Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Background of the Research
With the development of “The Belt and Road Initiative”, global communication between China and other countries has been frequent all over the world. As an international language, English becomes more important than before. Besides, with the integration of science and technology and the advancement of cultural pluralism, English has also become more popular in various subject fields. Therefore, English learning plays a paramount role and it is booming in China. One scholar, Ibrahim (2017) has stated:
“After the end of the Second World War, tremendous development happened in science, technology, and economic. This development was international, and consequently, an international language was required; due to the economic position of the United States, the English language became that language. (P. 1)”
English as an international language has been used into anywhere of the world. To meet a huge international challenge in terms of the status of English, Chinese Ministry of Education clearly stipulated in the "Teaching Requirements for College English Courses" (2007) that higher-demands of English teaching should focus on cultivating students' academic listening and reading skills, requiring students to understand the professional courses taught in English and read the literature review of studies and researches in specific fields. To achieve these goals, English teaching has been meeting big challenges and also many different types of problems once in a while. He Jiabao (2014) pointed out that the society questioned traditional English teaching, especially in tertiary education. What’s more, college students say that it is difficult for them to achieve these demands from traditional English teaching which mostly focuses on English for General Purpose (EGP). College students also reflect that English learning is not only to master the basic knowledge of English, but also to know more about specific knowledge in specific fields. Thus, it is necessary for students especially postgraduates in tertiary education to know professional knowledge and to grasp English proficiently.
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1.2 Purpose of the Research
Nowadays, most colleges and universities have realized that the significance of EAP course, some tertiary levels schools have set up EAP courses for graduates and postgraduates in different departments. Different parties are concerned with different needs, according to the needs analysis of EAP by scholars. With the rapid development of Chinese medicine and the increasing internationalization of medical communication, medical major postgraduates in tertiary education are required to master academic English, do medical English reports and communicate specific knowledge with others in English. Therefore, this study will report on a survey of medical students who are from a double first-class university in southeast of China, aiming at investigating the EAP needs of MPs. Three questions are put forward:
(1) What are the needs of EAP for MPs in double first-class university?
(2) What are difficulties in EAP for MPs in double first-class university?
(3) What are suggestions on EAP courses of MPs in Chinese double first-class universities?
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 English for Academic Purposes
EAP (English for academic purposes), which is a branch of English-language English for specific purposes (ESP) and it is an English teaching in a specific academic context. Tim John (1974) first put forward the term at a meeting that EAP is the teaching of English with the specific aim of helping learners to study, conduct research or teach in that language. Chamot &O’Malley (1994) described EAP as language used by teachers and students to learn new knowledge and skills, impart knowledge and describe abstract concepts. However, Scarcella (2003) considered that EAP is English using in professional books, with language characteristics associated with subjects. Besides, EAP is a special subject based on applied linguistics (including domain analysis, discourse analysis, learning skills analysis and learning needs analysis, etc.). In 1989, The British Association of Lectures in English for Academic purposes (BALEAP) was established and it marked the establishment of professionalization of EAP teaching.
Furthermore, on the basis of the definitions of EAP, the characteristics of EAP are also constantly put forward and explained. Dudley-Evens and St John (1997) draw a conclusion on the characteristics of EAP in terms of one absolute characteristic, opposed to general English. They also proposed two types: absolute and variable. The first one includes three items: (a) developed to cater to learners’ needs, (b) reflected the methodology and the tasks of the field it served, (c) focused on the language grammar, lexis, and registers, skills, discourse and genres in practical activities. Four items are included in variable characteristics: (a) related to specific specialization; (b) varied methodology from general English in specific teaching; (c) designed for different teaching objects, for instance, learners at tertiary level or in a job situation, and even secondary school students; (d) EAP is designed for students with higher language levels (at least be in immediate level with basic knowledge of language). From the absolute and variable characteristics of EAP, it shows that EAP teaching focuses on learners’ practical needs to learn and master academic English skills in specific majors and it differs and opposes to general English.
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2.2 Definitions of Needs in Needs Analysis
The word needs means many different things and in different contexts needed by different people. There are many synonyms for needs: wants, desires, necessities, lacks, gaps, expectations, motivations, deficiencies, requirements, requests, prerequisites, essentials, the next step, and X+1(where X is what students already know, plus the next step, or 1). So, different researchers and stakeholders have different conceptualizations of needs (Brown, 2016). Needs can be understood in terms of at least four categories, the first one is whatever the most people want from the democratic view; the second one is whatever is missing from discrepancy; the third one is whatever logically comes next from analytic view; the last one is whatever will do most harm if missing from diagnostic view in Table 2.1(Brown, 2016).
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Chapter Three Research Methodology .................................... 23
3.1 Research Questions ....................... 23
3.2 Participants .......................................... 23
3.3 Research Instruments ............................... 24
Chapter Four Results and Discussion ............................... 32
4.1 Evaluations of English Learning of MPs in Double First-Class University ............................. 32
4.2 Needs and Difficulties in EAW of MPs in Double First-Class University ..................................... 35
4.3 Needs and Difficulties in EAR of MPs in Double First-Class University ............................................ 37
Chapter Five Conclusion ..................................... 48
5.1 Major Findings ............................. 48
5.2 Implications ................................ 50
Chapter Four Results and Discussion
4.1 Evaluations of English Learning of MPs in Double First-Class University
According to Dudley-Evans and St.John’ Needs Analysis Model, it is necessary for researcher to explore the language information of learners about target situations. It is designed to know learner evaluations of English and academic English and English general skills, listening, reading, speaking and writing in the postgraduate period. The information is conducted in the Table 4.1.1.
It shows that the mean value of this part of questionnaire is 2.13 and the standard deviation is 0.710. In the 9 items of assessment of English learning and general skills of MPs, all the mean values are below, 2.17 for the assessment of English level, 1.9 for the assessment of academic English level, from B1 to B7 is used to explore the MPs’ assessment of English skills. The mean value of degree of language accuracy is 2.17, the mean value varied: 2.29 for vocabulary acquired, 2.27 for the speed of reading, 2.40 for reading competence, 1.97 for listening competence, 1.93 for speaking competence, 2.13 for writing competence. Among them, the lowest score is the assessment of academic English level (M=1.90), and the mean of speaking competence is slightly higher than that of the assessment of academic of academic English level, while the highest one is that of vocabulary acquired (M=2.29).
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Chapter Five Conclusion
5.1 Major Findings
The first finding of the study is that the degree of satisfaction of English and academic English of MPs especially academic English are lower. From the data obtained in chapter four, academic English is broadly and strongly needed by MPs. When it comes to explore the assessment of English skills, MPs are strongly dissatisfied with their competence in English, academic and English general skills, especially in terms of the academic English level and their speaking competence. What’s more, the purposes of studying English are varied. The main purpose of leaning English is reading foreign literature for professional knowledge in postgraduate stage. The second one passing English test is slightly lower. Four items are widely chosen by students more than half which means MPs in double first-class univerisity learn English for strongly knowing more professional specific knowledge by reading foreign literature, passing English test, getting a degree and finding a good job in the future.
The second finding is about the needs of EAP for MPs in double first-class university. The number of MPs unexpectedly reaches the highest for writing paper in English in EAW and slightly lower one is writing abstract in EAW. It is unbelievable that reading paper is needed by all participants’ and almost MPs consider reading abstract as their demands in EAR. What’s more, there is a great demand for asking questions in lecture, speaking at the meeting and daily communication in EAS. There is another great demand for listening to academic lecture, daily communication in ESL. In conclusion, the study proves the needs of writing and reading paper for MPs are the most urgent needs and the needs of listening and speaking are taking part in academic lectures especially, listening to academic lecture and asking questions on lecture.
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