On The Impact Of Material Utilization On College English Teachers’ Professional Development

The publication of "College English Curriculum Requirements" (Curriculum Requirements,2007) provides a foundation for English teaching of non-English majors in all colleges and universities in China. By referring to the Curriculum Requirements and the practical situation of English teaching, colleges and universities tend to make scientific, systematic and individualized English teaching syllabus to guide their English teaching. As a result, college English teachers are faced with new choices and challenges in using their teaching materials. Since the 1990s, professionals and researchers in the field of teacher education have paid their attention to foreign language teacher education and development. Teachers’professional development has thus become the research focus of education experts. However, empirical research carried out in this field is still limited at home, especially from the perspective of material utilization.Aiming at the above problem, the author randomly selected 45 English teachers from Guangxi Normal University, Lijiang College of Guangxi Normal University, Guilin Institute of Tourism as well as Guilin University of Electronic Technology as research subjects, and attempted to explore the following issues by means of questionnaire:(1) What is the overall situation of college English teachers’utilization of teaching materials? (2) What is the overall level of college English teachers’ professional development? (3) What is the impact of material utilization on college English teachers’professional development?The study results show that college English teachers have a moderate-high level of material utilization. They score high in the total understanding of CurriculumRequirements and overall utilization of materials, but their scores in the total understanding of teaching materials, the difficulties in utilization of teaching materials and participation in relevant research still need improving. As to their professional development, college English teachers also have a moderate-high level. They have a high educational belief score, but an unsatisfactory level of teachers’ knowledge structure, teachers’ teaching capacity and teachers’ self-reflection. The level of teachers’ professional development is partly affected by material utilization. Their teaching capacity can be affected by their total understanding of Curriculum Requirements. Their total understanding of teaching materials exerts influence on their knowledge structure and teaching capacity. Their overall utilization of teaching materials according to Curriculum Requirements is significantly related to their teaching belief, knowledge structure and teaching capacity. Teachers’ participation in research is related to their educational belief and self-reflection.Based on the above findings, the author puts forward some suggestions from the perspectives of understanding Curriculum Requirements and teaching materials, how to use teaching materials as well as participating in researches on material utilization, so as to effectively promote college English teachers’ professional development.