Construction of Teaching Teams of“EGP+X”in TCM Universities

Changchun University of Chinese Medicine,Changchun,China Email:yuan_yyb@163.com

[Abstract]The purpose of this paper is to explore the construction of teaching teams of“EGP+X”in TCM Universities,and to form a scientific and appropriate English curriculum system with characteristics.Creating a unique teaching team is conducive to clarifying the long-term professional development goals of teachers and improving the quality of teaching and education.In order to conduct an orderly study,this paper analyses the significance of the construction of teaching team of“EGP + X”,determines the major research contents,carries on the feasibility analysis to the project,clarifies the items of expenditure,and sets the expected goals.The study process and research findings will serve as a reference for further study in the related fields.

[Keywords]Construction of Teaching Teams;“EGP+X”;TCM Universities

Introduction

It is deeply rooted that education is the centennial plan for a country to progress in which teachers are key factors.Authoritative documentslike Outline of the National Plan for medium and long-term Education Reform and Development 2010-2020 and Outline of Strategic Planning for the Development of traditional Chinese Medicine 2016-2020emphasize the priority on the development of education.The goal of national“double first-class”construction not only puts forward higher expectations and requirements for talent training in the universities,but also lifts the role of teachers to the height of national talent strategic development.Besides,College English Curriculum Requirementsin which three objectives and three types of curriculum are set by the Ministry of Education ask for higher requirements for English teachers.Accordingly,English teachers need to face transformation urgently,that is,from the traditional examination-oriented general English teaching orientation to the special purpose English teaching and crosscultural communication teaching orientation,meeting the needs of future career development and conducing to the professional learning of talents.

The project aims to build a teaching team with strong teaching and research abilities who are equipped with specialized knowledge in TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine).For one thing,it provides language teachers with the direction of professional development to meet the needs of English teaching reform at all levels.For another,it can promote the applicability of teaching and scientific research in the long run.

Significance of the Project

The major content of general education in the university is based on the comprehensiveness and universality of knowledge.At present,a large number of colleges and universities in China take EGP(English for General Purpose)as the main content of English teaching,and impart English knowledge to students from a general perspective.Traditional College English class mainly focuses on vocabulary expansion,structure analysis,semantic inference and so on,which does not reflect the professional characteristics of the specialty feature.It is acknowledged that learning in the universities of TCM has the characteristics of distinct specialty and high degree of profession.In view of this situation,English teaching in the universities of TCM should make corresponding changes,adjust teaching content to the talent training plan,embody the application of major speciality,and thus improve the teaching quality.The teaching reform of"English for General Purpose"+"English for Specific Purpose"in the universities of TCM will be beneficial to the optimization of college English teaching structure and the cultivation of high-level medical professionals.The refinement of the teaching team and the specialization of learning content are important parts of the curriculum construction which determines the quality of talents.

With the continuous improvement and specialization of academic knowledge teaching modes,English teaching teams should be developed and refined in line with the advanced new ideas in education.Teachers teach not only follow laws of education and teaching,but also teach in accordance with the students’aptitude and levels.A team tailored for students can help students improve significantly and fundamentally.Energy and commitment should be injected into the construction of ESP(English for Specific Purpose)teaching team so as to realize the improvement of English teaching quality obviously.

Reform Focus

The reform is based on the orientation and goals of talents training in professional fields,starting from the situation of specialization and internationalization faced by the universities of TCM.It is necessary to change the roles of teaching teams and relocate the goals of teaching activities in order to help define the function of the team and refine teaching activities to some extent.Besides,relevant reforms should be carried on the curriculum construction of both general English knowledge and English for Specific Purpose,teaching and learning assessment,various teaching methods as well as the regular training of teaching staff so as to construct the novel and scientific teaching modes which are beneficial to the professional development of both students and teachers.

1.Curriculum construction of English

Optional courses of ESP are constructed according to the characteristics and connotation of the university and the features of its specialty to satisfy different requirements for career development of students.In the universities of TCM,courses such as English Listening of TCM,English of TCM Culture,English Translation of TCM Classics,Situational Oral English of TCM and ect.are all the highly rewarding supplementary courses to increase the diversity of curriculum and satisfy individualized study in a pertinent way.

2.Assessment of teaching and learning

Evaluating students’performance from various perspectives is sensible when building a relatively feasible and impartial system.At present,most of the universities take the scores in final examinations as the main standards of measurement which is isolated and one-sided in judging the performance of students.In the present reform of English teaching,formative assessment,compared with summative assessment,focuses more on accumulated study which is regarded as the integral approach to give students more opportunities to carry out the learning activities in the process of self-enhancement.And the assessment of teaching is no longer limited to scores of students and pass rates of CET4/6.With the combined application of the principles of summative assessment and formative assessment,both teachers and students are enabled more chances to reveal their achievements.

3.Methods of teaching

A teacher is not only the disseminator of knowledge,but the organizer and designer of the class.Lectures from teachers of the traditional class seem tedious confronted with the constantly updated teaching methods by means of blended teaching under the background of high technology and“the internet plus education”.Only novel and creative methods can be adopted to create a good study atmosphere for enhancing learning and teaching effect.For example,the use of a variety of teaching apps in class can achieve the sharing of curriculum resources and interactive teaching based on the Internet,and the digital content provides effective data support for teachers to monitor students'learning,thus making instant feedback to students.Besides,situational teaching in TCM universities is an effective teaching strategy to show a certain environment through a series of media,so that students can react according to the different situations and practice.

Reform Plans

Only if there are reasonably structured teams of teachers can high standard teaching be assured.According to teachers' ability and interest,it is proposed to set up the following teaching teams so as to feature the application of specialization and practice the principle of refinement.

1.“EGP+ESP”Teaching Team

The scope of“ESP”here refers to English teaching contents including Chinese Medicine,Acupuncture and Tuina Science,Nursing,Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy knowledge.There is an increasingly urgent demand for talents nowadays with both professional skills and high proficiency in English.Overwhelmed by new challenges in the fierce competition in job market and requirement in international cooperation which is more frequent than ever before,it is a necessity for medical universities to implement application-oriented education,which needs a systematic readjustment and reform in aspects such as branches of learning,new curriculums and teacher structure(Xia,2016).With requirements from both the society and medical students,English courses covering“EGP+ESP”should be embodied in the scopes of teaching.ESP learning and teaching include the different requirements of language focus,professional context as well as pragmatic application(Liu,2019).Accordingly,cultivation of college English teachers’proficiency in ESP is a critical step in the construction of a characteristic team.

2.“EGP+Culture”Teaching Team

The character“Culture”here refers to Medical Humanities and Intercultural knowledge.What medical students acquire is not only professional knowledge in medical field but humanity spirit and culture tolerance.One must be cultivated to hold the awareness of cross cultural communication besides linguistic competence so as to understand people from different culture completely and fairly.The State attaches great importance to medical communicating across cultures.The characteristics ofChinese medicine are reflected in profound and,to some extent,mysterious TCM classics.It is demanding for foreign countries to know well and accept TCM notions without cultural knowledge of Chinese history.Medical students,who are propellants as well as disseminators of TCM culture,not only absorb the splendid foreign culture and enrich themselves,but also carry forward China’s civilization(Yang,2013).Therefore,the task of cultivating and improving medical students’cross-cultural communication abilities falls on English teachers.The teaching team should bear in mind that when instilling cultural knowledge into students,teachers should guide them to consciously compare Chinese and Western cultures,and find out the differences in language structure and application between mother tongue and target language.

3.“EGP+Comprehensive Knowledge”Teaching Team

“Comprehensive Knowledge”here refers to English activities,competitions,English level tests,and the pre-exam tutoring for graduate students,etc.Curriculum optimization should be given special attention in the process of teaching reform.The major content of comprehensive knowledge is determined based on the principle of“teaching students in accordance with their aptitude”,and relevant optional courses are set up according to students’language level,cognitive and comprehension ability.In the process of foreign language teaching,teachers should pay special attention to students'differences in learning styles,and adjust teaching strategies according to their learning characteristics,so as to maximize their potential(Yuan,2018).Teachers are required to conduct a blended teaching combining traditional face-to-face way with the assistance of technology-based E-Learning platforms in modern education system,so that students can effectively use the course resources(including online courseware,micro courses,reading exercises,extended learning materials,etc.)to reasonably organize learning activities and achieve better learning effects(Yang,2019).

Team Training

The sound training system in promoting the professional development of teachers plays an important role in elevating teaching quality,which can optimize the construction of teaching staff and promote teachers' enthusiasm and initiative.Organizing teachers in the team to participate in relevant research,encouraging them to take part in communicating activities and inviting experts to deliver lectures are main ways of training.The expected practices are as follows.

1.Participate in relevant workshops,training and learning activities organized by domestic well-known universities,educational associations,high-level publishing houses and other related departments;

2.Invite renowned experts and scholars from domestic colleges and universities to come for guidance;

3.Invite excellent teachers who have won awards in national teaching competitions in recent years to do demonstration classes.

The above approaches will effectively contribute to providing opportunities for teachers to improve their professional abilities,and ensure the smooth development of educational and teaching reform activities.The training of college teachers should keep pace with the renewal of teaching concept,change of teaching mode,and optimization of teaching evaluation.

Feasibility Analysis

In view of the teaching demand and the existing resources,the feasibility evaluation and analysis are made on whether the teaching reform can be carried out objectively from the following aspects.

1.Taking Changchun University of Chinese Medicine as an example,the university has a college English teaching reform team which has carried out reform activities for six semesters from 2016 to 2019,a graduate English teaching team which was established in 2018,and a backbone teachers team established in 2018 for the post-graduate advanced English course.

2.The majority of teachers in the team have won awards in teaching competitions at or above the provincial level,published numbers of teaching and scientific research papers,presided over a number of teaching and scientific research projects,and have a solid professional foundation and strong plasticity in teaching.

3.Teachers with dedication and cooperation consciousness in the team play a role of backbone teachers who can effectively help to promote the interaction between teachers and has a positive guiding role for the sustainable development of the teaching reform.

4.The university has allocated specific funds for economic support,the foreign language teaching department fully supports and has selected backbone teachers for the project,and all other departments would like to assist in the efficient construction of teaching teams.

According to the above analysis,the proposed characteristic teaching team of“general English+X”has the relevant foundation and conditions for carrying out teaching reform and practice.If the preliminary preparation and planning,the implementation of teaching practice,and the follow-up feedback in the later stage are fully done,the expected results will be achieved and widely promoted.

Expected Results and Project Budget

Expected Results

1.A backbone teaching team with profound English knowledge and excellent quality of personality will be established and cultivated.

2.The optional courses of medical English are to be innovatively set up as the follow-up courses of college English,so as to ensure the continuity of English learning and realize the sustainability of English teaching reform.

3."EGP+X"teaching mode is to be formed so as to realize multi-module English teaching and meet the needs of students at different levels and majors.

4.Professional development goals of teachers will be achieved in the process of reform and the sense of identity will be promoted because of the realization of job satisfaction.

Project Budget

1.Expenses of participating in training and learning programs,attending related conferences and seminars.

2.Expenses of the publication fee of research papers and books.

3.Transportation expenses of visiting domestic high-level universities.

4.Expenses of inviting well-known experts and scholars at home or aboard to give lectures.

5.Expenses of purchasing multimedia teaching necessities.

Conclusion

Characteristic teaching teams focus more on the needs in teaching activities so as to accurately analyze the needs of students,teachers as well as society,and to stimulate learners’learning motivation and aspiration.Academic education in modern colleges and universities is based on disciplinary knowledge,in line with social demands,aiming at cultivating high-level and inter-disciplinary talents with multi-abilities.It is acknowledged that first-class education cannot be done without first-class teachers,and we can’t emphasize too much the extent to which firstclass education depends on first-class faculty.The construction of teaching teams of "General English + X" can not only improve the quality of English teaching,but also greatly contribute to the sustainable development of education reform.

Acknowledgements

This research received specific fund from the Department of Education of Jilin Province on higher education teaching reform program which is about“Research and practice of‘EGP+X’teaching team construction in universities under the background of‘double first-class’construction”(No.JLY0575320190722092434).