Students' perspectives on college English in institutions of higher learning in central China

Abstract

English Language today, has a special position in Chinese education as it is taught as a foreign language at all education levels ranging from primary to postgraduate education. At the university level, College English is a compulsory course. The teaching and learning of English at the tertiary level witnessed a paradigm shift with the implementation of the 2016 College English Teaching Reform (CETR). This reform saw a move from a traditional teacher-centered approach to a more learner-centered communicative approach. Therefore, this paper presents students’ perspectives on College English. The study involved 611 university students from two institutions of higher learning in Central China. Data were collected via a questionnaire and interviews. The quantitative findings revealed that students held moderately positive perceptions of College English in terms of its learning objectives, language skills, teaching methods and teaching resources. Nonetheless, a mixed response was indicated in the qualitative findings as a number of students felt that EFL classrooms continued to be teacher-centered with EFL class enrolments being still large and this inhibited student-teacher interactions. Hence, the three main challenges faced by students were their limited English language proficiency, minimal teacher feedback and a lack of motivation to learn English. All these findings indicated that though the CETR has some positives, it is not without its share of limitations and these shortcomings need to be addressed if the true aspirations of the CETR are to be realized.