On May 11th and 18th, Liu Wei, Wang Lili, Teresa Foulger and Peng Xihong, 4 professors from Arizona State University, arrived at Wuhan University where they were collectively about to preside over a one-month International Academic English course. The International Academic English program was set up under the cooperative contract signed by Dr. Denis Simon, the International and Strategic Vice President of ASU (Arizona State University), and the Graduate School of Wuhan University as well as the Office of International Affairs at Wuhan University.
In order to enhance the international academic communication ability of graduates from WHU, and to assist the learning of English during graduate study, WHU hired foreign teachers from ASU to give a selective course on International Academic English to those graduates in need of a more intensive academic communication in English. These 4 professors who are going to give classes under the title of International Academic English are equipped with various academic experiences, and their curriculum is distinctive and flexible, subject to the student’s practical needs, serving to the purpose of better facilitating the student’s development.
Liu Wei, an associate professor from the faculty of Chemistry and Bio-chemistry at ASU, has a rich experience in teaching as well as researching, with more than 20 articles published in Science, Nature and Cell. He prioritizes students’ participation in discussions during his classes. Before each class, Liu will recommend some pre-class readings to his students, among which 3 to 4 students will give presentations that will last about 15 minutes each, followed by debates regarding what has just been brought up. Due to his wide range of knowledge, rich experience and humor, Liu is adored by his students and his classes are always full of laughter. A graduate of the faculty of Bio-pharmacology of the School of Life Sciences in 2002, Liu is an alumnus of WHU. Upon his return to his Alma Mater, Liu was amazed by the major changes that have taken place in WHU, and felt proud of its achievement in recent years.
Wang Lili, an associate professor of the School of Community Resources and Development at ASU, owns a long list of publications, as well as an impressive professional service, including the position of reviewer of the National Science Foundation grant applications. She was nominated several times for the Best Conference paper at ARNOVA Conference. Because of her affluent field work in collaborative governance and in international NGOs and her practice with public policy, Wang will offer ample case studies, advice for career planning and true-life experience for academic writing format to benefit her students. In Wang’s class, students approach course objectives by means of doing research on journals and peer reviewing. It is not hard to imagine that the students taking her class will benefit a lot from the vivid case studies she passes along and from each other as well.
Teresa Foulger, an associate professor from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at ASU, is highly experienced in teaching. Besides her solid background as a scholar studying teaching methods and theories, Foulger is dedicated to putting the theories in practice. Foulger expresses her anticipation for this unique teaching experience at WHU and she intends to carry out her research here at our university, with the aim of supporting the transformation efforts surrounding the infusion of technology in teaching and learning. She also points out that she is the kind of instructor who seeks to change students, and she hopes that every student will gain a clear perspective of the workplace context, research plan and publication at the end of the semester. What is innovative for Foulger’s course is that she introduces online interactions and activities into the class. This way, students are more prepared to meet the challenges they might encounter later in their careers when they are dealing with computers.
Peng Xihong, an associative professor in Physics Science and Mathematics Faculty of College of Letters and Sciences at ASU, is an experienced instructor of graduates and undergraduates with science or engineering background. Been a prominent scholar of her field of study, Peng is looking forward to making new breakthroughs in electronic energies and materials properties. She wants to convey a message to her students, namely that getting a PhD degree in the field of natural science is not enough, and that the academic research ground is constantly changing. Today’s students need to accommodate to the needs of society.
All of these 4 professors are targeting the professional skills, career and personal development, academic writing, and paper publishing. The courses are designed specifically to equip the master and doctoral students with adequate peer-reviewing skills, academic writing skills, project designing skills, research methods, presentation skills and effective English communicative skills. This program is of great significance to the promotion of WHU PhDs and junior teachers’ ability to read, talk and write proper academic English. The summer school project following this program is still on its way, and is bound to generate a great opportunity for professors and students from both universities.
(Edited by Diana & Sijia Hu)
