Teacher’s development based on key competency

【Abstract】Developing students key competency in English is one of an indispensable strategy in deepening the English curriculum reform in basic education.This paper elaborates the study of key competency and the key competency in English. Moreover， based on key competency， teacher’s development should give greatly attention.

【Key words】key competency； teacher’s development； English curriculum

1. Introduction

With the development of information age and knowledge economy， the competency of the future talents are heatedly emphasized， and key competency are universally discussed over the years. As a new pursuit of education in twenty-first Century， lots of countries and regions， including China， have been participated in the study of key competency. Development of the students’ key competency in English is a fundamental part in learning a second language. The greatly importance given to key competency in English is increasing day by day all over the world. Especially educators understand the importance of the education given to young individuals over the years.The key competency is leading teachers to change the way of teaching.

As you can see， our country's education model is transforming gradually， from focusing on subject knowledge to ability development， from focusing teacher-centered teaching to student-centered teaching， from focusing on students’ learning results to students’ inquiry process. The purpose of key competency is to break the situation which is focusing on knowledge-oriented education and to promote the ability development. Teacher， as a leader of class， plays an essential and irreplaceable role. Teaching methods influence the students’ interest， attitude and even the development of thinking ability and creativity. Therefore， key competency and teaching practice should be combine together， using key competency in English to promoting teachers’ teaching.

2. The study of key Competency

2.1 The definition of key Competency

In December 1997， Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development started a program named Definition and Selection of Competencies： Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations（DeSeCo）. The DeSeCo- A Summary Report claimed that key competency is covering various areas of life. It is an essential competency that key competency promote the success of life and a sound society. The European Union believed that key competency is including Communication in the Mother Tongue， Communication in Foreign Languages， Mathematical Competence and Basic Competence in Science and Technology， Digital Competence， Learning to learn， Social and Civic Competence， Sense of Initiative and Entrepreneurship， Cultural Awareness and Expression. The three dimensions， knowledge， skills and emotion are described in the every eight field. America hold the view that the key competency is including Learning and Innovation Skills， Information， Media and Technology Skills， Life and Career Skills. As a systematic system， it is greatly essential to advocate key competency which will be lead the innovation from different ways and different aspects.

2.2 The study of key Competency in English

Based on the key competency of English curriculum， the objectives has been set from the perspective of tool of humanism. It means that the curriculum is not only including knowledge and skills but also including emotions and values. In accordance of the foundation of theoretic and experimental research at broad and home， English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School which is not issued points out that the key competency in English is including language competence， cultural awareness， quality of thinking and ability of learning. Key competency in English serve for language competence， for cultural awareness， for quality of thinking and for ability of learning. Their chief for language competence， is in language using and skill， such as listening， speaking， reading， writing and translation； for cultural awareness， is in emotion and value； for quality of thinking， is in critical thinking and creative thinking； for ability of learning， is in autonomous learning and lifelong learning. So， due attention should be paid to cultivate students’ key competency.

Zhang Lianzhong and others scholars summarized key competency three level. The first level is the foreign language discipline requires learners to do， including listening， speaking， reading， writing， pronunciation， grammar， vocabulary. It is called of English. The second level is obtaining competency and ability of foreign language courses， including the ability of cross-cultural communication， international vision and interpersonal communication ability. It is called with English. The third level is not only associated with foreign language courses but also closed the crucial ability to the student development and social development， including innovation ability and critical thinking. It is called beyond English.

Wang Qiang pointed out that English learning is a process of constructing meaning actively students. With the language practical activity of understanding and expressing， it is indispensable that perception， prediction， acquisition， analysis， summary， comparison， evaluation and innovation thinking activity are adopted. Of all the activities， students will be cultivated the ability of solving problems， the understanding of diverse culture and the view of the life and world.

2.3 Teacher’s key competency

In 2005， the European Union published English teachers’ ability and qualification standards to promote the implement of key competency. Details will be listed as follows. In the first place， teacher is in possession of subject competency. That means comprehensive subject and inter-subject knowledge are required. For the relationship between the past and the new knowledge， critical and independent attitude is an indispensable quality. Secondly， teacher is in possession of teaching competency. That includes creating a harmony learning environment， managing the learning process， and choosing different teaching style to adapt teaching material. Thirdly， teacher is in want of digital competency. Under the help of information age， teaching often takes advantage of the multimedia equipment. Fourthly， learn to learn becomes increasing important. A large number of people tend to realize learning is a lifetime thing. For teacher， keep learning is a way to encourage students continuous learning. Fifth， the interpersonal relationship may develop students social competence. Sixth， entrepreneurship is also necessary. Seventh， the ability of cultural expressing is stressed.

3. Teacher’s development based on key competency

Based on The Fifth Annual Forum on China’s Foreign Language Education， the definition of the key competency for primary and secondary school EFL teachers are including teacher knowledge， language competence and teacher language awareness， teaching skills and personal disposition. So， teachers need to make some changes to adopt the key competency. Teacher is a vital factor that affect the implement of key competency. It plays a crucial role in the process of students development. In order to put key competency into practical teaching， it is necessary enhancing the guidance of teacher professional development.

Actually， a variety of organizations and countries are of great consequence to promote teachers professional development. Of all the countries， some have done substantive work. America has issued three reports to support about teachers professional development. They are Implementing 21st Century Skills， Education for the 21st Century and Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

4. Conclusion

In a word， key competency in English is including language competence， cultural awareness， quality of thinking and ability of learning. Advocating key competency is a trend of international education reform， from the height of the national strategy. Along with the changeable education concept， the teaching way should make a reasonable accordingly. It should be a milestone in China’s English education reform.

References：

[1]DeSeCo.The Definition and Selection of Key Competencies： Executive Summary[EB/OL].（2003-06-25）.https：///dataoecd/47/61/35070367.pdf.

[2]Education for the 21st Century[EB/OL].[2013-10-03].https：///themes/education-21st-Century.www.p21.

[3]Implementing 21stCentury Skills[EB/OL].[2013-09-28].http：///our-work/ resources/for-policymakers.

[4]Partnership for 21st Century Skills.2008.21st Century Skills，Education & Competitiveness：A Resource and Policy Guide.Tucson：21st Century Skills Print.

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作者简介：谢瑜妍（1993-），女，汉族，江西于都人，学生，教育硕士，研究方向：学科教学英语。