The Design of the College English Curriculum from the Perspective of International Engineering Education Accreditation—A Case Study from the Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology

Abstract

A scientific curriculum system is of vital importance for an institution’s professional accreditation. This paper seeks to improve the previous College English curriculum by resolving certain recalcitrant problems impeding both teaching and learning; furthermore, it takes into account the demands of international society. By embracing an outcome-based, student-centered approach for International Engineering education accreditation, the paper emphasizes teaching targets of a College English curriculum for future engineers based on knowledge, capacity and quality. In addition, it provides a graduation requirement index matrix and, a differentiated curriculum system, which specifies a clear relationship between the system and students’ outcomes. Finally, four characteristics of the system are elaborated: compulsory courses and optional courses are compared; English for General Purpose (EGP) and English for Special Purpose (ESP) are correlated; classroom teaching and extracurricular context are integrated; and formative assessment and summative assessment are combined.