Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T02:51:52.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The English major crisis in China

Why did the once-popular major fall out of favor among Chinese students?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2019

Extract

Any news on English education in China today is now no news, but this most recent one may offer us some fresh food for thought.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamson, B. 2004. China's English: A History of English in Chinese Education. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.Google Scholar
Chang, J. 2006. ‘Globalization and English in Chinese higher education.’ World Englishes, 25(3/4), 513–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, L. & Curtis, A. (eds.). 2010. English Language Assessment and the Chinese Learner. New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, D. 2018. Alibaba: The House that Jack Ma Built. HarperCollins Publishers.Google Scholar
Dai, W. & Hu, W. 2009. Zhongguo Waiyu Jiaoyu Fazhan Yanjiu (1949–2009) [Research on the Development of Foreign Language Education in China (1949–2009)]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.Google Scholar
Edmondson, M. 2013. ‘The ideal English major.’ The Chronicle of Higher Education, 59(44), B14-5. Online at <https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Ideal-English-Major/140553> (Accessed August 23, 2019).Google Scholar
Gan, C. & Wang, W. 2015. ‘Users and gratifications of social media: A comparison of microblog and WeChat.’ Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 17(4), 251–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, X. 2012. ‘The study of English in China as a patriotic enterprise.’ World Englishes, 31(3), 351–65.Google Scholar
Goossaert, V., Kiely, J., & Lagerwey, J. (eds.) 2016. Modern Chinese Religion II, 1850–2015. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Hu, G. 2002. ‘English language teaching in the People's Republic of China.’ In Silver, R. E., Hu, G., & Iino, M. (eds.), English Language Education in China, Japan, and Singapore. Singapore: National Institute of Education, pp. 177.Google Scholar
Hu, G. 2005. ‘English language education in China: Policies, progress, and problems.’ Language Policy, 4(1), 524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiang, H. 2014. ‘Guanyu “yingyu zhuanye benke jiaoxue zhiliang guojia biaozhun” de jidian sikao [Some thoughts on the “National Standards for Teaching Quality in English Major Undergraduate Programs”].’ Waiyu Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [Foreign Language Teaching and Research], 46(3), 456–62.Google Scholar
Jin, L. & Cortazzi, M. 2003. ‘English language teaching in China: A bridge to the future.’ In Ho, W. K. & Wong, R. Y. L (eds.), English Language Teaching in East Asia Today. Singapore: Times Academic Press, pp. 131–45.Google Scholar
Jin, Y. & Fan, J. 2011. ‘Test for English Majors (TEM) in China.’ Language Testing, 28(4), 589–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kantar, . 2017. ‘China social media impact report 2017.’ Online at <http://download.cicdata.com/upload/Kantar/EN-Kantar_Social_Media_Impact_Report_2017.pdf> (Accessed March 14, 2019).+(Accessed+March+14,+2019).>Google Scholar
Smart, J. C., Feldman, K. A., & Ethington, C. A. 2000. Academic Disciplines: Holland's Theory and the Study of College Students and Faculty. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.Google Scholar
Sun, Y. 2011. ‘Tuchu sibian nengli peiyang, jiang yingyu zhuanye jiaoxue gaige yinxiang shenru [Toward a critical thinking-oriented curriculum for English majors].’ Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China], 8(3), 4958.Google Scholar
Tencent. 2015. ‘Tencent announces 2015 first quarter results.’ Online at <www.tencent.com/en-us/content/at/2015/attachments/20150513.pdf > (Accessed March 14, 2019).+(Accessed+March+14,+2019).>Google Scholar
Xie, Y. & Jin, Y. 2015. ‘Household wealth in China.’ Chinese Sociological Review, 47(3), 203–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wang, J. 2015. ‘Yingyu zhuanye benke guojia biaozhun kecheng tixi gouxiang – lishi yange yu xianshi sikao [On curriculum design of the national standards for undergraduate English-major students: Review and reflections].’ Xiandai Waiyu [Modern Foreign Languages], 38(1), 121–30.Google Scholar
Wang, W. & Fang, F. 2018. ‘Chinese netizens’ reactions to the use of English as a lingua franca.English Today, 110.Google Scholar
Zhao, B. 1997. ‘Consumerism, Confucianism, communism: Making sense of China today.New Left Review, 4359.Google Scholar
Zhong, W. & Jiang, H. 2015. ‘Wuyong yu dayong – cong guobiao tan yingyu xueke dingwei yu jianshe [To be of no use or of great use: A discussion on the orientation and construction of English subject in the light of “National Standard”].’ Zhongguo Waiyu [Foreign Languages in China], 12(2), 47.Google Scholar