ABSTRACT

The rapid development of the economic globalization gives more opportunities for international communication and cooperation, and the talents with a single skill will not meet the needs of society. As a result, there occurred an urgent need for interdisciplinary talents with high-level professional knowledge as well as strong foreign language ability to deal with international issues. And the development of English-medium instruction is beneficial to cultivate these talents.This study takes Jiangsu University as a example to investigate the lecturers and students who had the English-medium instruction experience at Jiangsu University by a questionnaire survey and an interview. The aim of the study is to explore these lecturers and students’ attitudes towards English-medium instruction.

After the investigation, it is found that most lecturers and students hold a positive attitude towards English-medium instruction, and they believe that it will strengthen their language proficiency and competitiveness in employment. However, the development of English-medium instruction also confronts numerous challenges. English-medium instruction increases lecturers and students’ workload, and has a great influence on teaching materials and teaching methods.

Key words: English-medium instruction; Jiangsu University; bilingual lecturer

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 Previous Studies abroad-3

2.2 Previous Studies at home-5

2.3 Summary-6

Chapter Three METHODOLOGY-7

3.1 Research Objectives-7

3.2 Research Methods-8

3.2.1 The Questionnaire of Students-8

3.2.2 The Interview of Lecturers-9

3.3 Data Collection-10

3.3.1 Data Collection of Questionnaire-10

3.3.2 Data Collection of Interview-10

Chapter Four RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-11

4.1 Results of Empirical Study-11

 4.1.1 Results of questionnaire-11

 4.1.2 Results of interview-12

4.2 Current Situations of English-medium Instruction-13

 4.2.1 Diverse attitudes toward English-medium instruction-13

 4.2.2 Diferent levels of English language-14

4.2.3 Heavy workload for both lecturers and students-14 

4.2.4 Reduced course contents-15

4.3 Suggestions for Improving English-medium Instruction-15

 4.3.1 Enlarging students’ professional vocabulary-16

 4.3.2 Using original English textbooks-16

 4.3.3 Making high-quality visual aids-16

 4.3.4 Adopting various teaching methods-16

Chapter Five CONCLUSION-18

 5.1 Major Research Findings-18

 5.2 Implications of the Study-19

 5.3 Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Future Research-19

REFERENCES-20