Abstract
In the background of the information age of “Internet+,” the traditional teaching mode of business English has many drawbacks in terms of curriculum, teaching content, teaching methods, and teachers’ backgrounds and cannot adapt to the needs of the times. Therefore, business English teaching should actively follow the trend of “Internet + education” and continue to innovate in a multimodal way. The multimodal teaching mode of “wireless network + business English” is in line with the background of “Internet+,” optimizing teaching resources to the maximum extent and truly realizing the effective combination of Internet and business English teaching. The Internet-based multimodal innovation can be carried out in the four elements of business English teaching: environment, task, learner, and guide teaching. The specialization and modernization of business English teaching can be promoted through the optimization of O2O multisituational classroom, the application of multimodal tasks in three-dimensional teaching materials, the communication of diversified categories of students, and the configuration of multilevel teachers across fields.
1. Introduction
With the continuous innovation of information technology, we have entered the 2.0 era of Internet development [1]. On July 4, 2015, the State Council issued the “Guidance on actively promoting the ‘Internet+’ action.” According to the Guidance, the “Internet+” is “the deep integration of Internet innovations with all areas of the economy and society. As the infrastructure and innovation factor, the “Internet+” is instrumental in promoting technological progress, efficiency improvement, and organizational change, enhancing the innovation and productivity of the real economy. This also indicates that “Internet+” has been incorporated into national strategy and will become an important form of social innovation and development in the future [2]. The profound influence of modern information technology represented by the Internet on all aspects of education is also being gradually reflected. The “Internet + education” is not a simple addition of the two but a kind of change and innovation, using information technology and the Internet platform to integrate the Internet with education in depth so that the Internet thinking really penetrates the teaching design, teaching content, teaching evaluation, and other aspects of the teaching process, resulting in new teaching forms and models. In this environment, the reform of the teaching mode of business English courses in colleges and universities is in urgent need of strengthening the integration with information technology to co-construct and share high-quality and effective educational resources [3].
The new industry of “Internet + traditional industry” provides new thinking and new opportunities for the innovative development of the education industry. With the development of wireless networks and smart terminals, multimodal communication methods, mainly pictures, text, audio, and video, are gradually replacing one-dimensional text and rapidly becoming the mainstream form of information transmission in education and communication activities. In multimodal information, language text and other hypertext social symbols such as images and videos jointly construct meaning and spread in real time through the emerging mobile Internet media, greatly compensating for the disadvantages of traditional paper media, which are static and monotonous.
Business English, as an interdisciplinary cross-emerging major integrating business knowledge and skills and English language ability, still suffers from development problems such as lack of unified teaching objectives, weak teachers, lagging teaching methods, and single evaluation methods at this stage [4]. Therefore, starting from the four main elements of the teaching mode and using Internet thinking for the organic optimization and allocation of multimodal teaching resources, this paper focuses on analyzing how business English teaching can be multimodally innovated and updated at the level of environment, task, learner, and guide to promote the informational development of business English professional construction.
2. The Main Problems in Traditional Business English Teaching
With the development of global economic integration, the demand for business English professionals in China has been rising, especially the demand for talents with high quality, solid language foundation, and business knowledge. Therefore, many colleges and universities, especially those undergraduate colleges and universities in transition, have opened business English majors one after another [5]. However, due to the strong practicality and interdisciplinarity of business English, the traditional teaching mode in ordinary colleges and universities can no longer meet the requirements of society for business English talents, and its drawbacks are becoming more and more obvious. The shortcomings of the teaching mode are becoming more and more obvious.
2.1. The Curriculum Lacks Modernity
At present, the core courses of business English majors in colleges and universities are mainly set around traditional international trade activities, such as foreign trade correspondence, international marketing, business negotiation, and so on. However, with the vigorous development of information technology, the economic form has long been not only limited to a certain mode, such as the increasing growth of cross-border e-commerce with B2B and B2C as the main mode [6], which highlights the huge gap in the demand for related talents. But the corresponding business English talents in colleges and universities cannot really dovetail with each other, and the professional curriculum is obviously not forward-looking enough, without closely linking the business activities in the Internet era with the related teaching, and the related courses are very insufficient or even blank.
2.2. Lack of Practicality of Teaching Contents
Business English itself is a special-purpose English, and its practical teaching purpose is different from that of traditional English majors. However, due to the limitation of the speed of updating the teaching materials, when teachers teach business English courses, most of the teaching of professional business knowledge stays at the level of books, and it is difficult to combine the new terms, new terminology, or new business environment that emerge rapidly nowadays. As a result, when students graduate, as long as they work in related industries, they will obviously feel that their professional knowledge is lacking, or their professional background is incompatible with the employment environment, and the gap is obvious [7]. This makes the profession, which should have strong practical value, lack real practicality, and thus face an awkward situation in the job market.
2.3. Lack of Diversity in Teaching Methods
In today’s rapid development of information technology, the application of multimedia technology and the Internet are both very common. And diversified teaching modes are also inseparable from these. However, in business English teaching, the teaching methods in many colleges and universities are still very single, and most of them still follow the teaching mode of English majors; the teacher is still the main body in the classroom; most of the time the teacher teaches the knowledge points; the students learn more passively; there are few or no links of teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction; and there are few courses that allow students to really participate in practical operations effectively [8]. The teaching process is heavy on theory indoctrination and light on practical operation phenomenon abounds. If students do not have timely and complete practical training, it is difficult for them to apply what they have learned in the future, which is very unfavorable to the cultivation of high-quality and application-oriented business English talents.
2.4. Lack of Professionalism in Teachers’ Background
In colleges and universities, business English is a young and emerging major compared with other majors, but many teachers are purely English education majors who are not very familiar with business practice, or even if they have studied related professional knowledge, most of them only stay at the level of books, lacking practical experience and social practice ability itself. As a result, they cannot really integrate business ideas and practical methods into teaching and cannot fully realize the cultivation of students’ core competence and professionalism. In Business English, English is only a tool, and business knowledge is the pillar. If the teacher’s knowledge framework focuses on language rather than business or if the teacher accumulates personal corpus during teaching but does not share relevant professional knowledge in time, the knowledge structure is old and not up-to-date [9] and lacks professionalism he or she should have or he or she will not be able to meet the training needs of business English talents. Therefore, in order to evaluate the relationship between the number of business English courses and the teaching effect of business thinking and practical methods, the researchers obtained the internal relationship between the number of business English classes and business thinking through the statistical data of many colleges and universities. The mathematical relationship is as follows. Figure 1 shows the relationship between the quality of business English talents, business knowledge, and pure English teaching. As can be seen from the figure, in addition to the English language itself, business knowledge plays an important role in the quality of business English talents.where N is the number of business English courses, En is the teaching effect of business ideas and practical methods, and Mn is the teaching effect of pure English education.
3. Feasibility of “Wireless Network + Business English” Teaching Mode
3.1. Opportunity of “Internet+” for Teaching
The Internet has the largest amount of information and resources in the world today, and these huge amounts of information are interconnected in an intricate form, and the direct or indirect resources that can be served and shared for teaching are inexhaustible. The Internet supported by big data also makes information collection more convenient for each learner, making mobile devices the carriers of virtual communities and virtual classrooms. In other words, in the context of “Internet+,” the teaching mode is different from the traditional form, and the forms, channels, and media for teaching and learning have become more diversified and diverse. They can cut and reconstruct the knowledge system independently, and if they are truly integrated with the business English teaching process, they will make teaching more vivid, effective, and relevant, thus showing the humanity of teaching.
3.2. The Fit between Business English Teaching and Wireless Network
In the era of “Internet+,” the traditional education model of one school, one teacher, and one classroom is fading; a wireless network and one mobile terminal, millions of students, schools, and teachers of your choice are emerging as the new education model, which is the charm of “Internet + education” [10]. The nature of the business English major determines that it is by no means only a simple language teaching but with the help of teaching English language knowledge to develop students’ intercultural business communication skills. This major requires a high level of practical ability, and the teaching of business English must be combined with information technology, which is in line with the background and diversity of the “Internet+” era. Therefore, it is feasible and inevitable to rely on network information, deeply integrate various high-quality teaching resources, and explore the construction of the “Internet + business English” teaching mode.
4. The Construction of Multimodal Interactive Teaching Model of Business English
4.1. Analysis of Multimodal Interaction
Norris, a famous linguist, believes that multimodal interaction is universal [11]. Communication interaction forms social action through the mediation of various modalities. Norris points out that in communicative interaction, verbal and nonverbal modalities have different interactive effects depending on the context of interaction, and verbal modalities do not play a dominant role in all interactions. The choice of modality use needs to take into account the differences in communicative contexts. In addition, multimodal interaction should take into account the degree of interactional awareness and attention of the communicative subject and the participant and pay active attention to the feelings, thoughts, and feedback of the communicative subject and the participant and informed unity. Modal density and modal configuration are the key elements of multimodal interaction research. Modal density and modal intensity are proportional to each other, and the higher the modal intensity, the higher the modal density. Modal complexity refers to the number of modalities used in the construction of the action; the greater the number, the greater the modal complexity.
4.2. Multimodal Interactive Teaching Model
“Multimodality” refers to the inclusion of different symbolic modalities in a finished communication product or communication activity [12], as well as the various ways in which different symbolic resources are mobilized to construct meaning in a given text [13]. In the early twenty-first century, Stein proposed a multimodal pedagogy, which argues that course instruction and assessment should be centered on the modal characteristics of the learning environment centered on the development of all communicative activities in the classroom as multimodal [14]. As a pedagogical concept, multimodal teaching means that under the guidance of multimodal theory, teachers use a variety of teaching tools and diverse teaching channels, such as the Internet, pictures, videos, and role-plays, to activate and engage learners’ various senses, synergize, and construct them into the most effective way of meaningful expression and communication.
In the process of multimodal interactive teaching, learners’ multiple abilities are stimulated and highlighted. The role of the teacher changes from “preaching, teaching, and solving” [15] to that of a collaborator, modality selector, and perceptual stimulator of students’ learning, while the students perceive, decode, and store the multimodal input knowledge and then output it to form a positive interaction with the teacher and learners, thus realizing the deep transformation and internalization of knowledge. In business English teaching, teachers can make full use of the multimodal system to design teaching sessions, accumulate and build a multimodal corpus and curriculum resources with the help of multiple learning platforms on the Internet, activate students’ sensory potential to the maximum extent, and provide a multimodal interactive teaching and learning environment for teachers and students, so as to collaborate students’ multimodal understanding of relevant knowledge and complete their meaning construction [16]. Figure 2 shows the relationship between students’ multimodal understanding of relevant knowledge and multimodal corpus, curriculum resources, and multimodal interactive teaching environment. As can be seen from the figure, there is a positive correlation between the three.
4.3. “Wireless Network + Business English” Teaching Mode
In the era of the “Internet+,” the openness and sharing of knowledge have brought great changes to the language service industry and new requirements to traditional teaching. However, the integration of the two is not a patchwork that can be achieved overnight. In the teaching of business English, teachers should fully reform and improve the teaching concept, teaching content, and teaching methods, so as to maximize the allocation and optimization of teaching resources and truly realize the effective combination of Internet and business English teaching.
4.3.1. Change of Teaching Concept
Teaching is not only the transmission of knowledge but also the conversion process of learners’ internalization of knowledge. Therefore, in business English teaching, teachers should update their teaching concept, deeply understand the essence of business English as special-purpose English, emphasize the cognitive subject role of learners, and practice the teaching concept of “student-centered” [17]. Therefore, teachers should design teaching sessions that meet learners’ learning requirements and enhance their practical skills, and let students actively participate in various practical activities, cooperate with each other, and give full play to students’ initiative and enthusiasm when teaching according to learners’ characteristics and the features of “Internet+.” Teachers are transformed into instructors and collaborators of students in constructing knowledge, while students become real participants and constructors of learning.
4.3.2. Update of Teaching Contents
In the teaching practice of “wireless network + business English,” the change of teaching content is the most important. Business English itself is different from general language teaching, so teachers should comply with the requirements of the “Internet+” era and add more real-life corpus as the course content. In the course “Cross-cultural Business Communication” [18], for example, teachers should not only introduce basic business etiquette and cross-cultural knowledge but also add real cases of cross-cultural business communication through online platforms or shared corpora, select typical cases of successful or unsuccessful communication for learners to analyze and dig into, and then let students give feedback on the learning effect to assess the students’ construction of new business communication. The students will then give feedback on the learning effect to assess the validity of their new knowledge. In the context of “Internet+,” there is a constant flow of resources shared on relevant online platforms. Therefore, the resources provided by teachers (e.g., authentic business texts) do not necessarily have to be in one form but can be multimodal, such as videos, images, text, or a combination of both or all three.
Multimodal interactive teaching models emphasize multiple inputs, and business activities are evolving rapidly. While “Internet+” provides teachers with diversified teaching resources, teachers should also, according to the latest development in business communication, make use of the advantages of multimedia, effectively select the best and most practical cases, actively establish a dynamic network resource database, update the data content at any time, and improve the authenticity and timeliness of teaching content. The data content is updated at any time to enhance the authenticity and timeliness of teaching content and improve students’ learning ability. The number of dynamic network resource databases is closely related to the diversification of teaching materials and business teaching cases. Through the statistical analysis of a large number of network resources and business teaching cases, scholars and experts try to find out the internal relationship between the capacity of teaching resources and students’ learning ability. Based on the results of statistical analysis, a correlation between them is obtained. In order to quantitatively evaluate the relationship between the capacity of dynamic network resource base based on diversified teaching resources and students’ learning ability, the mathematical expression are as follows:where D is the volume of the dynamic network resource library, Dn is the updated data volume of network the resource library, δn is students’ learning ability based on diversified teaching resources, and X and Y represent diversified teaching resources and business practical cases, respectively.
4.3.3. Breakthrough of Teaching Methods
The multimodal interactive teaching mode of “wireless network + business English” is based on a personalized teaching mode on the one hand and emphasizes the spirit of cooperation on the other hand, that is, while respecting the different learning characteristics and habits of individuals, it can collaborate with each other in learning according to the metacognitive ability of learners so that students can have targeted fragmented knowledge points but also allows them to actively interact, build on their strengths, internalize their knowledge, and acquire the most needed business communication skills.
In the precourse self-study stage, students no longer rely on books to simply prestudy the text content but instead learn the knowledge points in a targeted manner based on the learning applications and system modules provided by the relevant online platforms and multimodal teaching resources [19]. Online teaching methods such as catechism and microlearning allow students to preview the important knowledge and background information of the course by watching videos at any time and any place, according to their own learning habits and pace. Take the “Business Negotiation” course as an example where students can learn the background knowledge and negotiation process of a certain negotiation case first and summarize and analyze it by themselves so that they can discuss it in class. At this stage, “Internet+” teaching allows students to learn any knowledge point repeatedly without the limitation of time, place, and number of students, which breaks the traditional teaching method, makes full use of the time before class, and gives new vitality to the multimodal interactive teaching mode. In the classroom stage, the teacher-student relationship is a “two-way interaction” [20]. The role of the teacher has also changed dramatically. In the business English classroom, teachers should abandon the traditional teaching method of knowledge inculcation and carry out a flipped classroom based on the favorable resources of “Internet+” teaching. For example, in the course “Business English Translation,” teachers can design a complete and clear teaching task, give a specific translation task online, and ask students to complete the translation practice in a project-oriented way. In this process, students can collaborate and discuss with each other in groups, while the teacher provides personalized guidance, observes and judges the teaching progress, and dynamically grasps the students’ learning situation. The teacher is a facilitator and supervisor of student learning. In the flipped classroom, students complete the output of language knowledge and the internalization of business knowledge through the practice of real tasks or projects.
In the practical stage of teaching, we can strengthen the cooperation between schools and enterprises by means of “innovation and entrepreneurship” competitions, participation in projects, or internship in enterprises so that students can experience the foreign business process directly and effectively comprehend what they have learned in class so that they can apply what they have learned. For example, under the trend of “Internet+,” the rise of cross-border e-commerce has completely overturned the traditional form of business transactions. To make students understand B2B and B2C business knowledge [21], teachers can use real cross-border e-commerce network platforms, such as sales, Amazon, eBay, or online virtual trading systems so that students can do practical work and find real problems. Teachers can realize teacher-student interaction online, help students solve problems in time, realize students’ various business communication skills, and meet the urgent demand for high-quality applied business English talents in the “Internet+” era. In the business English talent market, it is often necessary to calculate the number of morning English talents to be accommodated according to the development of e-commerce platforms. The following formula can be used to evaluate the demand for business English talents on different e-commerce network platforms. And taking three cross-border e-commerce network platforms (Selling, Amazon, and eBay) as an example, Figure 3 shows the histogram of the proportion of business English talents in different cross-border e-commerce network platforms in different periods.where X is the demand for a cross-border e-commerce network platform for business English talents and Xi is the demand for an e-commerce network platform for business English talents.
5. “Internet+” Multimodal Interactive Innovation from Four Elements of Teaching
5.1. Wireless Network + Environment: The Setting and Optimization of O2O Multisituational Classroom
The nature of the teaching environment is the decisive factor in the richness and density of teaching action modality. In the traditional business English teaching process, the environment mainly refers to the teaching classroom, where all teaching activities basically take place. The modalities used to construct interactive meanings in traditional classrooms are mainly visual modalities based on teacher-book-textbook and auditory modalities based on teacher lecture-student response. Students answer questions in a single form and limited content, and easy to form the inertia of students' participation motivation is not high, resulting in low teaching efficiency. The O2O (online-to-offline) business model in the new “Internet + economy” [22] has given profound inspiration to the education industry, thus giving rise to the emerging teaching model of the flipped classroom. The flipped classroom is a new form of “Internet + classroom” classroom, which greatly enriches the types of modalities and increases the complexity and intensity of modalities by adjusting the ratio of the number of modalities, thus enhancing the density of modalities and the construction of meaning in multimodal interactive behaviors.
With the development and popularity of smartphones and mobile networks, learners can download multimodal learning materials and conduct learning activities anytime and anywhere. Therefore, in the long run, schools need to consider updating the classroom format, including seat design and multimedia hardware equipment, to support and ensure the smooth implementation of the flipped classroom. The typical flipped classroom does not highlight the practical nature of business English teaching, so it needs to be contextualized and optimized. At present, many universities already have business English practice courses, but they are basically separate from the relevant theory courses, which is not conducive to the comprehensive development of theory and practice. The business English flipped classroom can be optimized from online and offline to form a new form of O2O classroom (as shown in Figure 4).
In addition to various user-based learning platforms, the online environment can also be increased to varying degrees by adding a high-simulation model with a scene layout as the foreground.
In addition to various user-based learning platforms, the online environment can also be enhanced to varying degrees with a high level of simulation modeling training platform that foregrounds the layout of scenes and various new media platforms that attract the attention of communicative subjects, such as WeChat, Weibo, QQ, and Blue Ink Cloud Class. The offline environment can be composed of multiple scenarios such as activity classrooms, practical training bases, and public markets. The activity classroom can be used for business activities such as negotiation, forum, and seminar; the practical training base jointly organized by the school and enterprises can be used for realistic business training, such as entering the simultaneous interpretation box for business translation courses to feel the real atmosphere, which can help mobilize the real emotions of the learning subjects for experiential teaching; the public market includes banks, courts, science and technology parks, ports, and other real communication places related to business English communication situations. The public market includes banks, courts, science and technology parks, ports, and other real communicative places related to business English communication situations, which can be used to conduct situational multimodal tasks such as field surveys, industry research, and sample interviews. Learners improve their ability to solve practical problems through the flipped mode of online simulation and offline field restoration of Business English O2O classroom, which first trains virtually and then operates realistically and helps colleges and universities cultivate composite business English talents who meet market demand [23].
5.2. Wireless Network + Tasks: Design and Use of Multimodal Tasks for Stereoscopic Teaching Materials
The task is the interface between learners and the guide, and it is the medium for learners to reflect on their learning ability and the guide to check the teaching situation, which can be divided into two parts: classroom materials and after-class tasks (as shown in Figure 5).
On the one hand, the multimodal innovation of the new three-dimensional business English teaching materials is carried out. The new three-dimensional textbook responds to the learning characteristics of today’s learners of “multiple information, communicative images, and short attention span” and realizes the real-time connection between paper textbooks and digital resources through QR code links, forming a new three-dimensional textbook of “paper book + digital course + tablet version of the digital textbook.” The new form of teaching material is three-dimensional and diverse. The use of new stereoscopic high-modal density and multimodal structured teaching materials that are based on the representational modality of print and supplemented by nonrepresentational modalities such as sound, video, and scene layout can increase students’ attention as interactive communicators, stimulate their sense of active participation, and realize language and business learning in multimodal interactive communication, which will greatly enhance the contextualized experience of learning and lasting and profound learning effects.
On the other hand, the multimodal after-school tasks that accompany the three-dimensional teaching materials should also be designed in an integrated way. The multimodal after-school tasks in the “Internet+” mode can be divided into three forms: online tests, scenario-based projects, and technical assignments [24].
The online test refers to the digital input of traditional homework based on multiple choices, judgments, links, and short answers to questions, which is distributed to learners for practice on the learning platform or online push in the form of regular open test. Some of the objective questions in the digital online test can be reviewed and corrected in real time, which improves the interest and effectiveness of traditional practice.
Scenario-based projects are scenario-based integrated assignments implemented in specific real-life situations, such as market research, street interviews, and so on. The coordinated use of mobile Internet allows for real-time follow-up of project progress, tracking of respondents for dynamic feedback, and remote assignments from anywhere and anytime, enhancing the possibility and operability of scenario-based project implementation.
More novel is technical homework, which requires learners to have a high level of overall ability. It refers to learners’ electronic presentation of learning results through the use of modern information technology, including short video production such as microfilm, PowerPoint presentation, business platform project development, and online store operation, as well as other multimodal tasks integrating business skills and information technology. In the field of e-commerce, business platform companies and customers often need to collect business platform projects to measure the learning effectiveness of information technology. Therefore, in order to quantitatively describe the relationship between e-display of learning results and project development of the business platform, the mathematical equation is as follows. Figure 6 shows the popularity of modern information technology on different e-commerce platforms. Technology assignments can also be used as an alternative to traditional assignments. For example, traditional unimodal paper assignments on business translation can be presented in the form of multimodal videos to increase the interest in the learning process and learners’ sense of accomplishment. In addition, online tests, situational projects, and technical assignments can be personalized through new forms of teaching materials, and popular breakthrough models can be used to stimulate learners’ enthusiasm for active learning.where D represents an electronic display of learning achievements by modern information technology, x represents business platform project development, RE is the multimodal tasks, represents technical operation, and a and b are the relative parameters.
5.3. Wireless Network + Learners: Combining and Communicating with Diverse Categories of Students
Learners are the subject and the center of this communicative and interactive behavior of teaching activities, and they are the guide, the task, and the object of environmental services in the teaching process, and their learning and practice results are the only criteria to test the success of teaching activities [25]. Therefore, the multimodal interaction innovation of business English teaching should focus on the main role of learners, give full play to humanistic thinking, divide different types of learners according to their own and acquired learning characteristics, and selectively optimize the combination of learner groups according to different learning needs and teaching modes to achieve better learning interaction. According to the learners’ innate environment, they can be divided into Chinese learners who are native Chinese speakers and foreign learners who are native English speakers or other foreign languages; according to the learners’ habitual communication mode, they can be divided into traditional learners who are dominated by teachers’ lectures and independent learners who are dominated by multichannel personalized learning resources; according to the learners’ learning habits, they can be divided into unimodal learners who are text-based and multimodal learners who are dominated by pictures and videos. According to the learners’ learning habits, they can be divided into text-based unimodal learners and picture-video-based multimodal learners; according to the learners’ social status, they can be divided into student learners and social learners; according to the learners’ geographical location, they can also be divided into learners from our school, learners from neighboring schools, learners from outside the province, learners from abroad, and so on (as shown in Figure 7). In teaching practice, if we can distinguish different combinations of learners according to different classroom modules and teach them according to their needs, the teaching effect will have a great breakthrough.
In a multimodal and innovative business English teaching interaction, different types of learners can be combined according to different course requirements. For example, in an offline intercultural classroom, a combination of foreign and Chinese students with different cultural backgrounds can lead to more authentic and effective results in both classroom discussions and group role-playing experiences. High-intensity modalities such as language, posture, and eyes that are highlighted in the classroom can be amplified and used more frequently, and the modal density and complexity of the classroom will be increased to deepen students’ impressions. The “wireless network + learners” model can break through the geographical boundaries of learners, enabling more off-campus, off-province, foreign, and social learners to share learning resources with our learners and interact with business English in multiple modalities. Different learner combinations can also prompt hidden frozen actions and contextualized actions to rise to the surface and become mid-scene or even foregrounded actions; for example, classes with foreign learners will highlight hidden cultural differences such as arrival time points and other hidden frozen actions, strengthening the communicative subject’s sense of participation and attention.
5.4. Wireless Network + Guide: Configuration and Selection of Multilevel Teachers across Fields
In the new era of “Internet+,” the dominant position of the teacher in the traditional sense gradually diminishes and then retreats as the guide of teaching activities. As the guide of teaching activities, the allocation and selection of teachers has a pivotal role in the curriculum. Business English is an interdisciplinary subject, and its professional nature requires that teachers should be equipped with cross-disciplinary and dual-teacher talents. Generally speaking, business English teachers should have “good ideological quality, teaching ability (including the ability to organize teaching, use teaching methods and implement teaching evaluation), and professional knowledge (English language skills + business knowledge).” In addition, the new era of “Internet+” also requires business English teachers to pay more attention to the use of new media and other online platforms to search for relevant real-time materials for business teaching in terms of teaching ability and to highlight the application of business practical knowledge and skills in terms of professional knowledge.
At present, teachers of business English in local universities are generally divided into four types as follows:(1)Full-time teachers majoring in English linguistics and literature who serve after further study of relevant business courses(2)Full-time teachers majoring in commerce and business with better English(3)Part-time teachers who are elites from relevant enterprises or industries(4)A very small number of teachers who have graduated with a master’s or doctoral degree in business English
The potential problems of these four types of business English teachers are as follows: first, solid language skills but insufficient business knowledge; second, rich business knowledge but poor language skills; third, proficient business skills but systematic business English theory needs to be improved; and fourth, comprehensive business English skills but lack of practical experience.
It can be seen that there is still a big problem in the construction of business English teachers’ teams. As an emerging profession, the number of graduates with a master’s degree or above is relatively small, and the possibility of employing teachers with the right profession in all aspects is small. Therefore, in order to ensure the joint development of business, language, and practical skills, the above four types of teachers are needed to form the Business English faculty in stages. For the basic courses in freshman and sophomore years, English majors can be used to teach; for the business courses in junior and senior years, business majors need to be guided by teachers on staff; for the practical courses in senior years, especially during an internship, part-time teachers from outside companies can be used to guide them. The “wireless network + guide” model makes the external part-time teachers of business courses break through the limitation of time and space to a certain extent, from local enterprises to the whole country or even abroad. In addition, the new form of flipped class courses can be divided into modules of a multiteacher distribution system to teach, learn from the strengths of others, really improve the quality and effectiveness of classroom teaching, and realize the school-enterprise linkage and collaborative education.
6. Conclusion
The wireless network-based multimodal teaching mode of business English fragments theoretical knowledge in a multimodal way for students to personalize their learning, realizing teacher-student and student-student interaction and improving learning efficiency. However, the implementation of “Internet+” teaching is constantly challenging and requires continuous improvement so that learners can form the awareness of “Internet+” and actively use the “Internet+” learning. The Internet + learning platform should be used for learning.
Thus, the construction of business English discipline should keep pace with the times by developing “wireless network + environment,” “ wireless network + task,” “wireless network + learner,” and the new era model reform of “wireless network + environment,” “wireless network + task,” “wireless network + learner,” and “wireless network + guide,” combined with the new era development requirements of the O2O multisituational classroom settings and optimization, three-dimensional teaching materials and multimodal task design and use, the combination and communication of diversified categories of students, cross-field multilevel teacher configuration and selection of multimodal interactive innovation, focusing on teaching activities in the main position of learners in teaching activities, the use of multimodal scenarios to stimulate learners’ active emotional factors, and more effective implementation of business English teaching practices. Business English teachers should respond to the needs of the times in terms of teaching philosophy, teaching content, and teaching methods so that students can spontaneously and actively use the “wireless network + business English” teaching mode to engage in learning.
Data Availability
The data set can be accessed upon request.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.