BOOSTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF“DOUBLE FIRST-CLASS”UNIVERSITY WITH LANGUAGE PAVING THE ROAD

Taiyuan University of Technology,Taiyuan,China Email:tylggmr@hotmail.com

[Abstract]“Double First-Class”Construction provides an opportunity for the development of universities and disciplines,which puts forward higher requirements for foreign language disciplines.This paper makes a statement on the practice of College of Foreign Languages of Taiyuan University of Technology in professional development,faculty construction,curriculum development,serving the community and international exchanges and cooperation.It also suggests to innovate teaching mode,develop“golden course”,promote the innovation ability and strengthen the values and knowledge education to boost“Double First—Class”construction．

[Keywords]“Double First-Class”;construction;language teaching;values and knowledge education

INTRODUCTION

In September 2017,Taiyuan University of Technology was approved in the group of the world-class universities of discipline construction,which provides a crucial strategic opportunity for the school development.To put into practice the spirit of National Education Conference,College of Foreign Languages has firmly implemented the concept of“Three-full Education”(education through all members,whole-process education and all-round education)and borne in mind that fostering virtue through education is the right approach to achieving the objective of talent training for universities.To satisfy the national strategic needs,serve the regional and provincial requirements for economic and social development and tally with the school development and orientation,concerted efforts have been made by College of Foreign Languages in deepening the reform,promoting the level of internationalization and boosting the construction of“Double First-Class”university.

PROMOTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF DISCIPLINE CONNOTATION BY TAKING THE TEACHING EVALUATION AS THE TURNING POINT

In 2018,the Ministry of Education issued the“Double First-Class”University Construction Plan,which made significant instructions on the development and adjustment of university disciplines(Hu,2019).“University must strive for breaking down barriers among disciplines on basis of the school-running orientation and rules of discipline development,integrating discipline resources and promoting cross-curricular integration with the construction of“Double First-Class”disciplines as the core,and building a coordinated discipline system by cultivating new growing points of disciplines in cutting-edge and cross-discipline field(Ministry of Education[ME],Ministry of Finance[MF],&National Development&Reform Commission[NDRC],2018)”,the plan pointed out.These instructions place emphasis on the connotation of the construction of“Double First-Class”university and highlights the basic principle that top universities are courses-based.Based on this principle,TYUT has put forward the target of taking the construction of first-class disciplines as the guidance and striving for building the school into a high-level,international and innovative university with its own features.This principle has also presented new requirements to specialties of foreign languages regarding the talents training and serving the overall development of the university.

Specifying training objectives and condensing school-running features

It relies on the goal and orientation of talent training whether a specialty can stand out.That’s also what the mode of talents training of a university is based on.Guided by the goal of building a“Double First-Class”high-level university,College of Foreign Languages has analyzed features of foreign language majors and conditions for running the school,specified educational objectives,and summarized features of foreign language majors into the following four aspects:

(a)Highlight the information-technology-based studies on Foreign Language Education & Teaching and form distinctive Applied Linguistics and Foreign Language Education.

(b)Highlights interdisciplinary research featured studies on Text and Discourse; form distinctive Mining and Application of Big Data Language Information.

(c)Strengthen overseas studies and training of specialized talents in terms of Foreign Literature and Cross-Cultural Studies.

(d)In terms of Translation Theory and Practice,focus on cultivating engineering translation talents and multilingual talents by combining provincial and regional needs for building a“New Highland for Inland Reform and Opening up”.

Revising training programs and strengthening reforms in course construction

The construction of disciplines is a critical factor for cultivating undergraduates(Liu & Zhang,2018).Based on redefined training targets and features,the college has correspondingly revised training programs from the following five aspects,

(a)Transform the idea:both teachers and administrative personnel of teaching must be aware that the design of curriculum system,content and teaching methods should be student-centered.

(b)Improve the student-to-course ratio:enrich featured core courses and optional courses and ensure the availability of at least 5-8 optional courses for each specialty,so that students could choose courses independently.Apart from enhancing students’cross-cultural consciousness and abilities of language application,we must also focus on fostering students’critical thinking,and evaluation and reflection abilities(Yang,Yang&Li,2019).

(c)Value the process:strengthen the process management of courses,further optimize the teaching evaluation system and formulate the curriculum evaluation system that integrates the usual performance,classroom performance,practical activity and examination performance.

(d)Strengthen the interaction by promoting diversified teaching methods and exploring new models such as CBE(Competency Based Education),CBI(Content Based Instruction),Inquiry-Based Teaching,Project-Based Teaching,Task-based Teaching and Workshop-based teaching methods.Actively encourage students to involve in teaching practices,stimulate students’vigor and promote their practical ability and creativities.

(e)Internationalization:internationalize both professional courses and optional courses by engaging foreign experts of note as course professors,to expand internationalized courses.

Building discipline platforms and Serving the society

High-level discipline platforms can drive talents training,social services and high-level global technological cooperation and transform the university to a place of strategic importance for global academic exchanges(Ma,2019).For this purpose,the college has jointly established“Shanxi Innovation Centre for Graduate Training”with TISCO,which symbolizes a new breakthrough in building training platforms for postgraduates at provincial level of foreign language programs.To enhance its ability to serve the society,the college has actively organized students to participate in events such as Pingyao International Photography Festival,Pingyao International Photography Exhibition and TISCO Translation Centre.Meanwhile,we have also strengthened links with businesses in various fields,poverty-relief counties and cities and other universities,promoted cross-cultural trainings,vocational trainings,poverty-alleviation through education and community education,and offered other social services such as foreign language education.

Setting up the multidimensional evaluation system and promoting the quality of graduates

According to the Double First-Class University Construction Plan released by the education authority,the evaluation system should be comprehensive and diversified,with talents cultivation,creativity,service and contribution and influence as core elements(ME,MF,& NDRC,2018).The tripartite evaluation system of school,individual and society is most valued.By setting up the Online Examination Centre,the college has further optimized the teaching evaluation mechanism,intensified the process management and overcome the drawback of“only one examination matters”.Moreover,students are encouraged to participate in contests such as dubbing,debate,translation,National English Competition for College Students and FLTRP Cup Speech Contest.In addition,we value the tracking assessment undertaken by the third-party,visits to employers and feedbacks of graduates so that the effectiveness of talents cultivation could be guaranteed.Based on those feedbacks,we can also amend our teaching contents timely,promote graduates’employment and actively contribute to local economic development.

BOOSTING THE CONSTRUCTION OF“DOUBLE FIRST-CLASS”UNIVERSITY BY REINFORCING GLOBAL COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION

For the Double First-Class construction,globalization means both the tool and goal.Globalization of students,faculty,curriculum,and international exchanges are key indicators for the level of a university’s internationalization(Peng,2016).Under the background of“Double First-Class”construction,foreign language teaching has made headways in carrying out high-level global exchanges,constructing platforms for international academic communication and promoting the construction of international courses.

Carrying out high-level global communication

To promote global exchanges,emphasis must be placed on talents cultivation,promotion of faculty and construction of highlands of scientific research(Xu,2018).For the talent cultivation,it’s necessary to deepen cooperation with overseas universities of note and innovate the mode of cooperation.So far,we have carried out exchanges and cooperation with more than ten famous overseas universities.Since 2016,a total of 26 students majoring in foreign languages have traveled to the University of Auckland,Shinshu University and Bauman Moscow State Technical University and other overseas universities for exchange study.In 2019,the“2+2”dual-bachelor-degree program with the University of Auckland was initiated in an all-round way and three undergraduates from the class of 2017 went there and received professional education after they had passed the screening test.As for the promotion of faculty,since 2016,a total of ten prominent teachers have been sent to foreign universities such as the University of Cambridge,the University of Auckland,the University of Sydney,etc.,for visiting study,which have actively promoted global exchanges and cooperation.In terms of constructing frontiers of scientific research,over 30 world-renowned experts have been invited for academic exchanges.One of our experts has been listed in the group of“100 Talents Plan”of Shanxi Province.The development of high-level global exchanges,cultivation of local young teachers’consciousness of international communication and the improvement of their communicative competence are all conducive to reaching both bottom-up and top-down organic integration,enhancing the ability of independently carrying out international exchanges,and promoting teachers’enthusiasm and creativity in international exchanges.

Constructing high-level academic exchange platforms

By constructing high-level platforms and inviting overseas scholars to deliver lectures,cutting-edge research findings and academic information have been introduced into our campus.To this end,we successfully held Cross-Strait International Conference on Foreign Literature,International Conference on Teaching and Researching EFL Writing,International Conference on EAP Teaching and Researching and Conference on Improving Professional Competence of Foreign Language Teachers in the Information Age from 2015 to 2018,when a large number of top scholars from home and abroad gathered together and our foreign language teachers have enhanced their international communicative competences.Constructing such high-level platforms of academic exchange have not only improved teachers’basic skills in engaging in global researches and cultivating international talents,but also expanded teachers’research teams,laying a foundation for the construction of a“Double First-Class”university.

Advancing process of internationalization of course construction

One key indicator for the level of internationalization of higher education is the construction level of international courses(Lu,Wang & Qian,2018).Considering that,the college has taken varies measures:first,build the inschool course team and create quality international courses;second,build the domestic interschool teaching team led by several experts; third,construct the international interschool team and create international courses by engaging foreign peer experts and scholars.In 2019,our university first launched the“Summer Program”to cultivate double first-class international talents,broaden students’global visions,and eventually promote the school’s level of internalization.During the two-week Summer Program,a total of 62 foreign teachers from 9 countries such as the United States,the United Kingdom,Canada,Australia and New Zealand were engaged and over 70 teachers and students got involved in relevant work.A number of over 5600 students from 52 undergraduate programs of School of Foundation Studies participated in the English course.Meantime,world-renowned experts and professors were invited to deliver academic lectures.The development of international courses has created a multi-level and all-round atmosphere for foreign language learning and global cultural exchange,improved students’skills of carrying out professional learning and research with the foreign language as a tool and promoted the process of internationalization of our school.

IDEAS AND MEASURES FOR FUTURE WORK

The“Double First-Class”construction has become a turning point for developing the university and its disciplines,which therefore put forward higher requirements for the construction of foreign language majors and provide developing room for foreign languages teaching.Hence,College of Foreign Languages is required to explore new paths in the quest for innovative development.

Innovating teaching models&highlighting school-based features

Adhering to the talents training principle of“Proficient in English,Literate in Science and Technology,and Knowledgeable in Global Affairs”,we focus on cultivating students’core competence in foreign language and professionalism while remaining school-based features so that our talents can embody their own qualities.Curriculum must be offered the way school-based features can be reflected.By setting engineering information,foreign culture and multilingual education related courses,features peculiar to foreign language talents from universities of science and technology can be embodied.Reform existing content and way of teaching assessment and transform the assessment of exam results that’s originally focused on attendance and the assessment of students’memorial ability into a comprehensive,sound and dynamic assessment mechanism of teaching that combines knowledge,ability and quality of students.Teachers must be self-motivated in conducting teaching reforms,keep the overall situation in mind and plan accordingly.More efforts must be paid to promote research findings of teaching reforms,condense featured programs,gather force for reforms,innovate research teams,and improve output of teaching and research.

Speeding up curricular reform&promoting discipline construction

As curricular reform is driven by the frontiers of research,social and economic development and demand for talents,it becomes essential to integrate varied courses,so as to heighten students’professional skills,creativity and entrepreneurship.In compliance with standards of national,provincial and university-level quality courses,College of Foreign Languages is dedicated to creating three to five“golden courses”.Apart from cutting the size of classes,measures such as offering tailored study plans and enabling students to give full play to their potentials under teacher’s guidance can also help cultivate students.By infusing modern information technology,promoting online courses and quality of online teaching and establishing the comprehensive service platform for network courses,informatization construction of courses will have been achieved.

Building practice bases&enhancing students’practical abilities

According to the thought that learning must be combined with practice,we will have constructed a diversified teaching system and practice platform that advocate“integrated learning and training”.On campus,we have gradually improved simultaneous interpretation laboratory,translation laboratory,online examination and learning platform and established virtual simulation training platform based on projects and courses;outside campus,we have accelerated the construction of production-teaching-research bases and cooperated with the Publicity Department of CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee in establishing practice bases for events such as Pingyao International Photography Festival and Pingyao International Photography Exhibition; meantime,we will also jointly built more practice bases by collaborating with Shanxi-based leading foreign trade enterprises such as China Shanxi International Economic&Technical Cooperation Corporation,all of which have enriched the practical teaching system that combines teaching,learning,practice and training,and promoted the in-depth integration of production,teaching and research.

Heightening teachers’sense of value&making values and knowledge courses guided

Through various activities,such as the professional moral activities and study of values education,teachers can heighten their own levels of value theory,strengthen their own cultural confidence,and fully realize their own educational missions(Du,2019).By closely integrating professional knowledge and professional ethics education and taking root in the Chinese civilization,teachers are able to motivate students’sense of national pride,cultivate professional talents that have not only inherited Chinese civilization but also possessed a thorough knowledge of both western and Chinese culture and convey specialized high-level language and cultural talents that are intended to act as the communication channel in the globalized world.

Building quality online courses&expanding educational influence

We must strengthen the construction of online courses.As a novel way of learning,network learning requires students to acquire knowledge independently through modern network technology,which is the key for students to establish an independent learning system.Through the MOOC online courses developed by our school,students can broaden their visions and improve their abilities of language application.Big-data-based platforms for academic communication and teaching must be set up to serve both teaching and scientific research.Efforts must be made to integrate the teaching and internet and expand the range of services and influence of the college.

Without foreign language discipline’s participation,neither the construction of a top university nor that of a top discipline can be carried out.That’s why the our college must give full play to its own language advantages and strive for seeking the right path that tallies with the overall school-running features,constantly expanding its international vision,and eventually boosting the construction of“Double First-Class”university.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This paper was the research result of(Grant No.2019B041)Value and Practical Education Research on Foreign Language Courses in Universities from the Philosophy and Social Science Research of Shanxi in 2019,Research on the Training Path of International Talents on the basis of CLIL under the background of“New Engineering”and“New Liberal Arts”from the Teaching Reform Research of Shanxi in 2020,(Grant No.2019JG040)Collaborative construction of Graduate Value Education Courses and Curriculum Values Education under“Double-First Class”Background from Graduate Education Reform Research of Shanxi in 2019（Grant No.2019041009-4）Research on the Professional Quality of Foreign Language Teachers in Universities of Shanxi under the Background of Information Technology from the Soft Science of Shanxi in 2019，Exploration on the Cultivation Path of First-Class International Talents under the Background of Shanxi Province University Alliance from Education science Planning Project of Shanxi Province in 2019,and(Grant No.2019SX0008A)An Empirical Study of Multi-modal Corpus Based on the Corporate Image Construction of Chinese Enterprises’Foreign Language Websites from the key project of National Foreign Language Teaching and Research Project in Universities.

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