1 Introduction

This section elaborates on the necessity and urgency of innovating college English textbooks against the backdrop of new engineering education. It points out that current international trends and national strategies impose new requirements on engineering education, and traditional college English teaching models are insufficient to meet the talent cultivation needs of new engineering disciplines. Emphasizing the importance of textbooks in teaching, it raises two core research questions to be explored in this paper, aiming to provide new perspectives and directions for the development of college English textbooks.

2 Foundational Concepts for Developing New Engineering College English Textbooks

This section delves into the theoretical foundations and core concepts of developing college English textbooks in the context of new engineering education. First, it reviews mature theoretical frameworks in college English textbook development research, particularly the five-element principle proposed by Wen Qiufang. Next, it elaborates on the engineering education accreditation standards and the quality requirements for new engineering talent, highlighting the revision principles of the "Engineering Education Accreditation Standards (2024 Edition)" and the emphasis on the "three competencies" in the new engineering talent quality standards (2024), as well as the importance of communication skills in cultivating new engineering talent. Finally, it proposes three core development concepts for new engineering college English textbooks: a value-driven concept oriented toward national strategic needs, a competency-oriented concept aligned with the characteristics of new engineering disciplines, and an event-driven concept focused on real-world scenarios. These concepts aim to cultivate versatile talents with engineering literacy, innovative awareness, language skills, and a global perspective.

3 The "Four Distinctive Features" of New Engineering College English Textbook Development

Based on specific textbook development concepts in the context of new engineering education, Zhejiang University's new engineering textbook development team has formulated a college English textbook development plan with four distinctive features. First, the textbooks are oriented toward serving national strategic needs, featuring teaching content covering cutting-edge engineering topics such as new design and new energy. Through concrete cases, they cultivate students' ability to tell professional stories on the international stage, enhancing their sense of responsibility and mission. Second, the textbooks emphasize interdisciplinary integration to enhance thinking literacy, with a focus on logical competence. They construct a logical competence training system for identifying, analyzing, and solving problems, thereby strengthening students' engineering thinking. Third, the textbooks closely align with industry demands, emphasizing practical application. By researching the trends in key national industries and future industrial development, they guide students to learn through real or quasi-real tasks, facilitating the effective transformation of language skills into engineering practice abilities. Finally, the textbooks innovate with digital and intelligent technologies to reshape the teaching ecosystem. Leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, they build an integrated intelligent support system for teaching, learning, assessment, and research, promoting dynamic adjustments and iterative upgrades in teaching models and enhancing overall teaching effectiveness.

4 Conclusion

This section emphasizes that college English curriculum reform and textbook development should be integrated into the new engineering education system, aiming to cultivate engineering innovators with global competence and cross-cultural communication skills, thereby contributing to Chinese-style modernization and the advancement of human civilization.