A Brief Introduction to the School of Foreign Languages of Zhejiang Gongshang University Hangzhou College of Commerce
As one of the oldest schools of the College, the School of Foreign Languages has two undergraduate majors ---English and Business English--- and awards a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literature. At present, both are categorized as key majors which are under construction. The college also offers courses in Japanese, French and German as a second foreign language or elective courses in general education. Additionally, it is a test site for Test for English Majors (TEM4&8), Test for Business English Majors 4&8 (TBEM4&8), Business English Certificate(BEC) and English Test for International Communication（ETIC). Furthermore, it is a standing member of a number of organizations such as the Council of Foreign Language Teaching in Independent Colleges, the Research Association in Foreign Language Teaching in Universities in Zhejiang, the Zhejiang Business English Association, the Zhejiang Association of Foreign Languages & Literature, the Zhejiang Translators’ Association, the Hangzhou Foreign Languages and Literature Association and the Hangzhou Translators’ Association.
The school now counts 54 regular teachers in total, including 4 professors and 13 associate professors. It periodically invites celebrated experts from 985 / 211 Projects and Double First-Class universities to give lectures. Also on the faculty are teachers from the UK, the USA, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Ten teachers are either Ph.D. degree holders or doctoral candidates. Over 52% of the faculty have had experience as overseas students, visiting scholars or trainees in the UK, the USA, Germany, France, Japan and other countries.
The school boasts 4 teaching sections and 6 research teams, the former including the English Department, Business English Department, College English Section One, College English Section Two and the latter including research teams in literature, applied linguistics, business English, translation studies, language and culture, and competition in varied subjects. There are also 6 specialized laboratories, including a modern electronic teaching laboratory, a simultaneous interpretation teaching laboratory and a business English laboratory.
As of 2019, the school counts 645 undergraduate students. In addition to this, 118 students graduated this summer, of whom 14% have been admitted by universities at home and abroad for graduate studies.
The School of Foreign Languages has always placed a high value on research in teaching and this has paid dividends in research turnout. Over the last 5 years, a number of articles written by faculty members have been published in core journals and foreign language-related journals, such as China Higher Education Research, Foreign Language and Literature, Teaching English in China, Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, Foreign Language World and the Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics. About 10 academic works, 12 course books and 4 translations have also been published. Furthermore, the school has been the principal investigator in more than ten provincial-level projects under the auspice of Zhejiang Social Science Fund, Zhejiang Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences Circles, and the Department of Education of Zhejiang, along with 4 municipal and 19 college-level projects.
Attaching critical importance to teaching quality and seeking to raise the students’ oral English ability, the school aggressively promotes pedagogical reforms in the era of new mobile media. The implementation of English bedrooms and the institution of English flip classrooms have been warmly received by students and test-takers alike. Not surprisingly, our graduates have a strong command of basic knowledge, an impressive ability in language application, a high employment rate and a high admission rate into graduate studies. In the last two years, the passing rate of our students in Test for English Majors 4&8 (TEM4&8) far surpassed the national average and our passing rate in Test for Business English Majors Grade 8 (TBEM8) reached over 90%.
Whether working as individuals or in groups, our students have demonstrated their ability to win prizes in innumerable contests, such as the National English Competition for College Students, the FLTRP Cup National English Speaking Contest, the FLTRP Cup National English Writing Contest, and the LSCAT Interpretation and Translation Competition. In the past three years, we have won 80 prizes in diverse competitions in English-related subjects, including 2 third-class prizes in A- level national competitions, 3 second-class prizes and 5 third-class prizes in A-level provincial competitions, along with70 prizes in other provincial competitions.
Philosophy of Schooling:
To train application-oriented and practice-oriented innovative business English talents with characteristics of “interdisciplinarity, innovation, regionalization and internationalization”
Characteristics of Schooling:
Global Language, Global Business.
