Designing a Personal Learning Environment Framework for Professional Skills Development of English Major Students

To effectively improve English major students' professional knowledge and thereby maximize employment opportunities, this study employs a personal learning environment (PLE) framework using the personal knowledge management (PKM)-based design. Its purpose is to give students as learners a central focus to acquire, organize, share, and transform knowledge into personal tacit knowledge. A sample of 20 junior students majoring in English at Chengdu University was selected purposively to conduct a self-learning for a three-month period. The result shows that professional knowledge has been seen improved at some extent while the PLE and PKM helps clarifying learning goals, formulating learning activities and carrying out independent learning effectively.