A Study Of The Curriculum Development For Undergraduate English Majors In The Context Of The National Standards

In the new round of English curriculum reform,the National Standards of Teaching Quality for Undergraduate English Majors(Hereinafter referred to as the National Standards)require all colleges and universities to formulate their English programs according to their own educational orientation,characteristics and the needs of local economic and social development.Under this context?this thesis attempts to study the curriculum development of English majors through needs analysis and tries to solve the following three research questions:(1)What is the status quo of the current curriculum for undergraduate English majors?(2)What are students' needs for English learning and English curriculum?(3)What are the needs of workplace for English majors?To this end,this thesis adopts both quantitative and qualitative methods in a survey study.A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the potential deficiency of the current English courses,the needs of English Majors for English curriculum and participants' views of their English courses.Altogether 110 questionnaires were distributed and 103 valid questionnaires were retrieved.Then an interview schedule was used to explore employers'needs for English majors.In total,administrative staffs from 73 companies were interviewed.Research data obtained by the questionnaires firstly reveal that the current English major curriculum is generally acceptable,as its objectives,courses classifications and organizations accord with the National Standards.But improvement can still be made in terms of the contact hours of some courses and the courses modules.Secondly,regarding the needs of students for English learning,listening and speaking were viewed as the most difficult skills to acquire by them.Besides,despite basic English skills like listening and speaking,most students wanted to enrich business knowledge and improve vocational skills.Furthermore,students'ideal types of teachers,classroom activities,practical activities and assessments were also examined.Finally,the interview result shows the job market expected English majors to be endowed with integrated English ability,a reasonable and complete knowledge structure and a high level of comprehensive quality.Based on the above findings,the author takes the surveyed university as an example and offers some suggestions for the curriculum system.Firstly,the curriculum objective should be to cultivate application-oriented talents with an emphasis on language skills and proficiency.Additionally,flexible teaching methods are recommended to be used so as to ensure the scientific implementation of the curriculum.It is also necessary to increase appropriate practical activities and cross-disciplinary knowledge.Concerning the course evaluation methods,it is advisable to combine the process evaluation and summative evaluation which ensures a more scientific result as well as more satisfaction from learners and employers.