Abstract
A. Introduction of TTU BEST Project
“The Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College” (BEST) of Tatung University (TTU) is based on the school development project of “The Tatung University 2026+” aiming to thoroughly enhance TTU students’ English ability by teaching empowerment, implementation of fully English-taught General English courses, and encouraging students to participate in English language proficiency tests and self-directed learning. Towards the goal of being an international-friendly university by 2030, TTU aims to increase the number of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses steadily across faculties. It is not only for students to equip themselves with bilingual communication skills and global mobility but also for developing a fully English-taught program.
Executive Summary of the TTU BEST Project (2021-2022 academic year):
1. The aspect of teaching
(1) Setting up EMI Professional Learning Community, and inviting professors from other universities to share their experience of EMI. The topics of the ten lectures we held include how to use classroom language to cultivate the tacit agreement between teachers and students of EMI courses, the curriculum design and teaching strategy of EMI courses, etc.
(2) Providing two kinds of EMI online teacher training courses, Cambridge Certificate in EMI Skills (21 participants) and LTTC English online course of CEFR B2 level (22 participants), to encourage and support teachers to enhance language skills and the skill of teaching in English.
(3) Providing four incentives to encourage teachers devoting to EMI. The four incentives include: a. Adjustment of weight ratio of faculty evaluation; b. Revising “The Regulation of the calculation of Teaching Hours and Overrun Hourly Fee of TTU Teachers” to increase the hourly fee of EMI courses; c. Setting up the additional award of EMI in “TTU Excellent Teaching Awards”; d. Providing teaching assistants for EMI courses.
2. The aspect of the students
(1) In order to cultivate students’ ability of the four basic skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing, the International College held many kinds of English competitions, such as the final presentation of Foreign Language Project-thesis/internship competition, speech contests, contests of four basic skills of English, etc.
(2) Providing four kinds of online self-learning resources. a. Amplifying Easytest question bank for the English qualification exam to provide students more resources for practicing. b. Providing MyET English speaking training platform to cultivate students’ ability of English speaking skill. c. Holding English workshops for different topics, such as the resume writing workshop. d. Providing online asynchronous courses of English job searching to make students prepare for entering the workforce in advance.
(3) TTU has set up four types of English-language-related rewards to encourage students to take EMI units and for self-development, including a. the scholarship for English language tests, b. adjust graduation requirements, c. including EMI units records or EMI program in graduation requirements, d. encourage and fund students to take part in international exchange activities. There are three specific courses involved in Hult Prize, students who have enrolled in these three courses have to participate in Hult Prize on-campus competition as it is one of course activities. Once students complete all the course activities such as participating in the on-campus competition, discussion, and presentation, they shall gain one or two credits depending on the course regulation.
3. The aspect of the curriculum
(1) Providing three types of institutional English courses to students, such as General English Courses for first and second-year undergraduate students and academic writing, not only enhance their English ability but a steady build-up to EMI courses.
(2) Over the 2021-2022 academic year, TTU has offered 43 EMI academic courses across 5 faculties, including 3 EMI micro-units that cooperate with the partner university from Germany, and 3 EMI practical/lab-based courses.
4. Resource sharing and international cooperation
The Excellent Long-Established University Consortium of Taiwan (ELECT) has 13 university members, and Tatung University is one of which; therefore, it offers students intercollegiate study opportunities as well as sharing resources with other universities. In addition, various types of English competitions, English camps are organized in cooperation with International partner universities, and EMI micro-units are provided to develop students’ global perspective towards an international learning environment.
B. Self-assessment and Evaluation
The way self-assessment and evaluation at TTU is carried out in three approaches: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) self-assessment, EMI teaching and course evaluation survey, and the EMI end-of-term meetings. More specifically, the TTU EMI Office keeps track of the progress by measuring the KPIs and analyzing the EMI survey results during the term time, the EMI Office then summarizes the outcomes and presents it in the meeting by the end of each term. In order to monitor the progress as well as make revisions to the project to achieve project goals, the Deans and executive staff of each faculty will be invited to join the meeting to co-examining the outcomes and budget management of the TTU BEST project. The issues related to the EMI curriculum and the difficulties that may be encountered will also be discussed. In addition, the minutes of the meeting will be sent to those who participate in the meeting.
