The Concept of Key Competence and Its Implementation in English Teaching

杨建雄

【Abstracts】This paper analyzes the concept of key competence defined by different international organizations and countries， points out the parallel between the Western key competence and the Chinese “all-round personality”， and then explores how to reform English teaching in terms of curriculum design， course arrangement and classroom teaching so as to foster key competence in students， or in other words， nurture all-round personality of students.

【Key words】key competence； components； all-round personality； English teaching

【摘要】本論文通过分析不同国际组织和国家给“核心素养”下的定义而界定了该术语的概念，指出了西方的“核心素养”与我国的“素质型人才”之间的相似之处，并进而探索了如何在课程方案设计、课程内容设置和课堂教学方法等方面进行英语教学改革的问题，以达到培养核心素养的目的。

【关键词】核心素养 成分 素质型人才 英语教学

I. Introduction

Nowadays， the new task education faces is how to improve the quality of education to cultivate innovative talents. The best way to cultivate innovative talents is to develop something known as “key competence” in every discipline as well as nationwide. At the beginning of the 21st century， the EU introduced the lifelong learning strategy in the field of education and training， and put forward the concept of “key competence”. It has since become a reference framework underlying all education goals and policies， and has subsequently triggered curriculum reforms in all EU Member States.

Although Chinas research into key competence is still in its infancy， in recent years Chinas education policies have been emphasizing the building of a national character marked by fine qualities and the cultivation of students innovativeness. The National Long-term Education Reform and Development Plan （2010-2020） designates human-centeredness and nurturing of all-round personality as two major goals of education reform so that students can get all-round development. It can be seen that Chinas education reform pursues exactly what EU calls key competence （Dun Jian， 2015：44-47）.

II. The Definition of Key Competence

What is key competence？ Many countries are now referring to the framework laid down by the OECD project as key competence， EUs lifelong learning objective.

The research into key competence sponsored by international organizations has been going on for quite some years. The OECD project and EUs formulation of “lifelong learning key competence” are but a few examples （Chang Shanshan et al， 2015：29-32）. Besides， the UNESCO published a report entitled “To life-long learning – what children should learn”. The OECD-financed project proposes three primary components of key competence and nine secondary components. The EU lists eight elements of lifelong learning key competence. Following the humanist tradition， the UNESCO sets forth a model of seven constituents of key competences.

When we compare findings of the OECD-financed project， the EUs eight elements of key competence and UNESCOs seven constituents of key competence， it is not difficult to find that they actually have many shared features. They all embody the idea that knowledge shouldnt be the only pursuit of education. It should be combined with skills， attitudes and morality， etc. to turn out graduates of all-round personality. In addition to the aforesaid studies into key competence， the United States， and some other countries have also developed the content and structure of key competence suitable for education in their native countries. The major qualities of the key competence defined by the United States are called “21st-century competence”. After the framework of “21st-century competence” was formulated， the United States kept updating and refining it until it includes the core curriculum， necessary themes and three major skill areas.

III. Proposals about Curriculum Design， Course Arrangement and Classroom Teaching to Foster Key Competence

Chinas current “Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards （2011）” （“Standards”） points out that English courses in compulsory education have both instrumental and humanist functions. The “Standards” emphasizes the learning process and integration of all language skills. This is consistent with the concept of key competence. Namely， knowledge， skills， ability and emotional attitude should all be taken into consideration in the education process. Now that English courses are no longer a mere means to facilitate students second language acquisition， new course design guidelines are needed.

3.1 Two urgent tasks in curriculum design

The two urgent tasks in curriculum design are defining the disciplinary aspect of key competence and integrating different discipline-related key competence in students.

Experiences gained through international curriculum design indicate that there are two basic relations between the curriculum and students key competence. That is to say， first， each course has the responsibility of cultivating one aspect of students key competence. Second， different courses have different contributions to the nurture of students overall key competence. Therefore， when we design English courses aiming at attainment of students key competence， the primary task is to pin down the key competence components inherent in the discipline. In other words， while designing the curriculum， imparting knowledge is not the only concern. Simultaneously， ability， morality and attitude should also be put on the list for consideration.

It is now widely accepted that when students are taught a foreign language， they shouldnt learn grammar alone. Their communicative competence depends on their command and integration of many different language skills. The famous linguist Hedge proposed five parts of the communicative competence： linguistic competence， pragmatic competence， discourse competence， strategic competence and fluency （Wang Qiang， 2006： 17）.

3.2 An important principle in course arrangement

The important principle in course arrangement is interdisciplinary teaching， which means to combine resources from different disciplines in one course so that intra-disciplinary resources are interwoven to form a network of teaching resources to integrate different aspects of key competence in students.

Take primary education for example， in Chinas middle schools， Chinese， math， foreign languages and so on are the dominant traditional curriculum items. Generally speaking， different disciplines will tap and train different faculties of students， and each course develops a corresponding aspect of students key competence. Various disciplines overlap with each other in imparting knowledge and training skills， and they will complement and supplement one another in cultivating students key competence. Therefore， complementary teaching across disciplines will be an effective way to develop students key competence， and with this in mind， a breakthrough will be made in the innovation of course design. Computer-aided teaching and MOOC online learning are just a few cases in point. This interweavement of disciplinary resources will not only stimulate students interest in learning， but will， above all， integrate different aspects of key competence in students.

3.3 Reform of classroom teaching methods

Teachers teaching efficiency and students learning effect are both dependent on the teaching approach and classroom teaching methods. Classroom teaching methods should also be subjected to reform. While planning teaching tasks， teachers should try to develop students self-learning ability. To do so， a single teaching method is far from being enough. L2 teachers are advised to adopt the communicative teaching approach to the design of classroom activities. Thus teachers can effectively cultivate students independent thinking and explorative disposition.

If we want to cultivate students key competence， it is necessary for us to form a consistent， long-term teaching goal， and march toward that goal by reforming not only curriculum design and course arrangement but also classroom teaching methods.

IV. Conclusion

Nowadays， the concept of key competence has become the DNA of global education reform and almost all countries adopt this concept as a guideline for their reform in curriculum design， teaching material compilation， course arrangement and classroom teaching.

How to cultivate students key competence through school education is an issue of paramount importance facing all educators， school management and teachers alike. It sets off an enormous wave of education reform and English teaching is certainly affected first and foremost， as the concept came from Western countries. Now the immediate task facing researchers and teachers of English in China is to integrate the Western concept of key competence and the Chinese image of all-round personality based on more insightful interpretation of these two terms. Thus new Western discoveries in theory and application of key competence can be introduced into China and employed as springboards for Chinas further education reform.

References：

[1]顿继安（Dun Jian）.基于核心素养的数学教学：基础、挑战与对策[J].中小学教材教学，2015，09：44-47.

[2]常珊珊（Chang Shanshan），李家清.课程改革深化背景下的核心素养体系构建[J].课程.教材.教法，2015，09：29-32.

[3]王薔（Wang Qiang）.A Course in English Language Teaching.英语教学法教程[M].高等教育出版社，2006，06：18-19.