Abstract

Abstract of Execution Results 

of Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College 

at College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 

in National Central University

I. Features of the Bilingual Education Program Developed by National Central University (NCU)

1. Overall planning: NCU established a university-level institute—the Bilingual Education Center—in order to promote the Executive Yuan's policy of Bilingual Nation 2030. The center integrates administrative and educational resources and develops professional EMI courses, expecting to strengthen instructors' energy to teach a course fully in English, sharpen students' English proficiency, and cultivate bilingual professional talent in every field.
2. Instructors and programs: In order to enhance the English abilities of the faculty of the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (CEECS), the Language Center at NCU provided its quota for the faculty of the CEECS to participate in the University of Cambridge's Online Course for the Certificate in EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) Skills. Fifteen instructors in two groups were recommended to the course. In the future, a three-phase on-campus training course for EMI instructors' certificate will also be developed so that instructors will know more about the modes of EMI courses for bilingual education and furthermore discover their own blind spots in the learning of teaching a course in English.
3. Students and learning: Taking into account the difference between students' professions and their English abilities, the Bilingual Education Center divided the compulsory subject Freshman English into four major groups of professional English courses—science, engineering, management, and the humanities & society, changed the credit structure into three credits (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) plus three credits (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), integrated ESP professional English, and strengthened the content of English writing and speaking in order to guarantee that students at the CEECS have the competence to participate in EMI courses.

II. Summary of the Highlights of the Results of the Bilingual Education Project of the CEECS at NCU

1. Aspect of overall planning: 
   1. Establishment of a college-level EMI education center: The organization of the center includes a director, an associate director, instructors, and an administrative assistant. The center regularly convenes meetings with an advisory committee, and the members participating in the meetings include the deputy general manager of Realtek Semiconductor Corporation, Mr. Yeh, the CTO of Internet communication at Wistron NeWeb Corporation, Mr. Zhuang, the college-level EMI education center's director, associate director, instructors, and administrative assistant, and the directors of all departments.
   2.  Curriculum Trajectory: The compulsory EMI courses given by each department at the CEECS increase gradually each year. Methods of rewards were stipulated. Professional courses have been provided for students per the university-level Bilingual Education Center's policy. For example, part of the general education courses of NCU has been taught in full English. Also, English training courses have been arranged at night since the 111th academic year to assist students in smoothly engaging with courses taught in full English. Moreover, the CEECS has actively organized its own English activities and lectures on EMI to enhance students' English competence and boost their interest in English.
   3. Establishment of the website of the EMI Education Center at the CEECS: We have contacted a contractor for the establishment of a website as a convenient channel that provides the latest information on opportunities for EMI learning, including course contents, learning results, English language requirements, evaluation methods of teaching and learning, learning resources, academic and extra-curricular supports. The website will be open to the faculty, students, and graduates of the CEECS, students at other universities, and parents.
2. Teachers and courses:
   1. Establishment of NCU Regulations on Reward to the Faculty of the CEECS for Opening EMI Courses: The stated regulations were established to boost full-time (project) faculty members' willingness to provide EMI courses, reward teachers teaching large classes, and encourage teachers to record the contents of their instructions and turn them into online or modular courses. In the 110th academic year, 47 teachers who had provided EMI courses were awarded NCU's bounties for teaching in English, and nine teachers won the CEESC's awards for teaching EMI courses.
   2. Course performance: There is a total of 252 undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the CEESC. In order to enhance students' English reading and expression abilities, the CEESC has been encouraging teachers to teach in full English since the 110th academic year. Departments and institutes at the CEESC have provided many EMI courses. The undergraduate program provided one elective EMI course in the first semester of the 110th academic year. After that, every department at the CEESC provided one compulsory EMI course in the second semester of the 110th academic year. A total of three undergraduate compulsory EMI courses were provided at the CEESC, and all of them were made into modular courses. Therefore, every student at the Department of Electrical Engineering, the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, and the Department of Communication Engineering has taken at least one EMI course. There was a total of 43 postgraduate EMI courses provided in the 110th academic year; one of them was made into a modular course, and three of them were made into online courses. All EMI courses are open to students at other universities to select.
   3. Recording online/modular EMI courses: The contents of a course are directly recorded and then edited unit by unit into a modular course for students to study repeatedly after class. Also, we plan to upload the course contents to the course zone on the website of the EMI Education Center at the CEESC.
   4. Recruiting and training EMI teachers and teaching assistants: The CEESC recruited Assistant Professor Yang Ming-hsun as an EMI teacher in February 2021. Moreover, each teaching assistant is assigned to every 50 undergraduate students in a compulsory course to assist them after class in dealing with problems they encounter in the professional contents of the course, professional English of the course, extra professional knowledge, etc.
   5. Designing questionnaires for EMI courses: In order to further understand teachers' and students' course experiences, challenges, and needs in class as we were promoting the program on bilingual education, we administered a questionnaire survey to teachers, teaching assistants, editing assistants, and students at the end of a semester to understand the conditions of the courses and collect opinions as our references for actively adjusting our methods.
3. Students and learning:
   1. B2-level English proficiency: There were 272 undergraduate freshmen at the CEESC in the 110th academic year, and 55 of them, which accounted for 20% of the total, had reached the level that exempted them from taking Freshman English. On Nov. 6, 2021, the Bilingual Education Center at NCU assisted the TOEIC in setting up examination rooms on campus for the TOEIC listening and reading tests held for the CEESC. In order to encourage undergraduate freshmen to sign up for the tests, the CEESC provided each undergraduate freshman with a subsidy of 1,000 NT dollars for the registration fee. A total of 182 students took the tests, and 51 of them, which accounted for 18% of all the undergraduate freshmen, reached Level B2 (above the total score of 785) in listening and reading.
   2. Establishment of NCU Regulations on Reward to Undergraduates at the CEESC for Enhancing English Proficiency: The English proficiency goals for students to attain at different stages such as after admission, in the second academic year, and before graduation were stipulated in the stated regulations. The CEESC encourages students to sign up for as many B2-level English proficiency tests as possible and subsidizes their registration fees. Furthermore, the CEESC will provide bounties for students who pass B2-level English proficiency in all four subjects—listening, speaking, reading, and writing. A total of seven students won the bounties in the 110th academic year; they passed the High-Intermediate level of GEPT, IELTS, and TOEFL (iBT and ITP), respectively.
   3. A bilingual education symposium held for the students at the CEESC:
      1. At the weekly meeting of the CEESC on Dec. 21, 2021, the CEESC publicized the program on bilingual education implemented by the Ministry of Education in 2021 in front of sophomores and introduced them to the benefits brought by the program and the enhancement of English competence. The planning of EMI courses and the provision of English activities were also mentioned.
      2. The symposium was held on Dec. 23, 2021. Through the symposium, the CEESC let students understand more about EMI-related programs and their trajectory, including holding English activities, providing bounties for passing English proficiency tests, looking for lecturers in the industries whom students are interested in, and inviting those lectures to give a speech on their industries. About 100 students registered to participate in the symposium.
   4. Abundant and diversified student activities: In order to attract international students, increase opportunities for international exchange, and enhance the English speaking and reading abilities of the students at the CEESC, we held English activities (English Salon and English Study Group) that were exclusively for the students at the CEESC. The activities boosted students' courage to speak in English and gave them a space to do so. Also, students from the Department of English were hired as teaching assistants to assist in hosting activities fully in English.
      1. English Salon: This activity was held eight times from Mar. 7, 2022, to May 16, 2022. More than 100 students participated in this activity each time. The subjects of discussion were down to earth, and they included analyses of drama, films, cultures, and current events.
      2. English Study Group: This activity was held nine times from Mar. 2, 2022, to May 11, 2022. More than 100 students participated in this activity each time. The subjects of discussion were manifold, and they included technological trends, cultural analyses, and current events around the world.
   5. Actively holding EMI lectures: In order to broaden students' vision and comprehensively enhance the English competence of the students at the CEESC, we specifically invited lecturers from the industries that the students were particularly interested in to hold EMI lectures. The subjects of the lectures included exchange students, careers in foreign corporations, studying abroad, and themes related to theses. Students who fully participated in an activity would receive one to two points of "learning hours for international vision" as an encouragement to them for their active participation in activities of international exchange to broaden their international vision and enhance their international competitiveness.
      1. An EMI lecture series—Exchange Students' Life—was held on May 10, 2022. We invited a student at the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering and a student at the Department of Electrical Engineering to give a speech titled "An Exchange Student in Europe: Experiences of Using Real-life English" and another one titled "Cross the Boundary of Languages and Make Friends with the World," respectively, to share their experiences of being exchange students in Europe. The two lecturers interacted with the audience cordially, showing the audience what level of their foreign language proficiency should be elevated to if they want to apply for an exchange program. The lecturers also talked about the obstacles and challenges an exchange student would encounter when studying and living abroad.
      2. An EMI lecture series—Careers in Foreign Corporations—was held on May 17, 2022. We invited a student at the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering to give a speech titled "Do Foreign Corporations Really Smell Better?" The lecturer shared with the audience his experiences of being an intern at Microsoft as a college student and then being an intern again at AWS as a master's student. He introduced the language proficiency requirements set up by foreign corporations for recruitment and discussed whether workplace English is really useful when working in foreign corporations. His speech gave students a chance to think about whether foreign corporations are really as fantastic as people think they are.
      3.  25, 2022. Dr. Zane Kheir, founder of Zane Aboard, gave an English speech titled "SOP for Application for Admission of Foreign Universities & Skills of English Thesis Writing." The lecturer shared his 15-year experience of writing academic theses and making presentations, using examples of applying for admission of foreign graduate institutes to teach the audience the skills to write an SOP and an English thesis. He also emphasized specifically the establishment of the structure of a thesis. Dr. Zane's speech has made the audience understand further the topic of studying abroad.