This study evaluates the curriculum goals of a compulsory College English I course at a Chinese university through the lens of global citizenship education (GCE), identifying limitations and proposing pedagogical reforms. Adopting UNESCO's three-dimensional GCE framework (cognitive, socio-emotional, behavioral), the analysis critiques existing course objectives using scholarly literature on language curriculum design and intercultural education. While current goals promote language proficiency and critical analysis of English media, they exhibit three critical gaps: (1) Insufficient engagement with global power dynamics and inequalities; (2) Essentialist treatment of culture (limited to China vs. "Western" binaries); (3) Instrumentalist language views neglecting identity-shaping power. Proposed solutions emphasize teacher agency in adapting goals via global-issue integration, culturally responsive tasks (e.g., TBLT), and critical curriculum contextualization. Successful GCE integration requires empowering teachers to mediate rigid objectives, foster intercultural complexity, and navigate macro-level constraints (e.g., exam-oriented systems). The study advocates for goal flexibility and non-Western GCE perspectives in EFL contexts.

Xinlei Xu. Redesigning College English Goals: A Global Citizenship Approach. Frontiers in Educational Research (2025), Vol. 8, Issue 6: 95-101. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2025.080613.

[1] UNESCO. Global Citizenship education: Topics and Learning objectives[M]. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

[2] La Belle C. The Neurobiology of Affect in Language by John Schumann[J]. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 1999, 10(1). 

[3] Gagné, R. M. The conditions of learning and theory of instruction (4th ed.)[M]. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1985

[4] Akkari A, Maleq K. Global citizenship education: Critical and international perspectives[M]. Springer Nature, 2020. 

[5] Graves K. Language curriculum design: Possibilities and realities[M]//The Routledge handbook of English language teaching. Routledge, 2016: 79-94.

[6] Chung B G, Park I. A review of the differences between ESD and GCED in SDGs: Focusing on the concepts of global citizenship education[J]. Journal of international Cooperation in Education, 2016, 18(2): 17-35. 

[7] Stromquist N P. Theorizing global citizenship: Discourses, challenges, and implications for education[J]. Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy, 2009, 2(1): 5-31. 

[8] Jackson L. 2 Civic Identity, Citizenship and Foreign Language Education[J]. Global Citizenship in Foreign Language Education, 2022: 41. 

[9] Goren H, Yemini M. Global citizenship education redefined–A systematic review of empirical studies on global citizenship education[J]. International journal of educational research, 2017, 82: 170-183. 

[10] Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Foreign Languages. (2020). FL1302 English Reading and Writing 1 New Curriculum Syllabus File Download. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Foreign Languages. Retrieved from https://sfl.sjtu.edu.cn/Data/View/5503

[11] Auld E, Morris P. The OECD’s assessment of global competence: Measuring and making global elites[M]//The machinery of school internationalisation in action. Routledge, 2019: 17-35. 

[12] ACARA. National Report on Schooling in Australia, 2012[J]. 2014. 

[13] Sellars M, Fakirmohammad R, Bui L, et al. Conversations on critical thinking: Can critical thinking find its way forward as the skill set and mindset of the century?[J]. Education Sciences, 2018, 8(4): 205. 

[14] Yemini M. Rethinking the sacred truths of global citizenship education: A theoretical exploration[J]. Prospects, 2023, 53(3): 173-179. 

[15] Byram, M., & Grundy, P. (Eds.). (2003). Context and Culture in Language Teaching and Learning. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853596728 

[16] Ayers W, Quinn T, Stovall D O, et al. Teachers' experience of curriculum: Policy, pedagogy, and situation[M]//The Sage handbook of curriculum and instruction. SAGE Publications, Inc., 2008: 306-326. 

[17] Akkari A, Maleq K. Global citizenship education: Critical and international perspectives[M]. Springer Nature, 2020. 

[18] Willis J. A framework for task-based learning[M]. Intrinsic Books Ltd, 2021. 

[19] Liddicoat A J. Critical perspective in intercultural language learning[J]. Elia: Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 2020, 19(1 Monogr.): 17-38. 

[20] Gerard L, Bradford A, Linn M C. Supporting teachers to customize curriculum for self-directed learning[J]. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2022, 31(5): 660-679.

[21] Douglas Fir Group. A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world[J]. The Modern Language Journal, 2016, 100(S1): 19-47. 

[22] Wang L. English language teacher agency in response to curriculum reform in China: An ecological approach[J]. Frontiers in psychology, 2022, 13: 935038. 

[23] Wang Dongqian, Wang Yiping On the Cultural Dimension of Socialist Qualified Citizens [J]. School Party Building and Ideological Education, 2015,(03):16-19. 

[24] Choo S S. Examining models of twenty-first century education through the lens of Confucian cosmopolitanism[J]. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2020, 40(1): 20-34.