Department of Linguistics

I. Program Orientation and Distinctive Advantages

The Department of Linguistics at the Faculty of English Language and Culture has a long history and is a prominent center for linguistics research in China. Esteemed scholars such as Gui Shichun, Gui Cankun, Wang Zongyan, Li Xiaoju, Qian Guanlian, He Ziran, and Ning Chunyan laid a solid foundation for the discipline, establishing the department as the founding unit of the sub-discipline "Linguistics and Applied Linguistics." The department was authorized to grant doctoral degrees in 1986 and is a nationally recognized key discipline. In 2000, the "Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics" was established as the only key research base for the humanities and social sciences nationwide in this field under the Ministry of Education.

The department has three distinctive features that collectively drive continuous development in teaching, research, and talent cultivation. Firstly, it focuses on fundamental discipline construction. Numerous linguists have made significant achievements in the basic theoretical research of phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, establishing a leading position nationwide. In the new era, a generation of young scholars, inheriting the spirit of dedication and innovation, has further consolidated its academic foundation. Secondly, it adheres to a spirit of innovation, exploring new research paradigms, expanding research fields, and promoting interdisciplinary integration. It has pioneered studies in fields such as psycholinguistics and language disorders, contributing to both academic advancement and societal impact. Thirdly, it emphasizes talent cultivation by fostering innovative educational models and promoting ethical inheritance. It has established workshops to cultivate ethical values among young teachers and students, and created an experimental class for top talent, which has become a highlight of the nationwide first-class English program.

II. Educational Objectives and Achievements

Leveraging its international and domestic strengths in "Linguistics and Applied Linguistics," the department offers a comprehensive linguistics curriculum and a strong faculty team to provide systematic linguistic training. The program aims to cultivate high-level professionals with a solid foundation in English, strong cross-cultural communication skills, mastery of linguistics and applied linguistics, and the ability to conduct linguistic research and to teach or work in positions requiring a high level of bilingual proficiency. The program focuses on developing the following competencies:

1）English language proficiency;

2）Chinese language proficiency;

3）Cross-cultural communication skills;

4）Research skills;

5）Information technology application skills.

Graduates from the department are highly competitive in the job market and have received widespread acclaim from employers, with consistently high employment satisfaction rates. In 2023, the employment rate of graduates exceeded 95%, with graduates securing positions in government departments, world-renowned enterprises, education, and internet-related industries. Additionally, around 60% of graduates pursue further studies, either domestically at top universities such as Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, or internationally, at top 100 universities such as the University of Oxford, the University of Southern California, and the University of Edinburgh.

III. Curriculum System

The department is committed to developing a scientific curriculum system, centered on "Linguistics and Applied Linguistics." The curriculum aims to cultivate five core competencies: English language skills, Chinese language skills, cross-cultural communication skills, research capabilities, and information technology application skills. The courses offered range from Modern Chinese and Discourse Analysis to Argumentation in Linguistics and Computational Linguistics. The curriculum falls into four categories: general education courses, major courses, compulsory professional courses, and elective professional courses, ensuring a balance between foundational knowledge and specialized research interests.

The department also implements a flexible talent cultivation model through a dual-degree system, allowing students to take courses in other disciplines, such as International Economics and Trade, Accounting, Finance, Japanese, Law, Diplomacy, Software Engineering, and Applied Psychology. Students who meet the requirements upon graduation may receive a certificate or a minor degree.

A notable highlight is the experimental class for cultivating top English talents, which follows a unique "one system, three focuses" approach. This includes a mentorship system in which professors and doctoral supervisors serve as mentors and instructors, an internationalization focus aligned with courses offered by overseas linguistic departments, and personalized course selection guided by mentors. The number of students in each class is small (15), emphasizing language proficiency, research awareness, innovation, and potential. The curriculum covers all core areas of linguistics, including theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, psycholinguistics, language teaching, second-language acquisition, first-language acquisition, and language disorders.

IV. Faculty and Research Achievements

The department boasts a strong faculty team of 31 members, including 10 doctoral supervisors and 19 master's supervisors, with professors accounting for 37.5% of the faculty, and associate professors or higher making up nearly 60%. The department has a rich tradition of mentorship and academic excellence, producing national teaching masters, model teachers, and outstanding teachers. Over the past five years, faculty members have published 130 high-quality SSCI and A&HCI-indexed papers and 140 CSSCI core journal articles, obtained 18 National Social Science Fund projects and 47 provincial or ministerial projects, and received six national and provincial humanities and social sciences awards. Notable achievements include:

The 8th National Award for Outstanding Achievements in Higher Education Scientific Research (2020): "A Cognitive Pragmatic Study on Pragmatic Presupposition" (Wei Zaijiang);

The 9th Guangdong Provincial Award for Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences (2021): "The Argument Structure and Syntactic Derivation of Non-Accusative Verbs in Chinese" (Han Jingquan);

General Project of the National Social Science Fund (2023): "Task Design and Learning Promotion Mechanism from the Perspective of Cognitive Complexity and Individual Differences" (Xie Yuanhua);

Key Project of the National Social Science Fund (2018): "A Comparative Study of Syntactic and Semantic Interfaces between English and Chinese" (Han Jingquan);

"Foreign Language Anxiety and Achievement: A Study of Primary School Students Learning English in China" (2021, Language Teaching Research) by Hu Xiaoyi;

"Complementation of Multiple Sources of Feedback in EFL Learners' Writing" (2021, Assessing Writing) by Niu Ruiying.

V. Cooperation, Exchange, Internships, and Employment/Graduate Opportunities

The department not only assists students in career development through its curriculum but also offers better development opportunities by collaborating with leading foreign universities. Each year, a group of outstanding students is sent to renowned universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, Leiden University, and the University of Amsterdam for in-depth study. Over half of the graduates pursue further studies at prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Columbia University. Graduates who choose to enter the workforce are often employed in education, government agencies, the internet, and media-related industries. Since 2018, 49 graduates have chosen to be engaged in primary-level governance, including four in the Western Development Program, two taking community-level posts in education, agriculture, health care, and poverty relief, and one in military service.