Abstract
In response to the goal-driven design (especially the axis E) of Nanhua University Strategic Development Plan, “promoting global exchanges and cultivating international talents”, the university has proposed the NHU BEST (Better English Students & Teachers) bilingual learning project as a means to “enhance English proficiency, international outlook, and cultivate international talents. “To mobilize and globalize Nanhua” is the vision and catchphrase of bilingual talent cultivation. Adhering to the principle of “do not ask for ‘higher-proficiency students’ for better academic records, but seek to ‘better moderate-proficiency students’”. This strategy sings perfectly in tune with the national policies and international trends. By adopting the four principles of “student-centered, teacher-centered, result-oriented, and evidence-based” pedagogy, the university also takes the “inventory, reference, integration, forward-looking” measures, and upholds the “integration, sharing, diversity, PDCA” conceptions for accreditation guarantees. From 2021 to 2025, we blueprint a five-stage growth from “sowing, germination, development, inspection to refinement”. The sowing stage would fare for one year, showcasing the characteristics and highlights of the project, with the self-assessment report attached.
1. Features
(1) Focus on Better rather than Best: A Betterment threshold attained and an ongoing Betterment in process
In the 2021 academic year, there were only six students in the undergraduate programs of the university whose bilingual proficiency scores were higher than the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) B2 (Upper Intermediate level), accounting for only 0.14% of the 4,143 students in the day school undergraduate programs. The 2022 academic year witnessed an even worse basis: among the 1,008 freshmen enrolled and their average English score was slightly higher than the bottom standard (5 points in GSAT，General Scholastic Ability Test), most likely in the bottom 18-20% of the entire country. Due to the weak English proficiency of many students, this plan pragmatically proposes BEST (Better English Students & Teachers), with “betterment” as the pivotal objective rather than “excellency”. Adhering to the concept of “there is no best, only better”, a goal of the university is that students can improve their own English proficiency, but also expect to continue to improve, and gradually “better” themselves.
(2) Emphasis on both ability and quality: Improving English capability and enhancing English competence
According to the annual research and analysis conducted by university affairs office, students in these years belong to the echelons of comparatively poor academic performance. Their self-confidence is weak, especially when it comes to the issue of English proficiency. This project takes into account both capability and competence, starting not just with improving English proficiency, but also with cultivating quality English learning methods, habits, attitudes, and surroundings. To this end, a self-compiled “Nanhua University Student English Competence Scale” is used to check, analyze, and enhance all student English learning aptitude.
(3) Self-compiled evaluation tool to strengthen PDCA: an iterative design and management method assuring quality control based on English Competence Scale
This project adopts four principles on an overall “student-centered, teacher-centered, result-oriented, and evidence-based” basis. In addition to making constructive use of the established campus test of English listening and reading proficiency, we implement a self-compiled standardized scale to evaluate the freshmen’s language performance. In the future, this tool will be used to verify students’ English ability and literacy year-by-year, then continue to improve students’ English capability and competence and create a database for the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) quality assurance cycle.
(4) Accounting for stability and integration: Sowing bilingual seeds steadily and complying with national policies and international ethos
Adhering to the steady strategy of “do not seek impulsiveness, but steady progress”, Nanhua University adopt four steps of “inner-survey, data-collecting, integration, and foresight”, in an attempt to be “in line with the 2030 national bilingual policy”, as well as the international call of “transcultural bilingualism”. Although this cannot be achieved in a snatch, patient moves in sowing has laid a cornerstone for future germination, growth, and prosperity.
2. Achievement Highlights
(1) To initiate, promote, and strengthen the task force and measures (organization and management):
When this Bilingual conception was first initiated, the “1368 Promotion Structure” was constructed . On September 27, 2021, during an administrative meeting approved the establishment of a university-level cross-departmental collaboration unit, “Bilingual Teaching Office”, which is headed by the university president. The president also appointed Associate Professor Yu-Te Kuo from the Department of Foreign Languages & Literature as chief executive officer, providing sufficient manpower and resources, to fully cooperate with the Language Teaching Center, as well as other academic and administrative units to clearly define the division of labor. Nanhua University also signed an MOU with University of the West, California, for an MBA 1+1 program. To strengthen the internationalization of the BA 2+2 program in international enterprises, Nanhua University has selected 10 students to study at University of the West during the past two years, and two of them have so far graduated.
(2)To create and promote quasi-EMI courses and lessen the impact on the low-proficiency students (course design):
A mere 20.7% of the university’s 2020 all-English courses meet the definition of the Taiwan Ministry of Education policy on English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) curriculum, that is, 100% English-speaking. To further promote all-English instruction, a quasi-EMI module (those courses that reach the threshold of 75% EMI according to the definition of the Ministry of Education). In 2021, five quasi-EMI courses and 114 fully EMI courses were offered, with 150 participants and a total of 2,675 , and 130 full-English courses for 3,252 participants, including all The number of English courses increased by 35% compared with the 2019 academic year. Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna in Chiang Mai, Thailand, jointly opened a transnational English-oriented online course with Nanhua, “Global Environmental Change and Sustainable Development”. Students compose e-portfolios in English, along with a collection of personal learning maps. In a likewise fashion, students made effective use of diversified informal classes and independent-study courses which help them strengthen situational edification and international mobility.
(3) Establishing seed [source] teachers and teaching maneuvers groups for better faculty awareness (teachers and teaching)
Nanhua University builds up a talent pool of 24 seed teachers and actively assist them to obtain 27 professional certificates, setting up EMI teacher upgrading groups, actively promote the EMI teacher growth plan. We emphasize a student-centered pedagogy module , and strengthen teacher language usage and positive atmosphere through regular forward-looking meetings, departmental affairs meetings, and institution-wide faculty/staff retreats. Additionally, it is hoped that the faculty members would make good use of grouping and heterogeneous learning, and initially set up three EMI teaching assistant groups composed mainly of international master and international doctoral students, attempting to implement the three-level remedial teaching system for EMI students .
(4)Students achievements: more than 1.5 times betterment for both key performance indicators (competence and learning)
To master the basic ability, Nanhua University encourages practice and supplement it with a support system, while setting up 4 English elite groups and offering scholarships to strengthen overseas study and overseas double degrees program. An adaptive pedagogy is also taken to encourage multi-learning approach. Miscellaneous reward mechanism is employed to assure learning effect quality. The original threshold indicator of “EMI courses” in the 2021 academic year was 6%, and the achievement value was 8.8%, which was 1.5 times the original goal; the original target value for the 2021 academic year was 7%, while the achievement rate was 12.3%, almost doubling the original target.
(5) Curriculum construction and teaching evaluation(quality assurance)
Nanhua University has constructed an effective EMI course quality assurance mechanism to ensure course quality, with a set of EMI learning effectiveness standards implemented for the EMI pedagogy on campus .
(6) Self-compiled standardized “English Learning Competence Scale” as the ultimate tool for quality control (quality assurance)
The standardized “Nanhua University Student English Learning Competence Scale” was compiled as an important reference for checking student learning effectiveness. This scale is divided into English learning methods, English learning habits, English learning attitudes and English learning environment with four subscales and a consistency index. Each subscale has six items and together the consistency indexes amount to 25 items, which is reliable in reliability and validity. There were 417 valid and consistent samples used to establish a university-wide norm, which serves as an important basis for student self-understanding and school evaluation of the respondents English learning competence.
3. Self-assessment
From 2021 to 2025, the project will evolve from a five-stage developing process, “seeding, germination, development, inspection to refinement”. The first year is the sowing period, which aims to establish organizational mechanisms and take root in various sub-plans. The university administration level implemented the quarterly evaluation management examination and held a university/campus evaluation group meeting on July 14, 2022, to invite outside committee specialists to join the expert meeting. The conclusion of the forum was: this plan emphasizes the “Better” vision, and the compilation of the “Student English Learning Competence Scale” is unique and thus promoted actively. In the initiative year, the task of the seeding period has been completed and 83.3% of the performance indicators of the Ministry of Education have been achieved. Thus, the university vision and goal of bilingual talents are being realized among the faculty members for a future consensus.
