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1、English Departments in Chinese Universities: Purpose and Function Abstract: As a required subject from primary to graduate school, English has a special position in Chinese education. This special position is a mixed blessing for English departments in Chinese universities. It provides high-quality
2、students in terms of English proficiency, while at the same time it overwhelms English studies as a specialist discipline with the demands of English language teaching (ELT) for non-majors and general learners. English studies aims at an understanding of the cultures/civilizations of the English-spe
3、aking peoples. It is a philosophical education in the way in which English-speaking peoples structure their knowledge, their literary/political/legal/economic thinking, as well as a comparative study between Chinese and English structures of knowledge. Rigorous training in their specialized field sh
4、ould first give English majors technical control over the material they handle, and then make them conscious of their limitations. Their discipline and training provide them with an instrument in their future work, and a habit, a frame of mind, and an awareness of methods and methodology. This train
5、ing of potential specialists is therefore the basis of responsible citizenship, as academic rigor and discipline alert students to unreason in their society, and make them more amenable to a rational and efficient society. If ELT is going to survive as a university subject, it must take on the chara
6、cter of humanistic/philosophical education, though it should retain its technical aspects at the same time. While the training of specialists in English studies and of students in other disciplines will never be the same, both the English department and English language teaching in a university cont
7、ext must contribute to a humanistic education. English departments in Chinese Universities often have a difficult time defining their own identities and purposes. This difficulty arises from the dubious status of English departments in Chinese higher education - they never seem to have a fixed ident
8、ity or status. They are defined mostly in relation to English Language Teaching (ELT) in general, or to the use of English in other university departments or subjects. Less often but more pertinently, they are defined in relation to English departments or East Asian departments in British or America
9、n universities, or in relation to other humanistic disciplines in Chinese universities. There is a vital difference between these two definitions: first between ELT for non- majors and English Department as an independent discipline for English majors, and then between language skills and humanistic
10、 education. But before defining the purposes and functions of the English Department, it is necessary to review the general condition of English language teaching in China in recent years. English is not an official language in China, yet it is the number one foreign language. This is reflected in t
11、he special importance the government attaches to English Language Teaching. China has a nine-year compulsory education system, from elementary school to junior high school (Chinese Government 1986 1998: Art. 2, 7 and 8)1. In this nine-year period, the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the Peoples Repub
12、lic of China (PRC) requires that English education should start from third grade at elementary school level and that elementary school students should have at least four periods of English education per week. This requirement will be enforced in all cities and county seats by Fall 2001, and in towns
13、hips by Fall 2002. (Ministry of Education 2001a: Guideline, Sec.1; Requirements, Sec. 2). In the most recent policy documents on Criteria for English Courses at the Compulsory Education Stage, the Ministry of Education stipulates nine levels of English proficiency, among which the second is the leve
14、l required for graduation from elementary schools and the fifth is the level required for graduation from junior high school2. In fact, the Criteria goes beyond the compulsory education stage to stipulate that Levels 8 and 9 are required for graduation and graduation with honours from senior high sc
15、hools. Apart from this, the MOE also sponsors, authorizes, finances and coordinates the compiling of English textbooks for all levels, including even first grade in elementary schools, and many schools in more developed areas take advantage of this and start their English education from first grade3
16、. Because of these official guidelines and criteria, the level of English required for promotion to a higher grade, and the compiling of officially approved textbooks, English has become a standardized compulsory subject for all recipients of compulsory education. English courses are taken for seven
17、 to nine years at the compulsory education stage, and ten to twelve years before college4. At college level, English is also a required subject. In the national college entrance examination, candidates are tested according to the requirements of Senior High School English Level Two, as set forth by
18、Guidelines for English Teaching in Full-Time General-Purpose Senior High Schools (Ministry of Education 1999, Sec. 2). In college, English is taught according to Guidelines for the Teaching of College English, which specify six levels or bands for English at college (College English Teaching Guideli
19、nes 1999, 3-1). Fifteen years ago, there were separate Guidelines for science and technology students (College English Teaching Guidelines 1985), and for liberal arts students (College English Teaching Guidelines 1986), both of which required students in key universities to pass the College English
20、Band Four examination (CEB 4) before graduation, while allowing other universities to use their discretion to decide on the level required for graduation5. Now, in the revised Guidelines (1999), all university students are required to pass at least tests at the College English Band Four level before
21、 graduation. Some universities even set higher goals for their students, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) has already authorized eight key universities to set their own examinations at a higher level than the College English Band Four examination6. In the new Guidelines, students who have passed
22、College English Band Four or Six are required to study Subject-Based English (SBE) and are advised to go on to study Advanced English (AE) (College English Teaching Guidelines 1999, 3-2). For the graduate schools of Chinese universities, English is equally important. In order to be admitted into a g
23、raduate school, candidates must pass a very demanding standardized national English examination, which is defined as a test of the English proficiency of outstanding college graduates (Ministry of Education 2000: p.1). After being admitted into a graduate school, students must study English (or anot
24、her foreign language) as a required course and must be tested before graduation in order to fulfil the requirement as stated in Measures for Implementing the Regulations for Academic Degrees of the PRC. Doctoral candidates must pass tests in two foreign languages. (Chinese Government, 1981: Art. 7-3
25、 and 11-3) It must be admitted that English is not the only foreign language in Chinese education. In the drive to promote English teaching in elementary schools, the Ministry of Education also expresses the wish to protect and support the teaching of other foreign languages such as Japanese and Rus
26、sian (Ministry of Education 2001a, Guideline, Sec. 1). The MOE even draws up guidelines for Japanese and Russian teaching in junior and senior high schools (Ministry of Education 1995a, 1995b, 1996a, 1996b). Japanese and Russian are also listed as subjects in the annual national college and graduate
27、 school entrance examinations. In Measures for Implementing the Regulations for Academic Degrees of the PRC, candidates for masters degrees are required to master one foreign language, while doctorate candidates are required to master two foreign languages, yet these Measures do not specify which fo
28、reign language(s). Theoretically, other languages, at least Japanese and Russian, which are treated officially on an equal footing with English in elementary schools and high schools and in all important national examinations, have the same chance as English. In practice, however, only English flour
29、ishes. As the MOE actively promotes the teaching of English in primary schools, but only protects and supports the teaching of other foreign languages such as Japanese and Russian (Ministry of Education 2001a, Guideline, Sec. 1), few schools at the compulsory education stage give foreign language co
30、urses other than English. Heilongjiang Province was traditionally strong in Russian language teaching, but in recent years the number of students who study Russian has dwindled to such a point that experts predict that in a couple of years there will scarcely be any students taking the Russian test
31、in the national college entrance examination. So the Russian Department of Heilongjiang University, which is one of the best Russian Departments in China, will have to enrol students who have studied only English. The reason given is that those university programs which are most attractive to studen
32、ts only recruit students who have studied English7. Students and parents, therefore, often decide to give up Russian in order to have better chances of being admitted by more competitive universities and programs. Along with the unrelenting drop in the number of students, the number of Russian teach
33、ers have diminished rapidly (Wang 2000). In the city of Beijing, three key universities define a dozen foreign languages as minor languages in their recruitment drive. The minor language departments are given preferential treatment and are allowed to recruit students before most other departments. I
34、n Beijing University, these minor languages include all eighteen foreign languages except English, and the respective departments recruit students who have studied no other foreign language than English in their previous school life8. So, practically all foreign languages except English are taught f
35、rom scratch, starting with their writing systems. In contrast, when a student enters a university, he or she has usually studied English for between ten and twelve years. Furthermore, he or she may have been exposed to English television channels, English daily newspapers, and English movies9. And i
36、n the near future, a university student must take some of the courses in English even in his/her specialized field10. So a student at college level may be quite an advanced learner of English. But what does this mean to English departments in Chinese universities? This is undoubtedly a great advanta
37、ge for English departments in Chinese universities. With such high quality students in terms of English proficiency and such a favourable environment in terms of exposure to the language, English departments in Chinese universities may achieve a full-fledged standing as a humanistic discipline, equa
38、l in academic status to English departments, or East Asian departments in American or British universities, and to other humanistic disciplines in Chinese universities. Yet the flourishing of English language teaching and learning also poses dangers to the English department. First, English language
39、 teaching (ELT) for non-majors has become such a popular area, such a big business and such a powerful industry, that university policy makers as well as the general public often ignore the distinction between English for non-majors and English for majors in the English department proper. The Englis
40、h department is sometimes overwhelmed by ELT and has to cater to its needs. As ELT is often not regarded as a legitimate academic discipline, the English department is also regarded as a training centre providing language skills. Second, the emphasis on the use of English is damaging to the English
41、department. Since the English department is not regarded as a legitimate academic discipline, it is expected to provide students with versatility in other fields. As a consequence of this, the teaching of the subject in English departments at Chinese universities increasingly takes the form of Engli
42、sh plus business, English plus journalism, or English plus foreign affairs. A host of university English departments have thus labelled themselves as being versatile by opening up to other disciplines. ELT has indeed achieved remarkable results and a high level of specialization in China, but this e
43、nterprise is still different from the practice of the English department proper. The English department is centrally concerned with English language and literature, or in the case of Harvard University in the United States, it is even the Department of English and American Literature and Language, w
44、ith literature first, and language second. So literature is an indispensable part of the English department. English departments in a Chinese context are different from English departments in an American or British context in that the former are dealing with a foreign language, and therefore inevita
45、bly provide language training for their students. In western universities, English and linguistics are often separate departments, but in Chinese universities, English language, English literature and English linguistics seem to constitute integral parts of an English department. In the official cat
46、alogue for university post-graduate disciplines and specialties, foreign language and literature as a primary (first-level) discipline is sub- categorized in terms of such secondary (second level) disciplines as English language and literature, German language and literature, French language and lit
47、erature, Russian language and literature and then foreign linguistics and applied linguistics (State Council 1999). Foreign linguistics and applied linguistics are apparently regarded as both akin to and relatively independent of languages and literatures, and the study of linguistics, especially ap
48、plied linguistics, is often related to the study of ELT in general. English linguistics thus has a special position in the English department: on the one hand, it provides a link with English language in the English department; on the other hand, it provides a link with ELT in general. As both links
49、 are vital for the English department in the contemporary educational context in China, linguistics is indispensable to English as an academic discipline. Yet since linguistics may eventually become an independent university discipline, as it often does in western universities, it is not able to provide, on its own, a legitimate academic identity for the English department. Then what is there to provide a raison dtre for the English department? In the English Department of Beijing University, about thirty to forty percent of the students will go on to graduate school upon graduatio