A Study On Education Policies For English Major In Local Normal Universities

After the reform and opening policy in 1978,English major education was set on path.Three national policies have been enacted,which advances the development of English major education to some extent.Meanwhile,a lot of studies have been carried out on English education planning,including its development and implementation.Some scholars make reviews,point out the problems,and provide suggestions for English education planning.Also,some studies have been done on language policies and their influence on local universities.Since 1989,four national teaching policies for English majors have been carried out,including the newly discussed National Standards.However,most research is carried out from a macro-planning sense,the suggestions are quite generalized and there is limited study on local university policies or their implementation in real classroom.Based on Kaplan and Baldauf s theory of Language-in-Education Planning,this paper attempts to analyze university policies for undergraduate English major education and its implementation,taking ZJNU as an example.In the process of data collection,national and university policies for English major education since 1989 and records of interview with five teachers from the English department at ZJNU are collected.In the process of data analysis,three aspects are mainly discussed,specifically,Curriculum Policy,Methodology&Materials Policy and Evaluation Policy.This study aims to answer the following questions:(1)What transformations have national policies for English major education undergone since 1989?(2)What characteristics do ZJNU's policies have as compared with national polices?(3)What factors should be taken into consideration in making local education policies for English majors?The results show more balanced curriculum systems,more diversified teaching materials and methods,and more extensive evaluation systems are achieved through the transformation of national policies.In terms of curriculum policy,the structure has been more diversified,the percentage of professional knowledge courses has increased,and the humanistic nature of English subject and students' research competence have been more emphasized.As for methodology and materials,they have been diversified and enriched,and more instructions have been given on the selection of materials.Concerning evaluation system,various more aspects get to be covered in terms of the content and the evaluation methods have been more diversified.TEM 4 and TEM 8 are regarded as standard tests since 1989.From a micro perspective,different forms of evaluation are recommended,such as tests,papers,oral expression,and thesis defense.Recently,formative assessment and summative assessment are encouraged to be jointly used.Concerning university policies,they are formulated under the instruction and guidance of national policies.However,each university has its characteristics.Curriculum policy at ZJNU is basically grounded on the national policies,rationally and selectively reformed according to the specialty of students and its teaching condition.Concerning curriculum,national policies have a great influence on the course setting in universities.However,university curriculum is not promptly reformed by the national curriculum.Meanwhile,special courses such as Teacher Education and Excellent Teachers' Training make ZJNU distinguished as a normal university.In terms of methodology and materials,there is no independent or direct instruction in university policies.Nevertheless,some implications can be extracted in the part of Basic Principles and Talents Training Standards.As for evaluation policy,TEM 4 and TEM 8 are two standard tests seen from a macro perspective,while each course has its own evaluation method from a micro perspective,which is the same as that in national policies.Last but not least,some suggestions are raised for making local university policies.Generally speaking,social demands,national policies,and students'specialty should be taken into consideration.Some implications are concluded from the interviews concerning the implementation of university policies in English major education.In the process of curriculum setting,policy makers should study national policies carefully,explain the ideology and content clearly to all participants,and they can learn from paralleled universities and exchange experiences.For methodology and materials,independent instructions and standards are needed in the university policy.As for evaluation system,formative assessment and summative assessment should be used together.Under the new national standards,some suggestions on the reform of Curriculum policy,Methodology and Materials are also presented.As for the structure of curriculum,disciplinary platform courses and professional key courses can be combined into one,while the sub-classification of specialty-oriented courses can be enriched by increasing research methods courses and special courses.As for the content,it should focus more on the humanistic nature of English by providing more courses on literature and culture.Special courses in this university should be paid more attention by adding courses related to teacher training and English education.In terms of teaching methodology,modern technology should be used to renew teaching methods and improve teaching efficiency.For teaching materials,library materials,online resources,electronic database and learning tools can be added.