Abstract
In the 110 academic year, Tunghai University established the Program on Bilingual Education for Students in the College of Management (hereafter referred to as the Program), which was developed in close cooperation between the College of Management and the English Language Center. This Program aims to improve the English teaching ability in the College by recruiting EMI professionals, assisting teachers in the development of EMI courses, and establishing a tutor consultation system. It also sets up a Pre-EMI class for freshmen to comprehensively improve students’ English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, so that the students can efficiently join EMI courses once they become sophomores. In addition, in order to provide students with an excellent English learning environment and increase the overall overseas enrollment of the College, the College established the ‘’Bilingual Teaching Promotion Office’’ (hereafter referred to as the Office) and the ‘’Bilingual Teaching Promotion Committee’’ (hereafter referred to as the Committee) in the 110th academic year. These new administrative structures were created within the existing organizational framework of the university and the President appointed the Chair of the English Language Center as the Executive Director of the Office. The mission is to develop the faculty members’ bilingual teaching expertise and improve the effectiveness of bilingual teaching in the College, thus building a high-quality campus.
The English Language Center coordinates the College’s bilingual resources and cultivates bilingual talents. At the same time, it provides suggestions and assistance regarding language skills and classroom management techniques to EMI teachers. In a first stage, we purchased the Cambridge University online EMI training course for teachers in the College of Management to help them with EMI training and teachers who completed the course received electronic certificates for future reference. In addition, mentors from the English Language Center conducted classroom observations in the College and consulted with teachers regarding their teaching. The teacher consultation mechanism will be further developed in the 111 academic year to improve the fluency and quality of EMI instruction.
In terms of students’ English ability, the English courses (Freshman English, Sophomore English, and English elective courses) offered by the English Language Center are all taught in English, and nearly 6,000 students are required to take courses every semester. Due to the different levels of language proficiency among students, students in the College of Management are placed in different sections of Freshman English depending on their scores on the entrance placement test, and also take different Sophomore English courses which are designed for students with different interests and needs. Students in the so-called Global Elite Program of the College of Management and other students with advanced English skills are able to further enhance their English ability in special ‘’ Freshman English Pre-EMI Classes’’. Students in these classes also receive subsidies to take the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test and the TOEIC Speaking and Writing Test; the target level for these students is CEFR B2. The objective is to train approximately 200 students in the College to meet the B2 standard by August 2023, and thus help them prepare smoothly for EMI courses in their second year of study.
As for the EMI instructional content, most required courses in the College adopt textbooks which are in use at top universities in the United States, and the handouts and test papers are also mostly compiled in English. English has indeed become an essential language for students in the College. In addition, MA and PhD students need to read academic papers in international journals and good English proficiency is therefore considered as indispensable for all students in the College.
In the 110 academic year, the College offered 22 EMI courses with a total of 66 credits in the undergraduate program and 10 EMI courses with 27 credits in the MA program. In the 111 academic year, the College of Management is expected to offer 45 EMI courses with a total of 121 credits in the undergraduate program, and the MA program Is expected to offer 13 EMI courses with a total of 32 credits. The number of teachers participating has increased from 24 teachers in the 110 academic year to 28 in the 111 academic year. At present, senior EMI teachers actively coach teachers who are willing to teach EMI courses, sharing with them various EMI teaching concepts and skills, and working together to enhance EMI teaching. In order to encourage students to challenge themselves, some departments in the College also add some English classes to the existing Chinese courses in the required course curriculum for sophomores. As for the upcoming 112 academic year, the enrolment prospectus of several departments will announce that selected compulsory courses will be taught in English, thus formally establishing the dual-track bilingual learning environment for students entering the University.
The implementation of the EMI plan will not only promote international student enrollment in the undergraduate and graduate programs, but also accelerate two-way international exchanges between the College and existing and potential partner colleges to provide in-depth courses for international students. The College, moreover, also passed the accreditation and certification of the authoritative International Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in February 2018. Along with Harvard Business College (HBS), London Business College (LBS), Peking University Guanghua College of Management, and other world-class universities, it ranks among the top 5% of top business colleges in the world. At the same time, the College is also actively establishing partnerships with colleges in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to recruit students from other Asian nations.
Benefiting from the implementation of the EMI program, the College has developed the following three internship opportunities in Taiwan and abroad to cultivate the professional competitiveness of EMI students after graduation:
First, the Center for International Internship Development provides students with overseas internship opportunities every year, and the number of students who go overseas for such internships increases year by year. To encourage students to participate in overseas internships, Tunghai University has applied for and obtained Ministry of Education overseas internship scholarships, including the "Learning to Build Dreams" scholarship and "New Southward Learning to Build Dreams" scholarship. This has helped to provide financial assistance to students and enabled more students to apply for overseas internships.
Second, Tunghai University actively seeks subsidies for overseas internship programs from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and International Trade. After participating in the EMI course, students will be more competitive in overseas internships. After the internship, we also communicate with the internship company and students, as a reference for future revision and strengthening of EMI courses.
Third, the School of Management is working to establish internship partnerships with domestic and international companies in the Taichung Industrial Park, the Central Taiwan Science Park, and the Precision Technology Park, providing students who have completed the EMI course with the opportunity to go to these companies for internships, so that they can use their English communication skills and professional English management skills and thus further enhance their employability.
Achieved Originally planned action(s) Date KPIs Progress Create College Committee of EMI Curriculum Management and draft 5-year strategic action plan Sep. 2021~July 2022 Established on 2022/4/13. Create Bilingual Teaching and Learning Promotion Committee of EMI Curriculum Management Sep. 2021~July 2022 First general meeting Will supervise the BEST Program Establish college’s administrative unit for EMI Plan and hire staff Sep. 2021~July 2022 Functioning of the unit We have hired 2 assistants in 2021. One under the English Language Center and the other under the College of Management. Create college’s standard process for offering new EMI courses Sep. 2021~June 2022 Completion of formal procedure Achieved Increase hourly pay for qualified EMI instructors Sep. 2021~July 2022 Completion of major administrative procedures Completed Encourage college’s students to engage in outbound exchange Sep. 2021~June 2022 50 students each year In spite of the epidemic, the College of Management still has 5 students on long-term exchange, 4 students on dual enrollment, and 3 students on the short-term study in 22/23 Promote inbound exchange with more EMI courses offered Sep. 2021~June 2022 50 inbound exchange students each semester No exchange students due to the pandemic Update bilingual webpages for the college and departments/programs Sep. 2021~July 2022 Completion of new webpages Achieved Integrate EMI-related information in existing social media Sep. 2021~July 2022 Completion of information updates Gradual update for EMI required courses Establish social-media channels for simultaneous student feedback Sep. 2021~July 2022 50 responses each year Achieve via feedback on iLearn. 110 academic year had received 71 students’ feedback. Organize EMI workshop for both instructors and teaching assistants Sep. 2021~June 2022 1-2 sessions every semester Completed on (2022/5/23 and 6/6)
