A Study on the Demand for English Major Talents

【Abstract】This article investigates the demands for English major talents， and gives some suggestions on how to cultivate the students to meet the demands as an English teaching institution.The main body of this article is divided into three chapters. Chapter one discusses the domestic employment situation and the current situation of English major talents quality; chapter two analyzes the social demands for English major talents according to the discussion of the problems in English major talents training mode; chapter three gives suggestions on English teaching and English major talents training mode. All in all， English graduates with proficient language and interdisciplinary skills are the very talents which the society are badly in need of， and it is also the training targets of local colleges and universities.

【Key words】English talents; Curriculum reform; Interdisciplinary talents

【作者簡介】孫梓航（2002.07-），男，漢族，山東青島人，山東省青島第一中學(xué)，學(xué)生。

With the continuous development of economic globalization and Chinas reform and opening policy， the interchanges between our country and the other countries tend to be dramatically increasing in the areas of politics， economy， science and technology and culture. At the same time， the social demands for English major talents are also constantly increasing： English major graduates with plain， simple English and scarcely empty knowledge of other disciplines are difficult to meet the needs of era and society. The English talents that society needs today are those who are proficient in a foreign language， effective in a variety of field in international communication， cooperation and competition.

According to investigation， English major is not the first major to be chosen by students. At present， English major students mainly comes from two kinds： the first kind is that students who chose English because they love it. This kind of students have good performance in English learning; another kind is they are chosen because the first voluntary is not admitted by university. They are not as well as the others.

And there is another problem in English students. Students are failed to control themselves very well and lack of thinking and innovation ability. The causes of this phenomenon not only lie in students themselves， but the traditional “cramming” English teaching mode. Teachers and students only pay attention to the words， sentences， grammar， focusing on listening， speaking， reading， writing and translating ability. In such training mode， English major students usually are mechanically， imitative， lack of innovation ability.

As we all know， nowadays foreign languages are essential factor in foreign trade， and mastering the knowledge of economics is indispensable to apply for a job in this age. Throughout professional English training target， many colleges are aim to cultivate inter-disciplinary talents， but lack of distinctive characteristics of them， such as comprehensive universities， science and engineering colleges and normal universities. They are similar to each other when cultivating English majors. Therefore， universities should clear training objectives to develop curriculum according to the actual situation of our school and cultivate characteristic talents rather than generalists.

For example， although the direction of business English students will be opened to study international trade and marketing courses， but when relates to the future employment， which is not enough. What we need is a professional teaching and interpretation， with the combination of economic knowledge and English; on a candidates personal qualities， they are more focused on a persons comprehensive strength， such as well communication skill and highly moral qualities. College students have been obsessed with certificates. For this， employers hold the view that the certificate is not necessary， but the individual practical ability is the decisive factor in the work.

There are some suggestions on English major talents training mode. English talents training should be based on local economic development situation， strive to make contribution to local economy and export high quality talents. Whats more， English should combine with other majors to cultivate inter-disciplinary talents.

At present， three directions of School of Foreign Language are basically set. As a new major， English teaching has some practical questions and difficulties. For example， the number of students recruited is about 120， among them 90% students are from rural area; and weak knowledge base is the common problem of freshmen; teaching faculties are not enough. I think English teaching should be combined with college characteristic specialty to develop English language skills as the core， other professional knowledge as the auxiliary.

Gao Yihong said that it is not wrong about some scholars emphasizing literature and linguistics placing an important role in English education. However， if you think there is a contradiction between English basic knowledge teaching and English comprehensive skill training is unilateral， you are wrong. They can supplement each other. When learning English， we will get access to much more new knowledge and broaden our horizon; in turn， other professional knowledge can also give us inspiration to learn English， because knowledge is interlinked.

Whats more， Huang Yuanshen in his paper points out： five aspects of talent standard are inseparable. Solid English skills are foundation of English talents; knowledgeable is the new requirement in 21st century; relevant professional knowledge can improve social adaptation ability; Strong ability， especially the innovation ability for foreign language learners is important guarantee of success. Training mode of inter-disciplinary， allows students of different specialties to learn from each other， for example， English students may request the economic majors taught economics courses， and English majors can help them learn English. Helping each other has a better understanding of the course of study， which can also exchange ideas from different disciplines to help develop students ‘ communication ability and innovative consciousness.

Above all， English major in local ordinary universities and colleges should take good use of the advantage of the existing disciplines， and go the way of cultivating compound talents. Its curriculum setup should not only consider the training target of the compound talents， also comply with the special rule of English professional talents training and focus on the cultivation comprehensive abilities. Only in this way can we cultivate more high-qualified English talents.

References：

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[2]黃源深.21世紀(jì)的復(fù)合型英語人才[J].外語界，2001，25（1）：1-5.