The Department of English Language and Literature was founded in 2001. Its predecessor is the English Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Basic Sciences set up in 1953 which later developed into the Department of Foreign Languages. At present, the Department has 22 faculty members, including 4 professors and 10 associate professors.
The Department offers a Bachelor’s Degree Program in English, a minor English program and a micro-program of International Language Service. It also runs the postgraduate programs for MA in English Language and Literature and MTI (Master of Translation and Interpreting). Currently it has a total of 520 students, comprised of 245 undergraduates majoring in English, 45 majoring in English (minor), 30 in International Language service and 200 MA and MTI postgraduates.
Leveraging the university’s industrial strengths and aligning with the national energy development strategy, the Department cultivates inter-disciplinary, characteristic and application-oriented English professionals who possess a strong sense of national identity and an international perspective, apart from good comprehensive quality, excellent English language competence, solid knowledge of English language, literature and culture, and who are able to engage in language services, international communication and academic research.
Strict management and good working atmosphere of the Department ensure good teaching effects, as evidenced by the winning of teaching awards at all levels. In recent years, it has been awarded one national and four provincial and ministerial teaching achievement awards. The Department also has one Provincial High-Level Talent, one Provincial Excellent Research Supervisor, one Provincial Excellent Teacher, one District-Level Top-Notch Talent, and one District-Level Young Elite Talent.
In 2023, the Bachelor’s Degree Program in English was admitted to the National First-Class Undergraduate Discipline Construction Program. Great emphasis was put on the improvement of students' professional competence and comprehensive quality. In recent years, students have made brilliant achievements in various English competitions such as speech, debate, interpreting, reading and writing, winning more than five national awards and over seventy provincial and ministerial awards. More than forty students participated in various international exchange programs, and four students got the opportunity to visit and study in the United Nations and related international organizations. The undergraduate students have maintained excellent performance in TEM4 and TEM8, with a passing rate more than 20% higher than the national average.
The Department also boasts notable research innovations and accomplishments of its faculty members. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, its faculty members have undertaken 34 research projects at various levels, including national, provincial, and ministerial, published more than 50 papers in Chinese core and higher-level journals, and 12 books, and won 12 scientific research awards at bureau and higher levels. Two faculty members were awarded provincial excellent bachelor's thesis advisors.
Where there is a united and happy community, there will be innovative thinking, efficient work, and fruitful results. The working philosophy of the Department of English Language and Literature is to create such an innovative, efficient, united and happy family and to contributes the most to the development of the College and the University.
