The Enlightenment of UK Modern Apprenticeship on Training Courses for Business English Major in Application—oriented Undergraduate

Wang+Yue+Wang+Xin

【Abstract】The UK modern apprenticeship takes the work-based vocational training as the basic content which includes the cultivation of core skills， the professional qualification certificate system， and the transition from school to employment. As a successful vocational education mode， modern apprenticeship combines students， enterprises and government together， whose content and evaluation of curriculum is much more related to the work-based training goal， and has a reference and enlightenment function on training courses for business English major in the application-oriented undergraduate.

【Key words】UK modern apprenticeship； Business English major； Training courses； Application-oriented Undergraduate

1. Analysis of the education mode of UK modern apprenticeship

1.1 Carry out work-based vocational training

UK modern apprenticeship is a work-based vocational training. In the modern apprenticeship training， students generally spend 2/3 of the time receiving training in the enterprise， and about a third of the time in school learning theoretical knowledge. Students will sign an apprenticeship contract with the enterprise， and a master instructor will supervise the training of students in the workplace for production skills. Students enjoy the apprenticeship during their training， and when the training is completed， they will be granted professional qualification certificate issued by the state， which makes training more closely related to employment， and the employment prospects of students are relatively clear. Most of the apprentices will be employed by the original enterprises after graduation.

In the teaching of modern apprenticeship， the work-based learning situation plays a very important role. The learning environment is not set up in the segregated， special classrooms， but in the real workplace provided by employers who have signed the apprenticeship agreement. Students can directly participate in the real production activities with rapid progress as the independent and skilled laborers. This type of study can closely integrate the training practice with school-based curriculum contents.

1.2 Attach importance to the cultivation of core skills

UK modern apprenticeship forms a new curriculum system， namely comprehensive vocational ability curriculum， which attaches importance to the cultivation of the core skills referring to the ability of training experience in the actual production situation.endprint

The assessment of core skills is generally carried out in the form of tests in various industries. In the process of evaluation， the apprentice will provide related materials by themselves to prove their ability， and the training assessors will inspect the apprentices training work to evaluate. This flexible assessment promotes changes in training contents and practical skills， enhances training in general skills and core skills， and improves the standardization of training. After the training， the apprentice passed the qualified assessment will obtain NVQ3 level （National Vocational Qualification Level 3） or GNVQs （General National Vocational Qualification Certificates）， and satisfy the huge demand of intermediate and technical personnel from business enterprises.

1.3 Set up the vocational qualification certificate system

Obtaining the general national vocational qualification certificate is the main way to develop the core ability of modern apprenticeship in UK. Combining the vocational qualification certificate system with modern apprenticeship can greatly improve the enthusiasm of young learners， and will have an efficient and accurate evaluation of teaching. Each level of NVQs reflects the knowledge and capability required for this level in the actual work， and the responsibility and capability fulfilled in the work. There have been mutual correspondence and cross-transition between academic certificates and qualification certificates， for the training of qualification certificates at all levels has basic educational requirements. After obtaining the certificate， it can be inserted into the corresponding school to continue the education with degree. This system is conducive to apprenticeship， and can encourage young people to complete the high level education with corresponding courses for higher education.

1.4 Realize the transition from school to employment

In order to realize the transition from school to the enterprise， the modern apprenticeship has made the requirements of new teaching mode for professional ability to create， organize and implement the training. The cultivation of ability is not only the teaching goal， but also is the basis of assessment and supervision. Teaching with the cultivation of special ability can combines on-the-job training with off-job learning， and the transition from school to employment has been achieved through the modern apprenticeship system. In the modern apprenticeship， young people can be both students in vocational schools and employees in corporate training positions.endprint

2. Enlightenment of UK Modern Apprenticeship on Training Courses for Business English Major in Application-oriented Undergraduate

2.1 Set up the work-based course system for the cultivation of applied talents

The essence of modern apprenticeship in UK is the work-based training. In China， the ordinary business English courses in undergraduates are all obviously focused on the theory knowledge， which requests us to create a curriculum system covering the necessary knowledge， skills， professional quality， and core technology courses. In order to integrate business English curriculum system， we should increase the elective courses to strengthen practical teaching link， focus on improving the students practical ability， and strengthen the cultivation of applied skills. The training courses of business English major should be carried out as much as possible， and the students language application ability should be emphasized. Teachers can make use of the multimedia to create a “career environment” for students according to the actual needs from enterprises， and design a number of professional projects to guide the students to have professional skills training， which aims at cultivating the English application ability and business operations of students.

2.2 Improve the system of vocational qualification certificates

On the basis of the UK modern apprenticeship， the business English major can require students to complete the degree education and get professional certificates with vocational skills training according to applied orientation of undergraduates. For business English students， in line with the current teaching method， we can push forward the “Double Certificates” which refers to adding the professional qualification certificate system in the teaching plan. The application-oriented undergraduates can require students to obtain English certificates， computer certificates， and the professional qualification certificates as follow：Export Clerk Certificate， Customs Declarer Certificate， Certificate of Inspection， International Trade Operation Certificate， Business English Certificate （BEC）， Assistant E-commerce Engineer Certificate， etc.. Thus， with the double certificates， students can strengthen vocational skills training and increase comprehensive ability with the supplement of relevant courses.

2.3 Add “School-enterprise Cooperation” as the implementation mode

According to the vocational training of UK modern apprenticeship， the “School-enterprise Cooperation” is a feasible practice for business English major in the application-oriented undergraduates in China. In order to implement work-integrated learning mode effectively， teachers can participate in the real work in the enterprise to increase the practical teaching opportunities， obtain first-hand work experience， and then make better use of it in teaching practice. In addition， the college can also invite professionals with rich practical experience in the work to participate in teaching and undertake the teaching tasks of some practical courses， which is an effective way to make use of resources and create conditions to maximize the practical training base. The practice base for business English major can be the import and export enterprises， foreign trade companies， joint ventures， etc.， and we can also take advantage of the local trade exhibitions， the annual international conferences， etc.， where the students can engage in the activities such as foreign guests reception， tour guide， translation tasks and product marketing to gain experience.endprint

3. Conclusion

UK modern apprenticeship teaches us that the evaluation standards of curriculum should be diverse， and the evaluation of the theoretical and operation assessment should be fair and reasonable. Therefore， we should emphize the self-assessment of students， check whether the task and work are finished with motivation， and whether the training can achieve the intended purpose. Whats more， the reform of curriculum setting must be improved to carry out work-based training and enhance the practical skills and vocational ability of business English students in application-oriented undergraduates.

References：

[1]Liu Liangliang.The Enlightenment of UK Modern Apprenticeship to the Development of Education in China[J].Exploration of Education，2016（05）.

[2]Her Majesty.Education and Skills[J].Department for Education and Skills，2005.

[3]The Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.LSC Backgrounder： Apprenticeship[EB/OL].www.employersforapprentices.gov.uk/docs/research/Research-1-350.doc.2005.

作者簡介：

王悦，副教授，从事商务英语的教学与研究。

王欣，商务英语专业学生。endprint