Design, Development and Evaluation of Academic Oral English Curriculum Reform

Abstract

The postgraduate students’ oral English proficiency has long been considered to be unsatisfactory in tailoring ever-increasing global engagement and international academic cooperation. Numerous Chinese universities are currently undergoing English curriculum reform for enhancing postgraduate students’ pragmatic communicative capacity especially in involving in global professional interaction and articulating at international academic settings. To assess the effect of the curriculum innovation, a 670-postgraduate-student questionnaire was surveyed at Southeast University to evaluate its pilot reform encompassing teaching, learning and assessment, namely, “Collaborative Teaching Mode and Interactive Learning Model”, “Major-related Teaching Content” and “Formative Assessment System Integrated in Summative Assessment System”. The data showcases that the teaching content merged by Simulated International Conference on major-relevant themes has been popularly acknowledged by students. The Sino-foreign collaborative teaching mode and multiple interactive learning model have proven to boost students’ enthusiasm and confidence in improving oral English proficiency. The formative assessment system can significantly propel teamwork spirit and arouse students’ earnest to practice oral English. The research provides viable modes for oral English curriculum reform in Chinese tertiary educational institutions.