The Effectiveness Of The PSE Curriculum Is Seen From The Cross-cultural Communicative Competence Of Overseas Chinese Students

Due to the influence of policy and market,UK higher education institutions have widely adopted intensive Pre-sessional English courses(PSE)encompassing English for academic purposes provision to enhance their attractiveness in the intense global competition for international students whose proficiency in English falls below standard entry requirements.Therefore,it is important to fully understand the context and operation of the PSE in order to further explore its effectiveness.This research will conduct a comparative study on the intercultural communication competency of international students from mainland China.The research is based on the PSE course at Queen's University Belfast.A combination of quantitative/qualitative research methods is used to investigate 230 perspective postgraduate students from mainland China over two years.Among them,119 questionnaires for students attending PSE courses and 111 questionnaires for students not attending this course are sift out.Based on the Deardorff‘s Process Model of Intercultural Competence model,the difference of intercultural communication competence and its five dimensions of the two groups of students is to be expected to learn from a data analysis by using SPSS24.Secondly,this research constructs a multiple linear regression model for mining the possible other factors affecting the intercultural communicative competence of international students from mainland China with basis of the Astin I-E-O conceptual framework.Finally,an attempt is made to determine the effectiveness of the PSE program.Through literature review and observation,it is found that:from the initial alliance of four universities to the establishment of BALEAP,PSE in the UK has developed for nearly half a century and derived an independent curriculum system,namely EAP;PSE course of Queen's University Belfast is featured as its localization and presents the characteristics of flexibility and openness.Through interviews and questionnaires,it is found that there are significant differences between the students who take part in and those who do not take part in PSE,but both of them are at a low level and have a large space for improvement.There is a strong difference between the two types of students in the intercultural knowledge dimension,and the students who take PSE courses have obvious advantages in the intercultural knowledge level.However,there are low differences on dimensions like intercultural attitude,intercultural skills and internal outcome,and no significant difference in intercultural external outcome.Through factor analysis,it is found that PSE course has a significant impact on the intercultural communication competency of Mainland Chinese international students in the UK,as well as on the five dimensions of this competency.Overseas experience has a significant impact on intercultural communication competency and intercultural knowledge.The background of undergraduate education has a strong impact on intercultural attitudes,and the education level of fathers has a significant impact on students' internal outcome.Based on the analysis of data and an overview of the development of the PSE program,this study found that the PSE program has improved the intercultural communication competence of international students from mainland China to a certain extent;the PSE program has played a positive role in helping international students from mainland China to transition from their home country to local cultures and environments,and has also played an important role in improving students' language proficiency and academic skills.