Research on the Status Quo and Improvement Needs of Foreign Language Teachers’ Teaching Competence in Curriculum-Based Ideological Education in Xinjiang Colleges and Universities

This study investigated the status quo and further improvement needs of foreign language teachers’teaching competence in curriculum-based ideological education(CIE)in Xinjiang colleges and universities.The results show that the teachers’teaching competence in CIE is generally good,with the“cultivating quality”being the highest and the“scientific research quality”the lowest;there still exist several problems,such as teachers’lack of theoretical knowledge in CIE,lack of teaching resources,and insufficient abilities in teaching design and research.It is hoped that with the support and efforts from university administrations,teachers can improve their teaching competence in CIE through various approaches adopted and multiple measures taken,thus optimizing their teaching effectiveness,promoting the construction of CIE in Xinjiang colleges and universities in the new era,and contributing to Xinjiang’s high-quality development.

Cultivating Cultural Self-Awareness to Teach Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is undisputably important in today’s world.Schools on every level in China attach great importance to educating young people with intercultural communication competence.Chinese anthropologist Fei Xiaotong developed the concept of cultural self-awareness to meet this urgent need.The paper explores the rich meanings of cultural self-awareness concept and how the idea is relevant to teaching intercultural communication.

Diversified Teaching Methods in Nursing:Using Animal Experimentation to Promote Core Professional Competencies in Basic Nursing Training

Objective： The aim of this project was to train highly professional and specialized nursing students from medical colleges to adapt to bedside clinical care by exploring and discussing various methods of injection and IV infusion in animal experimentation to hone the core professional nursing competencies. Methods： Two classes from the 2012 senior graduating nursing class were randomly selected by a computer to conduct the diversified practical teaching methods based on animal experimentation. A hospital environment was simulated by requiring students to perform different types of injections and practical IV infusion techniques. A comprehensive evaluation of the core professional competencies, as well as other integrated competencies, was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the teaching methods. Results： Two-sampled, pairwise u-tests were performed between the scores of the experimental （nursing class 2） and control （nursing class 1） groups. These findings showed that the overall test scores were significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group and that the average P-values for the competencies in various categories were 〈0.01, which indicated statistically significant results. Conclusions： Based on the data from this project, diversified teaching methods for basic nursing training founded on animal experimentation can help nursing students perfect their core professional competencies and improve their overall professional standing. The introduction of animal experimentation requires further verification, and an increased acknowledgement of its benefits through the widespread dissemination of this information.

CULTIVATING LEARNERS'WRITING COMPETENCE IN TEACHING READING

This essay discusses the ways of cultivating learners’writing competence in teaching reading—helpinglearners get a general idea and better understand thestructure as well as the writing techniques and at thesame time arousing their interest in writing and devel-oping their writing skills.By detailed explanationthrough analysis of the relationship between readingand writing and then taking the texts in College Eng-lish as examples,an effective learning style is vividlyintroduced to learners.

Developing Pre-service Teachers’ICT Teaching Competency:Supporting Elements,Major Issues,and Possible Paths-Analysis Based on the Survey of 20 Normal Universities and Colleges

Based on the increasingly prominent power of information technology in the innovative development of education,people pay more attention to the information and communications technology(ICT)teaching competency of pre-service teachers.In order to explore the supporting elements,key issues,and possible paths of current normal universities and colleges in cultivating pre-service teachers’ICT teaching competency,this study collects the survey data of graduates from 20 normal universities and colleges at provincial&ministerial,local,and junior levels.Based on the total quality management theory,technology acceptance model,and pre-service teachers’ICT teaching competency framework,it carries out the survey and analysis from three aspects:supporting elements,supporting effects,and ability development.The study finds that the support of personnel,facilities,curriculum,mechanism,and environment provided by normal universities and colleges does not play a full role in improving the ICT teaching competency of pre-service teachers.There are still great differences among different levels of universities and colleges.Among them,the influence of personnel support and curriculum support should be greatly strengthened,and facility support is even more inhibited.Based on these findings,it puts forward some strategies that are conducive to better cultivating the ICT teaching competency of pre-service teachers in the pre-service education stage,to make them adapt to the new standards and requirements for teachers in the new era.

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC COMPETENCE IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN CHINA

Introduction Nowadays, the communicative approach has become a common trend in ELT in China, and the term ’communicative competence’ is often heard when English teachers talk about how to improve their students’ ability to use English communicatively. Most teachers no longer use traditional methods of teaching English, particularly to teach speaking, which used to be restricted to sentence-patterning with given vocabulary for substitution drills. They now use all kinds of methods to teach speaking, such as group discussions, news/events reports, story-telling, arguing, expressing opinions, etc.. All these activities are meant to develop students’ ability to use English communicatively. To manipulate these activities well, and get students actively involved in the activities, one important factor in developing communicative competence should be emphasised: strategic competence.

Reconstruction of Teachers’Competencies:A Key Support for the Digital Transformation in Education

With the adoption of competency reconstructing path of functional analysis in the organizational behavior theory,and the consideration of the core mission and attributes of educational organizations plus the urgency for digital transformation,this paper concludes four pillar competencies for teachers:curriculum development and teaching competency,human-computer collaboration competency,effective moral education competency,and self-growth competency.From the perspective of supporting the digital transformation in education,curriculum development and teaching competency is the premise and guarantee of“learning-centered”;and human-computer collaboration competency is the transformation direction of teachers’information and communications technology capabilities in smart environments;effective moral education competency determines the primary role of teachers in the process of digital transformation;and self-growth competency is the purpose and means of digital existence.Teacher education needs to face up to the current problems in teacher capacity development and reshape teacher education around the core competencies required by digital transformation.