Abstract:

Tertiary foreign-language education, particularly college English, is being increasingly challenged by the national requirement to cultivate innovative talents. As college English is oriented toward liberal education and is committed to improving the humanistic quality of university students, it is unable to adapt to the new era in which scientific knowledge is increasing at an exponential rate and university students need to be able to make informed judgments in political matters that involve science and technology. We suggest that more emphasis should be placed on education in scientific literacy instead of neglecting or even being hostile toward it. For example, efforts must be made revolutionize the teaching content of college English with the aim of improving the scientific literacy of university students in areas such as scientific knowledge, information literacy, critical-thinking ability, and problem-solving ability.

Keywords: foreign-language education; college English; innovative talents; humanistic education; scientific literacy; critical thinking

摘要： 目前,国家急需创新人才,这对我国高校的公共英语课程内容设置提出了挑战。公共英语教学通常被定义为人文教育,致力于在进行语言教学的同时提高大学生的人文素养。笔者认为这一理念是片面的,既不能适应培养创新人才的要求,也不能适应日新月异的科学技术的发展对大学生能力提升的要求。在培养学生人文素养的同时,也不应忽视对科学素养的培养。为此,公共英语课程内容必须改革,以科学知识、信息素养、批判性思辨能力和解决问题的能力等为核心,努力提高大学生的科学素养。

关键词: 外语教育, 大学英语, 创新人才, 人文教育, 科学素养, 思辨能力