Listening Course (1) Student Book

Author: Shi Xinyuan et al
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-07-01
Features: With the deepening of reform and opening-up, the demand for foreign language talents in all sectors of society has been continuously growing. The enrollment scale of English majors in China has been expanding year by year, and the teaching quality has been constantly improving. Significant achievements have been made in the reform of undergraduate English education, discipline construction, and the publication of teaching materials, with a series of high-quality textbooks that have had a nationwide impact. The arrival of the 21st century has raised higher standards for the cultivation of English talents, while also presenting new requirements for discipline construction and textbook development. With China's entry into the World Trade Organization, society no longer needs graduates who only know English, but high-quality specialists who are scientifically-minded, mentally healthy, broadly knowledgeable, possess strong comprehensive abilities, and can skillfully use English. Due to the implementation of new curricula in secondary schools, the English proficiency of middle school students has been improving year by year, and the foundation and comprehensive qualities of English majors entering universities have also accordingly risen. Additionally, the rapid development of college English (for non-English majors) education and the improvement of students' English skills have posed severe challenges and higher requirements for the cultivation of English majors. This has determined that 21st-century English teaching is not merely English training, but English education—a comprehensive cultivation of high-quality compound talents with English as the core. The writing and publication of textbooks should also follow this trend. To meet the challenges of the era, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press (SFLP), one of China's largest foreign language textbook and book publishing bases, should naturally become a leader in foreign language textbook publication. Based on thorough research, SFLP seized the opportunity in the early days of the new century by inviting over 50 English educators from 25 major foreign language universities and key comprehensive universities under the Ministry of Education's English departments to hold the "National Committee Meeting for the Compilation of a Series of Textbooks for Undergraduate English Majors" in Shanghai. The representatives unanimously agreed on the necessity, feasibility, and urgency of compiling textbooks for the new century, and put forward suggestions and requirements regarding the compilation philosophy, textbook structure, and writing procedures. Later, SFLP held multiple expert and scholar meetings across the country and Shanghai to draft writing outlines, determine textbook categories, select textbook projects, and discuss and review drafts. After more than a year of effort, the manuscripts were finally completed. This series of textbooks is divided into several sections, including language knowledge and skills, linguistics and literature, language and culture, humanities and social sciences, testing and teaching methods, and so on, with a total of over 150 titles, covering almost all courses currently offered in English majors at Chinese universities. The content is both accessible and in-depth, reflecting the latest research findings in various fields; the writing format adopts the latest national standards, striving for scientific rigor and meeting the specific requirements of each course; and the compilation philosophy focuses not only on helping students build a solid language foundation but also on cultivating their ability to analyze and solve problems, enhancing their humanities and scientific literacy, fostering a positive life outlook, and enabling them to truly become the foreign language specialists China needs in the 21st century. The editorial committee of this series is composed of renowned figures in China's English education field, most of whom are experts with significant achievements in various fields, and many are members of the National Advisory Committees for Foreign Language Teaching in Higher Education. The authors of the textbooks are selected by the editorial committee after careful review of drafts, with some being chosen from among multiple candidates. Overall, they represent the development direction and level of English education in China. Given the innovative concepts, distinctive features, grand scale, and authoritative authors of this series, the Ministry of Education has included it in the "Five-Year Plan" key textbook project. We believe that following the "Series of Graduate Textbooks for English Language and Literature Majors," the compilation and publication of this series by SFLP will not only meet the needs of cultivating English talents in the 21st century but also set a new precedent and expand new horizons for the writing of foreign language textbooks and textbooks in other disciplines.