1、1The adaptation of foreign language education in higher education system under the context of life-loAbstract: Life-long education has already been acknowledged as the fundamental principle to develop education in most developed countries. Learning to survive and develop independently and learning t
2、o learn all through life are set to be the ultimate goals for an individuals education. Thus, higher education is shouldered a decisive responsibility as the last section in conventional formal education system, aiming at bridging learning and living. Under such a context, foreign language education
3、 has to be adapted from the exam-oriented and instrument-targeted education to the application-and-practice-oriented education and to the education for all-round development, as it is the most influential platform of humanistic education in higher education system. Key words: LIFE-LONG EDUCATION, FO
4、REIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION, ADAPTATION 1 Introduction Everyone is pressed to follow the trend of the ever-changing knowledge system and economic structure in this Era of 2Knowledge and Information. The stress, in turn, drives the whole society to acknowledge the importance of education so as to learn
5、effectively in ones whole life and realize oneself. Furthermore, data show that GDP increases by 1% with one more year in average education length of citizens (Dahlman, Zeng &Wang, 2007). Hence, to advocate a lifelong education and learning is beneficial and promising. Foreign language education in
6、lifelong education is critical in China because of its responsibility to train foreign language skills, communication skills and most important of all, to carry on humanistic education. All the skills are indispensable for citizens in a society aiming at lifelong education. In a global village and T
7、ime of Information, foreign language skills are not only an instrument to help students find a good job, but a necessity to guarantee interpersonal communication both in life and career to improve an all-around development of a human being and to appreciate wider and deeper about cultures. 2 Charact
8、eristics of lifelong education Lifelong education and lifelong learning are the two sides of one coin, both of which propose learning and teaching last for a persons whole life, emphasize their comprehensive and 3wide-ranged knowledge and base them on society. In this paper, the two concepts are tak
9、en as same, namely, they both advocate that education is responsible for promoting an al-around development of human being, which in turn, advances society. Lifelong learning system includes all the teaching and learning from cradle to grave and carry out the saying “never too old to learn”. Convent
10、ional education includes training of reading and computing ability. But it shouldnt exclude foreign language ability, problem-solving skills, communicating ability, creativity, teamwork spirit and self-learning ability. Thus, approaches to those abilities and skills are not limited to school educati
11、on. Internet, TV and other Medias are all available to offer learning resources. Take language learning for example, classroom teaching only takes up a modest part of learning. Learners aiming at improving their communicating skills and foreign language skills have to make full use of every opportun
12、ity. Therefore, higher education is supposed to integrate school education, family education, society education, pre-career education and post-career education. Only in this way, lifelong learning is possible to be realized and a student can learn and still endeavors to learn after his graduation. T
13、o achieve it, 4teachers are shouldered the responsibility to apply lifelong education principles into their teaching, to cultivate students the ability and the habit to learn for life long. To the end, our education may dump the label of mass production and focus on individualization and high-effici
14、ency (He, 2007). In a society of lifelong education, teenagers and young adults are still the major body of learners, but everyone in the society takes education as a means of self-development and self-realization. Correspondingly, higher education aims at setting up a stage, on which students find
15、what they need, what they have to learn and learn it (Knapper & Cropley, 2007). Hence, they become real members of problem-solving pool. Foreign language education functions an important role in it due to its training to language skills, communicating abilities and the only effective means of humani
16、stic education in higher education system of China. Hence, a corresponding foreign language education system is to be established. 3 De facto situation of foreign language education in college College English Test 4 and 6 are the main targets for most students learning English. They admit the value
17、of certificates rather that of language skills because the certificate more 5often than not guarantees a good job. But during work, they may find the fact that what they learned concerning foreign language in college has little to do with what they are using daily in their good jobs. Thus, paradoxic
18、al embarrassment arises. Students work awfully hard on foreign language only to find it useless soon. The real meaning and value of learning and teaching foreign language puzzles everyone including teachers. The following misunderstandings lead to the above mentioned phenomenon in higher education s
19、ystem. Students full and profound development has not been paid enough attention. Certificates and immediate rewarding are valued as achievements. Mechanical memories to grammar and vocabulary have been overweighed to active appreciation to cultures and humanistic quality. Teachers and administrator
20、s are dictating the whole education process from classroom teaching to assessment. Interactions between students and teachers and self-guidance of students have not been developed. Exam is the only end of both learning and teaching. Formative assessment still stays in theory. Book knowledge is taken
21、 superior to practical usage. 6Foreign language is still considered a tool instead of a part of humanistic quality. In China, foreign language education, mainly English teaching, can gain huge profit (Zhang, 2003). Under such impact, English education is market-directed, tool-oriented and all in all
22、, utilitarian, which are all against and opposite to the principles of lifelong education. In a lifelong education context, learners are the core of class design. What they are learning is integrated to society. The conventional school education is, thereof, as decisive as the unconventional, out-of
23、-campus learning. It requires the interaction and the integration of the two even in ones higher education period. To be specific, communicating skills and appreciation to exotic cultures are to be valued, if not more than, as significant as certificates. 4 Opportunities V.S. Challenges Both educati
24、on administrators and teachers have to rethink the following questions: what kind of knowledge is to be taught? While acquiring the knowledge, what are the new roles for teachers and learners to be adaptive to a lifelong education system? With regard to English teaching and learning, we are to 7pond
25、er upon the classroom teaching as the initial stage. The overwhelming position of classroom teaching is to be questioned and adjusted. Next to it, teachers are supposed to function as a model of an efficient lifelong learner. For example, they can attend the process of lifelong learning themselves t
26、o illustrate the influence and the achievement. Additionally, the inferior status of liberal arts courses are to be repositioned. The immediate return of science courses directs our education and learning, esp. in higher education system. Today, the profound influence of liberal arts courses in long
27、 run deserves to be stressed. Finally, reflective and collaborative teaching is to be applied into practice. Questions, discussions, communications and cooperation are more valuable because they encourage creativity and full development. 4.1 From test-oriented to application-and practice-oriented ed
28、ucation Many problems may arise from applying such a lifelong education. They mainly fall into the two categories. First of all, the purpose of learning is not for lifelong development. Worse, our higher education system does have such a target, but renders it void in practice. In English teaching p
29、ractice, what students are learning is too formal and even fossilized to be useful in daily 8communication. Classroom teaching plays a much too decisive role in a course of skill-training and of humanistic cultivation. Accordingly, assessment is designed for the sake and the convenience of administr
30、ators. Teachers teach but dont assess. Administrators assess but dont teach. As a result, teaching and assessment are separated. To realize an application-and-practice-oriented English education, educators are supposed to, firstly, reposition them and, secondly, convert the target of assessing metho
31、d. Knowledge concerning the English language is not the only content in classroom teaching. In a class of English aimed at lifelong education, a teacher endeavours to encourage and inspire students to learn enthusiastically and independently in order to be prepared for a society of lifelong educatio
32、n. Students are expected to be trained to find out what they need, to learn it, and to meet their needs. Students are always afraid of exams. If our exams require students to remember the dead knowledge, then they will do it at the cost of the initial and prior purpose of learning. Students are trai
33、ned to be experts in taking exams, which is absolutely against lifelong education. What English exams need last is the conclusive and once-for-all exam since English 9education is not for knowing a language but for doing with the language. In practice, educators need to reform our teaching and asses
34、sing in the following ways. Students should be involved to investigate their motives, expectations and attitudes so as to establish a set of course goals and assessment ends. Society needs have to taken into consideration, too. Skills and knowledge are supposed to be as practical as possible. For ex
35、ample, model cases, role plays and scenarios offer opportunities for students to learn to solve real problems with their language skills. Universities are not cloisters. More experts with real and practical experiences are to be invited to demonstrate the application of whats learned in schools. Con
36、versely, teachers have to walk out of campus to involve them with practical work to learn what kind of knowledge and skills are useful. Educators can investigate alumni to find out problems and advantages with education. Employers may also offer advice to help improve our higher education. More appr
37、oaches and methods may be worked out to help 10students and teachers to get adapted to a lifelong education system. 4.2 From instrument-targeted to humanistic education Under the context of lifelong education, college students are expected to be cultivated both scientific rationality and humanistic
38、quality. Shortage of either one may cripple ones development. Now in China, scientific rationality has been stressed for too long. But it does not measure up to our standard. The main reason lies in the deficient cultivation of humanistic quality. College students are trained to bear in mind only on
39、e target, namely, a well-paid job. In higher education system, English education is among the few courses to cultivate humanistic quality in students. Thats typically true in universities of science. English language teachers are shouldered the responsibilities of training language skills and of cul
40、tivating humanistic quality. The latter is particularly influential to innovative spirit. The ultimate goal language teaching is not to finish our pre-designed workload but to promote comprehensive development of our students. Only full-scaled human beings can adapt and realize them in a society aimed at lifelong education. Accordingly, more extra-curricula activities related to the
