A Study On Designing Diversified English Elective Courses In Higher Vocational College

Vocational college education has been playing an important role in thehigher education system since the beginning of this century. With acontrast to their solid professional skills, students from Higher Vocationaland Technical College (HVTC) have a poor performance in Englishlearning and application. They cannot find their position in the unifiedEnglish compulsory courses. English elective courses become their lastchance to grasp to keep pace with the gradually increasing requirementsfor applied talents.This thesis firstly finds out the general pattern of HVTC Englishelective courses through group interviews from English teachers in otherHVTCs in Shaanxi Province. Based on a clear understanding of theproblems and advantages in current English elective courses, the authorinvestigates the specific needs of HVTC English elective courses throughquestionnaires and group interviews from students in Shaanxi Vocationaland Technical College on the theoretical foundation of need analysis.From the detailed analysis in students’ learning needs, the author findsthat most students welcome the establishment of the English electivecourses; they prefer unrestrained teaching manner and formativeevaluation. With regard to students’ favorite courses within the threecatalogs that the author groups, General Introduction to Spoken English and Testing Skill rank the first two in the catalog of language foundationand skill; English Film and Video Appreciation and English SongsAppreciation take the leading part in the catalog of language and culture;Workplace English and Practical Business English wins most popularityin the catalog of practical English.Secondly, based on the reliable firsthand information, the authordesigns a diversified English elective courses system under the guidanceof constructivism theory.The designing of diversified English elective courses system is a newattempt in higher vocational English teaching in China. It may not onlyhelp students in improving their English proficiency but also offeringeducators some useful information on students’ appeal for English study.To a large extent, it will change the previous English teaching mode bysatisfying students’ multiple English learning needs. This system maypromote English elective course reform as well as promoting thesustainable development of students and teachers in HVTC.