General English I, as a teaching group in Department of Applied Foreign Language Studies, made up of 16 members, including 8 associate professors and 7 lecturers, all with a PhD or master degree, offers compulsory College English courses for the non-English majors of the freshmen. With Graded Teaching Mode, we have tailored English courses for students of different levels determined by the Placement Test.

College English courses aim at training students to acquire the basic knowledge and skills of English language, to obtain language learning strategies and to promote cross-cultural communication skills. Taking foreign language teaching theory and methodology as our guideline, we attempt to construct a comprehensive teaching system that incorporates multiple teaching modes and teaching methods.

With the help of graded textbooks such as New Horizon College English and College English for Academic Purposes, upon completing College English courses, students are able to have a sustainable and comprehensive development on the four basic skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking. More importantly, students are to have a better idea of their learning target. With a better and more active learning attitude, they will be able to conduct autonomous self-study, thus reducing their reliance on their teachers. In this way, students’ self-learning ability will be nurtured, which shall benefit the students for a life-long time. With improved skills, they are able to use English effectively to communicate in both oral and written form, and to meet any challenge in further language learning.

To stimulate students’ interest in English study and motivate them for higher achievements, we integrate class work with extra-curriculum activities, offering instructions in activities such as UP TO U English Contest, English Singing Competition, Lemon Tree English Speaking Contest and UPON AVON English Drama Festival.