Biography
Prof. Weilei Zhang
Prof. Weilei Zhang
Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, China
Title: EAP Teaching in China: A Case Study of Four Shanghai Universities
Abstract: 
This study researches on English for Academic Purposes(EAP) program in Chinese Universities. The major purpose is to find out the status quo of EAP teaching and implementation effect of the EAP teaching policy (A Framework of Reference for EFL Teaching at Tertiary Level in Shanghai), in order to shed lights on the EAP teaching of other part of the world. Adopting a mixed-method design, this study has drawn data from four selected universities in Shanghai, China. Specifically, a questionnaire survey (n= 59) was conducted, and followed by teacher interviews (n=40). The survey includes five dimensions, e.g. curriculum design, teaching assessment, teaching material development, teacher training and teacher beliefs. The results of the survey are used to further understand the contextual factors that contribute to the status quo. The results show, despite the differences across universities, the EAP teaching activities are arranged orderly, and most of the universities have developed school-feature-based EAP courses.  However, some deficiencies are identified, teachers’ perception and literacy of EAP is not complete; teachers’ involvement in the whole process of EAP is not enough. In addition, Because of lacking of training, their knowledge about EAP teaching and assessment is limited and they are not well prepared. Based on the findings, the paper put forwards a few suggestions: more training should be given to EAP teachers; academic English teaching index system & evaluation system should be replenished; academic English teaching output indicators should be clarified; the standard of academic English teaching activity design should be made clearer.
Biography: 
Dr. Weilei Zhang works as a full Professor, researching and teaching linguistics and language education in the school of foreign languages, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, China. She finished 1 national and 2 provincial research projects as project leader; and published 39 articles and 2 books in the field of applied linguistics in China. She got the honor of “Top Talent of Shanghai Songjiang”(2019) and “Pujiang Talent of Shanghai”(2018).She is the invited evaluation expert of China Social Science Fund Projects, China Academic Degrees & Graduate Education Development Center,Shanghai Municipal Education Commission. She is a researcher of China Education Policy & Innovation Center. She is the deputy secretary general of Shanghai Business English Commission and deputy dean of Business English Research Center of SUIBE. Her research areas include: EAP & ESP teaching and learning; teacher development; education and language policy;curriculum design; program evaluation, etc. She obtained PhD degree in the field of Applied Linguistics in Shanghai International Studies University with doctorial research on evaluation of English teachers’ performance. She also completed her Postdoctoral research in the field of language education policy in East China Normal University, focusing on EAP program evaluation. She worked at Georgetown University as an advanced researcher for 1 year, a visiting scholar in UK for 1 semester.