The English Program is established to meet the developmental needs of our social economy. Its objective is to foster students’ ability in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating English with adequate proficiency so that they can become qualified staff in the areas of English translation, foreign trade, cultural exchange, foreign affairs, business administration, etc. The program emphasizes the training of students' practical skills. For this purpose, courses on the Internet, E-commerce, operation of the computer and business management are offered as a supplement to the core courses and electives. Moreover, the curriculum includes such courses as British and American Literatures, English linguistics, English lexicology, and a comparative study of Sino-Western cultures with an aim to cultivate students’ cultural quality and enhance their cross-cultural awareness. Thus this program has a well-developed structure and rational overall arrangement, which is conducive to the training of interdisciplinary talents, and talents with enterprising spirit and strong analyzing and problem-solving abilities. Based on the traditional curriculum of English Language and Literature, this program has added substantial courses in Business English to its curriculum, which enables students to excel in the job market.
To further improve the English program, the department plans to enhance the teaching of business-related English and introduce the course of English for tour guides as an elective, so that students can develop their interest in foreign tourism as well. In addition, the department intends to broaden its cooperation with the main campus in Guangzhou in recruiting and training graduate students so as to enlarge the department’s influence. Last but not least, more extra-curricular activities will be carried out to provide students with contexts to improve their ability in using the language.