The Undergraduate Foreign Language Teaching Department is a teaching department of the College of Foreign Languages of YAU, which mainly undertakes the teaching of college foreign languages for non-foreign language majors. In 2010, it became one of the first demonstration units of college English teaching reform in Yunnan Province, and the College English Teaching team of Yunnan Agricultural University was established in the same year. Under the guidance of advanced teaching concepts, the Department of Foreign Language has formed a systematic management and practice mode of college foreign language teaching by means of strict teaching management and in-depth teaching research, promoting teaching with scientific research and teaching with scientific research. The aims of college foreign language education are to strengthen students' humanistic knowledge, improve their comprehensive quality, innovation consciousness and cross-cultural communication ability, and focus on the practical application of foreign languages; to cultivate interdisciplinary talents with broad knowledge, solid language foundation, strong English application ability, cross-cultural communication awareness and communication ability, and equal emphasis on science and humanities.
Faculty
College foreign language teachers are a dedicated, innovative, vigorous, united and progressive teaching team with their own academic specialties, good teaching effects and strong teaching and research abilities. There are 42 teachers, including 5 teachers with high professional titles, 1 doctor and 38 masters.
Teaching and Research Achievements
Since 2010, teachers of the College Foreign Language Department have undertaken more than 40 provincial and ministerial research projects, 8 university-level teaching reform projects, published more than 100 academic papers and edited 15 textbooks；four of them have won the “Wu Daguan Advanced Teacher Award”, eight have won the “Hongyun Gardener Award”, five have won the title of “Outstanding Communist Party members” of YAU, and three have been selected as “One hundred Young Academic and Technical Leaders” of YAU. More than 20 teachers won prizes respectively in the “Multimedia Courseware Competition" of Yunnan Provincial Education Department, “FLTRP Cup” National College English Teaching Competition, College Teachers’ Teaching Competition Of Yunnan Province, the Competition of Classroom Teaching of YAU, the competition of “Teaching Star” of FLTRP, the English Teaching Competition of National Agricultural Colleges and Universities. In addition, the college English teaching team won the third prize of the seventh university-level teaching achievement for “Research and Practice of College English Dynamic Classification Teaching Model”.
Features
The Undergraduate Foreign Language Teaching Department is actively carrying out reforms and researches on foreign language teaching in universities, focusing on three teaching and research projects including “Yunnan Agricultural University Key Courses—the Construction of College English Courses”, “Yunnan Agricultural University School-level Teaching Teams—the Construction of College English Teaching Teams” and “ the construction of demonstration sites for English teaching reforms of Yunnan Colleges and Universities”.
●Construct three-dimensional and all-round curriculum system
According to the compete credit system reform of YAU, the Undergraduate Foreign Language Teaching Department follows the teaching concepts of “people-oriented”, “student-centered”, “teacher-led, student-oriented”, and implements the principle of “teaching students in accordance with their aptitude”, designes the curriculum based on the characteristics of students in four major categories (engineering, agricultural science, humanities and economic management, sports). The College Foreign Language Department has also established a systematic, open, dynamic and three-dimensional College Foreign language curriculum system, which focuses on students’ “menu-style” choice with English as the main body, multi-language choice, and a combination of general English and general education courses.
●Implement a new teaching model of “online, offline combines with second classroom”
Relying on the online learning platforms such as Unipus of FLTRP, We Learn of SFLEP , WeWrite English writing platform of SFLEP, FIF oral training platform of iFLYTEK and the school-based micro-class video, the Foreign Language Department combines the online digital learning resources with traditional curriculum resources and teaching activities. Teachers and students use school, classroom, network, communication, life practice and other activities to integrate knowledge learning, experience construction and social experience.
Under the guidance of the idea of “optimizing the first classroom and strengthening the second classroom” in the foreign language teaching reform of this university, the department actively carries out the second classroom activities of foreign language teaching, and organizes students to participate in all levels and various foreign language subject competitions, such as the National College English Contest, “ FLTRP • Guocai Cup” National English Speech Contest, “ FLTRP • Guocai Cup” National English Writing Contest, “FLTRP • Guocai Cup” National English Reading Contest, “21st Century Cup” National English Speech Contest, “SFLEP • Word Expert Cup” National College Students’ English Vocabulary Ability Competition, Yunnan Province Interpretation Competition, Yunnan Province “Union Cup” College English Writing Competition and so on. At the same time, it carried out internal and external language competitions with various forms and rich content, such as speech and text reading competitions, English song competitions, English speech competitions, English debate competitions, English drama competitions and so on, to create a strong English learning atmosphere, and to inspire and maintain interest in learning and using foreign languages.
