A Discussion on Developing Students’ Communicative Competence in College English Teaching in China

With the spread and development of English around the world and its increased use in China, research about improved methods to develop college students' English level has become of great importance. This has promoted changes in both the teaching and learning process. This paper analyzes the necessity and feasibility of developing students' communicative competence in College English Teaching (CET) and also discusses the advantages and challenges of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) for CET. A questionnaire is used to determine students' understanding of the term of communicative competence, as well as to discover their opinions about teaching and learning within the framework of fostering their communicative skills. As it seems an appropriate time to implement communicative teaching approach in Chinese universities, this paper also raises the issue of future reform based on current CET in China.