Investigating non-English major undergraduates’ needs and perceptions of business English teaching in a Chinese university

Authors

  • Qing Xie Jiangnan University

Keywords:

non-English major undergraduate, needs analysis, business English teaching, Chinese university, college English teaching reform

Abstract

This article reports an investigative study of non-English major undergraduates’ needs and perceptions of business English teaching in a Chinese university context, within the context of College English Teaching reform and internationalization. The main instruments used were surveys consisting of rating and open-ended questions, and classroom observations. There were 147 valid participants in the study who were enrolled in various academic programs. The results show that participants most needed to improve writing and speaking skills, and most often read general interest articles. Less than one third of the participants had had job application experiences and they held various career expectations linked to their academic specialization. However as pre-experienced learners, they lacked adequate experience to understand the business world. For business English teaching, participants perceived the use of media resources and authentic materials, case-based methods and simulated practice as effective approach to achieve communicative competence development for the real business world. This study promotes college English teaching reform and guides further curriculum upgrading as well as informing business English curriculum design and implementation in China.

Author Biography

  • Qing Xie, Jiangnan University

    Qing Xie is a lecturer in the School of Foreign Studies, Jiangnan University where she teaches Business English and International Trade Correspondence. She is also a corporate English trainer. Her research interests lie in English for specific purposes, curriculum development, and corporate training. She obtained her M.Sc. in Management of Training and Development in the University of Edinburgh, UK in 2005 and Ph.D. in Language Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, and Lifelong Learning in The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong in 2014.

The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Volume 3. Issue 2. October 2016

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Published

2016-10-30

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Investigating non-English major undergraduates’ needs and perceptions of business English teaching in a Chinese university. (2016). The Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 185-198. https://caes.hku.hk/ajal/index.php/ajal/article/view/381