Abstract

This study explores the teaching approach of the general courses of theoretical knowledge targeted at the freshmen based on a pilot study of the course Research Methodology in School of English for International Business (SEIB) in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. A questionnaire survey of 163 freshmen who take the course at two consecutive terms indicates that the course is pedantic and lectures’ inputs are invariable and the teacher participation is insufficient. After implementing a teaching reform against these defects, the methods of adopting case study and improving teacher participation meet the expectation of students in spite that the teacher participation is over-performed. Meanwhile, the pedantic attribute of the course remains even with an attempt to diversify the lecture inputs and to reduce the ratio of English to Chinese as the working language in lectures. This study suggests that the general courses of theoretical knowledge should be put off to the second year of university. Flipped classroom philosophy is recommended where the pre-class preparation is enforced and the teacher performs as a learning assistant for the students when executing research projects.

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