1 Introduction

Emphasis was placed on the importance of academic English in higher education, highlighting its necessity for national strategy and personal development of students. At the same time, it is pointed out that current research often starts from the perspective of teachers, but lacks exploration of the difficulties, strategies, and gains of academic English learning from the perspective of students. This study aims to fill this gap by tracking and investigating the learning experiences of undergraduate students in academic English courses, in order to provide teachers with a deeper understanding and guide teaching practices.

2 Literature Review

Explored the issue of inconsistent needs in academic English learning. Firstly, the difference between the objective demand for academic English in the workplace and education field and the subjective learning needs of students was analyzed. Employers and professional teachers place greater emphasis on the application of academic English in their professional fields, while students are more concerned with general English listening and speaking abilities. Secondly, it points out the inconsistency between the objectives of academic English courses and students' personal learning goals. Many students enter university with a focus on general English proficiency, which conflicts with the objectives of academic English courses. In addition, the difficulties encountered by Chinese students in learning academic English both domestically and internationally, such as the lack of critical reading and information integration abilities, were also discussed. Finally, the importance of helping students understand academic English and the responsibility of teachers in cultivating students' academic English abilities were emphasized. The study aims to track students' learning experiences in academic English courses to understand the difficulties and learning strategies they face.

3 Research Methods

This chapter introduces the research method, which adopts a reflective teaching research approach. The researcher serves as both a teacher and a data collector and analyst. The research subjects are 72 college students studying the "Academic English (Comprehensive)" course, covering multiple disciplines and grades. The course is designed for small class teaching, using specific textbooks, and the overall evaluation score is composed of daily performance and final exams. The course content and academic paper writing process are shown in Figure 1. Data collection was conducted in weeks 4, 10, and 18 of the course, using questionnaires to collect students' reflections on learning difficulties and gains. The questionnaire is in the form of open-ended questions, suitable for exploratory research. The students answered that the analysis was conducted using the thematic analysis method of qualitative analysis, and NVivo 12 software was used for coding and classification for comparison over time. Teachers adjust teaching content and strategies in a timely manner based on student feedback.

4 research findings

In the process of academic English learning, students mainly face difficulties in vocabulary, thesis topic selection, and language application at the beginning of the course. As the course progresses, students gradually experience higher-level cognitive challenges such as literature review, exploration of vocabulary syntax, and academic value. Students gradually overcome difficulties in writing by imitating sample texts, learning academic writing books, using templates, continuing to search for literature and read, and consulting with teachers. At the end of the course, students generally believed that they had made significant progress in literature search, topic focus, literature review, and other aspects, and their personal abilities and academic English literacy had been improved. The biggest difficulties and gains for students in course learning are mainly reflected in the teacher's teaching content, teacher feedback, learning published literature, using online dictionaries, language polishing tools, and other aspects.

5 Discussions

The difficulties students encounter in academic English courses change over time, from initial vocabulary memorization to mid-term writing conciseness and literature review, and finally to final language style and topic focus. Students gradually understand the course objectives and activate higher-order thinking abilities by reflecting on difficulties. Teachers help students overcome difficulties through process based writing tasks, providing examples, and timely feedback. Students make progress through strategies such as learning teaching content, analyzing feedback, studying literature, and using tools. Students feel progress in academic English writing standards, processes, skills, tools, self-efficacy, and academic reading. The study emphasizes the importance of investigating students' academic English learning needs, pointing out that students' perception of difficulties in English learning often remains at the language and daily life application levels when they are not exposed to specialized English.

6 Conclusion

The longitudinal study revealed the changes in perceived difficulties and learning outcomes of academic English learners in the curriculum. Students enhance their academic English proficiency through writing tasks, recognize the importance of higher-order cognitive abilities such as literature review and analysis evaluation, and achieve alignment between personal and course objectives. Teachers should provide writing guidance, language step training, model essay evaluation, and auxiliary tools to help students reflect, cope with difficulties, and promote growth. Academic English writing tasks simulate professional publishing needs, aligning personal needs with workplace and higher education needs. The course objectives are achieved through teaching strategies such as specific task requirements, examples, analytical standards, and negotiated feedback, to promote the development of students' academic English literacy. Academic English courses are suitable for higher education in China, cultivating students with general academic abilities and the ability to integrate into the international research community, and cultivating international talents for the country.