Problems and Strategies for the Enhancement of Communicative English Usage in Multilingual Societies: A Case Study of Guangxi University of Foreign Languages in Guangxi, China

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: to enhance problems of Guangxi University of Foreign Languages as an example to explore the issue of English communication skills among Chinese university students and develop corresponding improvement strategies. The purpose is to 1) identify specific issues regarding the English communication skills of students at Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, and 2) develop effective improvement strategies based on these issues. This is a survey-based study. The survey subjects are students from Guangxi University of Foreign Languages, and 386 students and 263 teachers were selected through appropriate sampling methods. Two main research tools were used: 1) a questionnaire aimed at investigating students' self-perception issues in English communication, including vocabulary comprehension, accent adaptation, and listening concentration; 2) An English communication test that objectively evaluates students' communication skills and identifies specific error patterns in content understanding, detail mastery, and reasoning. The collected data, including questionnaire responses and test results, are analyzed using content analysis and statistical methods such as frequency count and percentage calculation. The research results indicate that: 1) the problems with students' English communication skills are mainly reflected in multiple aspects. The difficulty of understanding vocabulary in context, adapting to different English accents (including British, American, and other accents in dialogue materials), and maintaining long-term focus during communication is relatively high. In addition, there are also issues with skills such as inferring implicit meanings and mastering key details. 2) The Enhancement Strategies of Communicative Skill of Chinese University Students is composed of 5 chapters ; namely, chapter 1: About Learners  , chapter 2: About Instructors, Chapter 3: About teaching materials , chapter 4: About Teaching-learning Facilities, and chapter 5 About teaching-learning evaluation: All the 5 chapters were approved by the three specialists in terms of correctness and suitability. All the 5 chapters were evaluated and approved by the three specialists; therefore, the constructed Enhancement Strategies of Communicative Skill of Chinese University Students could be used as guidelines for the enhancement of English communicative skill of Chinese university students in China.