of curriculum design of undergraduateBE program.