SKKN Developing core competencies for students in the process of teaching English 12

INTRODUCTION

Today, educational innovation has become an urgent need and a global trend. Many countries have constantly innovated education to improve the quality of human resources and equip future generations with a strong cultural foundation and high adaptability to all changes of nature and society. Our Vietnam is not an exception to that trend.

Implementing the Resolutions of the Party, the National Assembly and the Prime Minister’s Decision, the new general education program is built in the direction of developing the quality and capacity of students; It creates a learning and training environment to help students not only develop in harmony physically and mentally but also become active and confident learners who know how to apply active learning methods to perfect their knowledge and foundational skills as well as to be aware of career choice and lifelong learning; Students  have the good qualities and capabilities necessary to become a responsible citizen; a cultured, industrious, creative worker meeting the individual’s development needs and the mision’s requirements of building and protecting the country in the era of globalization and new industrial revolution. 

Before the requirements of social reality, the mission of educating and training people, teachers always wonder how to fulfill it.

Being teachers of English, we also aspire to be the people who contribute to the formation of qualities and competences for students as required. Moreover, we want to have a good preparation for the 2018 New General Education Program in the coming years.  We feel challenged and necessary to change methods as well as explore appropriate ones to meet the educational mission. 

 To develop common or core competencies for students requires many factors such as continuity and teachers’ patients. After experience, we have got   a lot of achievements. Hence, we choose the topic “Developing core competencies for students in the process of teaching English 12” with the desire of sharing some experiences with our colleagues and providing some models that colleagues can apply promote their teaching.

The topic outlines activities to promote “core competencies” for students in the process of learning English, which is a new goal in the upcoming high school program. It is novelty of the topic that creates activities to promote the common competencies of 12th graders at Tan Ky High School in particular but in other schools in Nghe an province in general.

CONTENT

PART I: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND

I.1. What is competency?

Educators have given many different definitions of competency.

Competency is “the ability to respond effectively to complex requirements in a particular context.” This definition states that the most important feature to identify a capacity is “effective”, but has not clarified the structure and “address” of the capacity.

Competency is “the sum of the abilities and skills available or learned as well as the student’s readiness to solve problems that arise and to act responsibly and critically to arrive at solutions.”  This definition also refers to the contribution of factors “available” in each individual to the development of his or her own capacity.

 Competency is “the ability to act, succeed and progress based on the effective mobilization and effective use of a combination of resources to face life situations.”

Based on the above research results, the New General Education Program 2018 explains the concept of competency as follows: “Competency is an individual attribute that is formed and developed thanks to inherent qualities and the process of learning and forging. training, allowing people to mobilize a combination of knowledge, skills and other personal attributes such as interest, belief, will, etc… to successfully perform a certain type of activity, achieve results desired under specific conditions.”

I.2. Developing competencies is the goal of the 2018 new general education program. 

The overall general education program has announced the goal of educating high school students to well practise 5 qualities and 10 competencies. Among the 10 types of competencies, core and specialized competencies are distinguished.

  Specialized competencies are formed and developed mainly through certain subjects and educational activities: competence of language, computation, technology, informatics, natural and social inquiry, aesthetic, physical competencies.

As for the general ability, there are three core competencies that are autonomy and self-learning, communication and cooperation, problem solving and creativity. They are formed and developed by all subjects and educational activities.

I.3. English in the formation and development of core competencies for students.

English subject for high school is a subject in the field of Language and Literature Education in the New General Education Program 2018 (NGEP 2018).

English is one of the subjects with many advantages in contributing to the formation and comprehensive development of the general competencies mentioned in the overall curriculum. These core competencies are formed and developed not only through teaching content but also through innovating teaching methods and organizational forms with a focus on promoting the positivity, initiative and creativity of students. Learners can practise activities of listening, speaking, reading and writing English.

As with the main qualities, according to the regulations on the uniform presentation of documents of all subjects, the English curriculum only states the general requirements for the whole subject from a general perspective and associated with subject specifics. Particular requirements for each level have been outlined in the overall 2018 NGEP. The English program helps students to form and develop necessary core competencies for citizens of the 21st century such as: self-control and self-study, communication and cooperation, problem-solving and creativity, etc. Some examples of how students can form those competencies are as follows:

1. Autonomy and self-study capacity

Having a good study method will help students develop their ability to communicate in English effectively. Through the practice of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, students form some basic learning methods such as: how to determine learning goals and plans, how to practice communication and study language knowledge, how to use learning materials and electronic learning materials, how to actively participate in interactive learning activities, selfassessment and adjustment.

Students choose learning methods suitable to their individual abilities, characteristics and learning conditions. Appropriate learning methods help students learn actively and effectively, becoming capable learners of learning independently in the future.

1. Ability to communicate and cooperate

English is a subject that plays a key role in the formation and development of English communication ability for students. Through English, students can:

• Determine the purpose of communication, select content, language and othermeans of communication suitable to the context and object of