The Department of English Language & Culture is presently one of the largest departments in SISU with about 700 full-time students attending courses every year. The department has a high-quality faculty proficient in language teaching and active in scientific research. There are 12 professors or associate professors and 27 lecturers among the 55 full-time teachers, of whom over 40 percent have obtained their masters and 2 are doctoral candidates. One third of the staff has studied abroad. The department also regularly engages foreign experts as teachers during the school year.
It is a young and dynamic department noted for its rich linguistic and cultural environment and for its creativeness and friendliness. Since its establishment in 1984, it has turned out over 3,000 qualified graduates working in the Foreign Affairs Ministry, universities and colleges, tourist agencies and foreign trade companies. The department was also the first to establish a research group for multimedia English language instruction and their practice is taking the lead in this area of foreign language teaching in China.