Survey on Bilingual Teaching Reform and Practice in Tourism Management Major-Tak

Abstract

This survey aims to examines whether there exists necessity of bilingual teaching in Tourism Management Major and know the ideas from students who are taking bilingual teaching in tourism management major and further to explore what are the key issues facing the bilingual teaching and what need to be changed and improved. Thus, we can further promote the development and improve the quality of bilingual teaching in Tourism Management Major.

Key words: Bilingual teaching; Reform and practice; Tourism management major

Résumé

Cette?enquête?vise?à?examiner?s’il?existe?la?nécessité?de? l’enseignement?bilingue?dans?les?grandes?gestions?de? tourisme et de conna?tre les idées des élèves qui prennent l’enseignement?bilingue?dans?la?gestion?touristique? majeure?et?à?la?suite?d’explorer?quels?sont?les?principaux? enjeux?de?l’enseignement?bilingue?et?ce?besoin?d’être? changé et à amélioré. Ainsi, nous pouvons continuer àpromouvoir?le?développement?et?d’améliorer?la?qualité? de?l’enseignement?bilingue?dans?la?grande?gestion?du? tourisme.

Mots clés: Enseignement bilingue; La réforme et la

pratique; La grande gestion du tourisme

INTRODUCTION

Bilingual education refers to the use of a second or foreign language in school for teaching of curriculum subjects (Cohen, 2000; Baker and Jones 1998; Hyland, 2006). It has been widely practiced worldwide since 1960 with rapid development in Canada, USA, Japan, and other countries (Zhang 2003). As a new model of teaching method, Chinese/English bilingual program has become more and more popular nationwide in Chinas (Lin, 2008; Kuo, 2005). An upsurge of bilingual education has been set off at varied levels of education from kindergartens to universities in China.

Regards to tourism major, bilingual teaching meet the requirements of economy development globalization and higher education internationalization, the requirements of the inherent characteristics of tourism management major, the?requirements?of?undergraduates’?employment?and?the? requirements of tourism management discipline development in depth. Bilingual teaching is an effective way to cultivate the opening-consciousness teaching team and an important channel to convey a new education concept and teaching methods.

1. RESULTS ANALYSIS

The data used in this research was collected primarily from a questionnaire developed from the students who are taking bilingual course

in Tourism>. 28questions are covered in this survey. A total of 32 questionnaires were send and collected. It shows that students gave high attention and were willing to participate in this survey, it also gives teacher great optimism and self-confidence. Survey results are shown as followings (See Appendix 1). 1.1 Status of Students

63% of students are more apt to work in tourism industry. 52%of students have listening, speaking, reading and writing comprehensive and meet the basic national English requirement. 41% of students think they meet the requirement of university. It shows that most of students posses the comprehensive to take bilingual teaching, the key lies in how to cultivate and practice their competences effectively.

1.2 Cognition and Understanding of Bilingual Teaching

78%of students think it is necessary to take bilingual teaching in university. 44% of students think optional course will be more appropriate to be bilingual course. Thus, they can have more alternatives. 52% of students think it is appropriate to take bilingual teaching in first year of university, it shows that students want to take bilingual courses earlier. 82% of students can accept one more subjects each semester year, it show that students have strong willingness to take bilingual teaching.

Schools can properly consider the needs of the students, increase the number of bilingual courses timely, in case that to adapt to the major development and meet the employment requirement when students to apply for a job.

Regards to the objectives of bilingual teaching, 52% of students?think?it?improves?the?English?proficiency?and?is? beneficial?to?learn?English?words,?30%?of?students?think?it? help to keep the same pace with international conventions and transit to English teaching gradually.

In the view of advantages and disadvantages, 70% of students think it will improve English comprehensive, 37% of students think it will broaden international vision. Whereas 48% of students think it will waste much time to preview and review, 37% of students think it will influence the understanding of specialized knowledge and decrease the information of lecture. Overall, most of students think that the advantages overpass the disadvantages, and it is necessary to take.

70% of students think new words best explained in Chinese, difficult part explained in Chinese and leave much time to rewrite note. 56% of students suggest increase the amount of bilingual courses. 22% of students suggest cultivate more bilingual activities to improve English comprehensive. Teachers should accept the suggestions of students and so that it is better for students to learn and understand the knowledge they have learnt. University can take all kinds of activities to enrich and establish bilingual teaching atmosphere, such as open English corner, host English contest, book English journal, hold English guide and activities, broadcast in English etc.

80% of students are willing to take extra-curriculum time to preview and review, but the time is limited, normally they take half to two hours per week. They need to take much time to preview and review in order to learn and understand better.

52% students prefer lecture, 48% of students prefer case study. 44% of students think it should be taught mainly in English, 41 % of students think teach half in English. Less students accept to be taught in Chinese mainly. None like in English. It shows that most students are apt to be taught in English but not totally. 44 % of students think PPT should be written in English mainly, 41 % of students think 50% written in English and 50 % written in Chinese. 48% of students think bilingual teaching should pay more attention to mutual communication between students and teachers, 37% of students claim that teacher enlighten, students study by themselves. Only 2 students agree teacher lecture by his or herself. Most students claim that bilingual teaching should dominate in English and need strengthen mutual communication between teacher and students. 74% of students think the current semester hours is appropriate, 26% students thinks need increase time to learn and practice. Teacher need leave a mount of time to practice in class.

1.3 The Evaluation and Analysis on Teaching Quality and Effect

30%?of?students?think?it?is?very?satisfied?and?70%?of?students?think?it?is?satisfied,?it?shows?that?all?students?are?satisfied?with?the?current?bilingual?teaching.?56%?of?students? can basically grasp the contents they have learnt, on the other?hand,?44%?of?students?can’t?grasp?and?understand,? 74 % of students want to learn but there is difficulty in hearing, only 4 students can understand.2 students neither understand nor listen. Teachers should know the reason

that?students?can’t?grasp?and?understand?and?try?to?help? them overcome the difficulties. English teaching need pay more attention to the comprehensive of listening and speaking.

52% of students think that teaching methods and means needs to be changed and improved, 33% of students suggest that a good atmosphere of bilingual teaching needs to be established and cultivated. Teachers need highlight key points. Teachers need to use multiple teaching method such as case study ,role play, students presentation, group discussion etc, so that help student to understand and absorb the knowledge they have learnt. Teachers need to encourage students to exercise more in class.

2. CONTENTS OF BILINGUAL TEACHING REFORM IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT MAjOR

It is evident from the survey that bilingual teaching has been accepted by most of students, they are eager to take more and earlier. Both students and teachers are hopeful. Though, bilingual teaching has some advantages and is benefit?for?students,?it?needs?to?be?improved?further?in?the? following aspects.

2.1 Selection of Bilingual Course

It needs to select right course to promote bilingual teaching reasonably. The basic principle to choose a course to be taught in bilingual is international generalization and comparability, to choose those courses with strong international generalization and comparability, especially those leading courses for foreign researchers. Social science courses which originated and developed in western countries are suitable to be taught in bilingual language. These courses can keep original, such as Western Economics, International Marketing, Human Resources Management. Those courses held by international association has stronger international requirements, such as Tourism Attraction Management, Hotel management etc are becoming more popular in bilingual.

2.2 Bilingual Course Arrangement and Timing for Tourism Management Major

According the characteristics of students, generally speaking, the arrangement and timing of bilingual courses need to be made in second semester of fresh year. Then, at least one course needs to be taught in bilingual each term to keep and establish a sustainable atmosphere of bilingual?teaching.?Thus,?it?will?be?beneficial?for?students? to be adaptable to bilingual teaching and reform mode.

2.3 Establishment of Evaluation System

The evaluation index of bilingual course should be designed for overall quality which is appraised by experts, it aims at promoting the construction of bilingual courses and improving the level of bilingual teaching. The appraisal of bilingual teaching needs guide the bilingual teaches to attach importance to innovation and reform of bilingual teaching mode, teaching method and means, contents of teaching and textbook, improvement of students’?English?proficiency?and?competence?of?research? and study, overall development of students in the view of professional?knowledge,?foreign?language?proficiency?and? competence and quality.

2.4 The Bilingual Teaching Atmosphere

The cultivating of bilingual teaching atmosphere is an environmental?guarantee?for?bilingual?teaching’s?success.? As a new thing of teaching reform, the emergence and development of the bilingual teaching can not be inseparable from the appropriate atmosphere, cannot be separated from the support and care from school authorities.

2.5 Textbook Compiling and Construction

It is an effort direction of teaching reform in the future to explore model of compiling textbook and related teaching material. Original textbook need to be adopted selectively under the circumstance of combing real practice of China, and contents of domestic excellent textbook; we need invite expert to edit original textbook according to our situation and reality and in the case of keep the unity system to shrink contents of original textbook, so as to reduce price and the difficulty to read. As to the contents of textbook, we should learn more experience of international tourism management, keep the same pace with its tendency, as the same time, se should keep the principle of “localization” and “personality”, to edit, compile, select, and reunite. Bilingual teachers need elaborate bilingual electronic PPT with the characteristic of combing picture and literature, relaxed and active. They need select some related English material or audio and listening material as complimentary to read and learn. They should pay more attention to development “Stereo”textbook, emphasize on absorbing and accumulating of direct teaching media, increase audio, visual, and multiple-media information as a complimentary to use and help to decrease the difficulties to understand. With the development of the times and the improvement of teachers, the use and construction of bilingual textbooks has been gradually improved. From the beginning of material collection and editing to lecture plan, from use of others famous textbook to compile applicable textbooks with their own characteristics, we should encourage university bilingual teachers to co-write applicable and suitable textbook with foreign famous lectures. 2.6 Organization of Teaching

The organization of teaching refers to the oral expression, the accurate pronunciation, interactive teaching method, the?enthusiasm?of?students’?participation,?the?proficiency? of teaching content, the control of classroom rhythm and the understand of key content etc.

The effect of teaching mainly refers to the inclusive fitness between teaching contents and students and teachers’?status.?Whether?the?contents?of?teaching?meet? the study needs of students, the proficiency of foreign language is qualified, whether the knowledge structure of teacher is qualified to the knowledge and skills of students’?foreign?language?knowledge?and?skills,?foreign? culture and ways of thinking, attitude and learning tactics.

In the implementation of the teaching, teachers initiate?heuristic?method,?propose?to?“teach?them?fishing”? rather than “give them fish”, require student to prepare in advance, transfer “passive learning” to “active learning”, claims bilingual teachers to write in English on blackboard, ask in English, test in English. Try to use simple word to explain abstract terminology; on class, pay?more?attention?to?students’?interests?and?participation,? organize students to take part in teaching activities in group, such as group presentation, group game, case

study, brain storm, role play etc. After class, organize workshops (essay), arrange academic paper, strengthen the language ability and absorption of knowledge, emphasize on?the?development?of?students’?creative?thinking?and?the? cooperation spirit of team work.

CONCLUSION

With the development of tourism management major and requirement of society, it is necessary and important to promote the development of bilingual teaching. It is interesting to find that most of students who are taking bilingual teaching think it is necessary and important to take bilingual teaching. Most of students believe that it would be better if they could take bilingual course earlier . They believe that bilingual teaching gives more and is beneficial for them. Some problems related to bilingual teaching were also revealed. Among them lack of environment for language practicing and lack of good textbooks are the major issues. In order to improve the quality of bilingual teaching, e need initiate a new teaching concept, make changes in bilingual teaching from the aspects of teaching team, teaching contents, teaching methods and means, teaching evaluation and test, textbook selection and compiling, course selection and arrangement, and environment of bilingual teaching.

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