The origin of the Department of English Language and Literature (or English Department for short) goes back to the English major of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature founded in 1960. Under the leadership of eminent scholars of the older generation such as Professor Wang Kun and Professor Zhang Yanchang, the English major scored rapid progress at the very inception. In 1979, approved by the Education Ministry, the English major started to enroll MA students. In 1981, it began to run one of the first authorized master degree programs. In June, 1993, it was expanded into the Department of English of the School of Foreign Languages at Jilin University. In 2000, the merger of universities and the restructuring of departments and colleges further scale up the size of the department. In 2018, it has been renamed the English Department.

Running three master programs, namely English Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics and Master of Translation and Interpretation (Interpretation), and doctoral programs in English Language and Literature, Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, the department now has an outstanding faculty, with 29 faculty members (including two full-time foreign teachers), among whom 13 are professors, 8 associate professors and 8 lecturers. Many of the teachers enjoy a prestigious reputation in related fields, including one council member of China English Language Education Association, one council member of China Linguistics Education Association and two executive directors of Jilin Foreign Languages Education Association. The Department of English boasts a rational faculty structure. A majority of its teachers are young or middle-aged teachers with strong academic capacity and all the teachers in the department have overseas background, either education or exchange. To propel its academic research to the global forefront of advance, the department continues to expand academic exchanges with domestic and overseas universities, sending teachers every year to further their study or give lectures in prestigious universities abroad or attend international academic conferences. Being on the front line of teaching and research, the teachers at the department are not only strict and devoted teachers but also friends of the students. Additionally, the department employs foreign experts and professors to give lectures to both undergraduate and graduate students every year.  

The Department of English boasts a fine academic tradition and a solid foundation for discipline development, thus enjoying a high reputation in the field. After long-term endeavors, the department has established a relatively complete discipline system, covering a myriad of fields including linguistics, literature, culture study, translation study and MTI. In conformity with the three-in-one guideline of promoting and advancing undergraduate education, postgraduate education, and Ph. D education, the teaching faculty enhances teaching standards by pressing ahead with research and upgrades research capacity through pushing forward teaching work with emphasis both on the construction of Courses of Excellence for the English major and the building of a research team, thereby accomplishing both the teaching and researching tasks. Since the founding of the College, teachers at the department have published nearly 400 articles in high-class journals like Foreign Literature Studies, Philosophical Trends, Foreign Literature, Foreign Theoretical Trends, Literature and Art Criticism, Social Science Front and Contention of Literary and Artistic Thought. Besides, they have finished more than 20 monographs, translated more than 20 works, and compiled more than 50 textbooks. In the past 5 years, the English Department has undertaken 7 national projects and 14 provincial projects in social sciences.  

While striving to improve students’ English proficiency, the English Department sticks to its philosophy of humanistic education and makes coordinated and systematic efforts to promote Chinese culture and carry forward the humanist spirit, thereby cultivating students’ sense of humanity and providing a solid theoretical foundation as well as a strong motivation for their language study. Through formulating a proper training plan, the department aims at producing forward-looking, practical-minded and innovative cultural elites with a wide scope of knowledge, moral integrity and excellent skills of judgment and discrimination. The department also places a premium on instructing students to comprehend and respect academic norms and guiding students to conduct academic research, thereby enabling students to confront competition with composure and maintain a competitive edge. In accordance with the above-mentioned educational philosophies, the department offers courses on the training of the most basic practical skills like listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating for students in the freshman and sophomore years. From the sophomore year on, students are offered major courses, including key courses like British Literature, American Literature, a Survey of English-speaking Countries and Linguistics. Optional courses such as Introduction to Western Culture, Selected Readings of Literature, English Newspaper Reading, British Society and Culture, American Society and Culture and a General Survey of Chinese Culture are offered respectively in the four years in accordance with their difficulty levels. To expand students’ global vision and enhance their international competitiveness, the department selects excellent students every year and sends them as exchange students to study at prestigious universities both at home and abroad, such as Montana State University, Simon Fraser University, Stockholm University, National Tsing Hua University, National Chengchi University, National University of Kaohsiung, and Tamkang University. In November 2013, the Department signed the agreement for cooperation and exchange with Cleveland State University of the US.  Graduates of the department generally go on to pursue a master or PhD degree in prestigious universities at home and abroad, teach at institutes of higher learning across the country or work in state ministries or foreign enterprises, winning wide acclaim wherever they study or work. Over the past several decades, the English Department has fostered a large number of talents for the nation, who can be found in nearly all trades and professions at home and abroad. Many of them are already backbones, leaders, renowned experts, or scholars of their respective fields.  

Office: Room 324, the Foreign Languages Building of the Central Campus of Jilin University  

Tel: 0431-85168063  

Chair: Sun Mingli  

Associate Chair: Xue Yahong