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核心素养视角下高中英语教学目标设计现状的调查研究

发布时间:2023-05-25 11:06
Contents
Abstract i
摘 要 iv
Contents I
Chapter One Introduction 1
1.1Research Background 1
1.2Significance of the Study 2
1.3Purpose of the Study 3
1.4Overall Structure of the Thesis 3
Chapter Two Literature Review 5
2.1Definition of Key Concepts 5
2.1.1English Subject Core Competencies 5
2.1.2English Teaching Objectives 6
2.1.3English Teaching Objective Design 7
2.2The Relationship Between the Three Dimensional-objectives and Core
Competencies 8
2.3Principles of Designing Teaching Objectives 9
2.4Principles of Stating Teaching Objectives 11
2.5Related Studies on English Subject Core Competencies at Home and Abroad 12
2.5.1Overseas Studies on English Subject Core Competencies 12
2.5.2Domestic Studies on English Subject Core Competencies 14
2.6Related Studies on Teaching Objectives at Home and Abroad 18
2.6.1Overseas Studies on Teaching Objectives 18
2.6.2Domestic Studies on Teaching Objectives 21
2.7Theoretical Foundations 24
2.7.1Systematology Theory 24
2.7.2Zone of Proximal Development 24
Chapter Three Research Methodology 26
3.1Research Questions 26
3.2Research Participants 26
3.3Research Instruments 28
3.3.1Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale 28
3.3.2Interview 28
3.4Data Collection 29
3.5Data Analysis 30
Chapter Four Results and Discussion 31
4.1The Ways of Presenting English Teaching Objectives 31
4.2The Characteristics of the Distribution of English Teaching Objectives 35
4.3The Characteristics of the Design of English Teaching Objectives 46
4.4The Characteristics of the Statement of English Teaching Objectives 53
Chapter Five Conclusion 62
5.1Major Findings 62
5.2Teaching Implications 64
5.3Limitations of the Study 67
5.4Suggestions for Future Study 68
References 70
Appendix (One) Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale 74
Appendix (Two) Interview Outline 76
About the Author 77
Chapter One Introduction
Introduction, as the first chapter, is divided into the following aspects: research background, research significance, research purpose, and the overall structure of the thesis.
1.1Research Background
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, teaching objectives have been evolving at a rapid pace. The teaching objectives have developed from double-base objectives to three-dimensional objectives, and then to the current core competency system. The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standard (2020 edition) is gradually transitioning to a “curriculum framework based on core competencies” which transforms the value appeal of English teaching objectives from discipline to people. As a result, the prerequisites for designing English teaching objectives should also change.
The establishment of English subject core competencies poses a great challenge and brings new demands for English teachers. On the one hand, some English teachers feel hard to combine English subject core competencies with teaching objectives, and they still design teaching objectives based on traditional method like three-dimensional objectives. On the other hand, others who actively design teaching objectives according to the English subject core competencies encounter problems such as separating English subject core competencies with teaching contents and unevenly distributing four competencies of English subject core competencies. In addition, most of literature on English teaching objectives from the perspective of English subject core competencies are journals, which remain theoretical level. However, there are few studies on the investigation of the current situation of teaching objective design from the perspective of English subject core competencies. The deficiencies in the design of teaching objectives lead to many difficulties for implementing and cultivating English subject core competencies. Therefore, in order to reverse these trends, it is necessary to study the present situation of the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, find out existing problems, and present teaching implications for English teachers in senior high schools.
1.2Significance of the Study
1.2.1Theoretical Significance
On the one hand, the development of teaching objectives continues to deepen after progressing through four phases of knowledge objectives, double-base objectives, three-dimensional objectives, and current subject core competencies. Despite the fact that the English subject core competencies have been proposed for five years, the teaching objective design based on the core competencies is still not systematic and mature, and the expected teaching effect under the demand of the core competencies is not ideal. On the other hand, currently, most research on teaching objectives is concentrated on the design and implementation of three-dimensional objectives. However, few researches have examined the content dimension of English subject core competencies reflected in teaching objectives and the implementation of English subject core competencies in teaching objectives. As a result, the thesis on teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies will contribute to the development of teaching objective design theories by providing empirical support.
1.2.2Practical Significance
On the one hand, a scale for analyzing English teaching objectives is established, which serves as a research instrument for subsequent research. The research findings, on the other hand, can assist English teachers in learning about common problems they will encounter when designing teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, allowing them to optimize their teaching objective designs based on English subject core competencies. Last but not least, this thesis gives some suggestions on how to design teaching objectives based on the English subject core competencies, so that English teachers' professional quality and teaching efficiency can be promoted.
1.3Purpose of the Study
This study aims to learn about the current situation of the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools. Besides, the author tries to find problems in English learning objective design as well as provide suggestions in order to improve English teachers' ability to design teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies.
1.4Overall Structure of the Thesis
The thesis is divided into five sections.
Chapter One presents the introduction which consists of the research background, research significance, research purpose, and the overall structure of the thesis.
Chapter Two introduces the definition of key concepts, the relationship between three-dimensional objectives and core competencies, and principles of designing and stating teaching objectives. Finally, related studies and theoretical foundations are discussed.
Chapter Three provides the research methodology which contains research participants, research questions, research instruments, data collection, and data analysis.
Chapter Four introduces the results and discussion, which present problems in the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies.
Chapter Five is conclusion which introduces the major findings, teaching implications, limitation of the study, and suggestions for further study.
Chapter Two Literature Review
Chapter Two introduces the definition of key concepts and the relationship between three-dimensional objectives and core competencies. Additionally, related studies on English subject core competencies as well as teaching objectives at home and abroad are explained. What's more, two principles for designing and stating teaching objectives are explained. Finally theoretical foundations are presented.
2.1Definition of Key Concepts
The author clearly defines English subject core competencies, English teaching objectives, and English teaching objective design by absorbing existing mature studies at home.
2.1.1English Subject Core Competencies
The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) define the English subject core competencies as key abilities and indispensable qualities that students should have through English lessons in 2017. language ability, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability constitute English subject core competencies.
Language ability encompasses the ability to comprehend and communicate meaning in social interactions through listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as the language awareness and sense developed through the study and usage of English. The language ability is made up of two components: language knowledge and language skills. Language knowledge, including phonetic knowledge, words, grammar knowledge, discourse knowledge, and pragmatical knowledge, is the basis for students to form language ability. Language skills cover five skills: listening, speaking, reading, viewing, and writing, which can help students to learn language knowledge, obtain, and process information.
Cultural awareness refers to the identification and understanding of excellent Chinese and foreign cultures, which is presented as cross-cultural cognition, cross-cultural attitude, and cross-cultural behavior orientation. The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) divide cultural awareness into cultural knowledge, cultural understanding, as well as cross-cultural communication awareness and ability.
Thinking capacity refers to the unique features of individuals' thinking, as expressed in their ability and degree of reasoning, criticism, and creativity. Thinking capacity reflects the mental development of the English subject core competencies.
When it comes to learning ability, it relates to students' awareness and ability to actively employ their English learning strategies, as well as their ability to extend their English learning channels and try to increase the efficiency of their English learning. Learning ability is primarily composed of learning attitude, learning strategy, and learning channel (Xia Guming 2018).
2.1.2English Teaching Objectives
Before clarifying the connotation of English teaching objectives, we must understand the meaning of teaching objectives and then define English teaching objectives from the perspective of English subject. Zhang Hua (2000) said that the teaching objective is a subordinate concept of educational objective, which is the educational value embodied in curriculum development and teaching design. He also claimed that teaching objective is the most basic one but with most abundant connotation among three-level objective system consisting of educational goal, curriculum objective, and teaching objective. Education goal and curriculum objective must be implemented by means of teaching objectives. Chen Deng (1999) gave a more precise definition of teaching objectives, referring to the expected results of each lesson. Hu Tiangeng (2012) defined classroom teaching objectives as the expected results that teachers formulate according to the requirements of the curriculum standards, which should be achieved by students at the end of a lesson. To sum up, compared with educational goals and curriculum objectives, teaching objectives are the most basic and the subordinate concept, which mainly describe classroom teaching practice, that is, the expected results of a lesson. As a result, based on the above definition of teaching objectives, teaching objectives can be defined as the maximum expected results that students should achieve through the learning of a lesson, which are formulated by teachers in accordance with curriculum standards, teaching materials, and students' learning conditions. English teaching objectives, which combine more features of the English subject, refer to the maximum expected results that students should achieve at the end of an English lesson, which are designed by English teachers based on English curriculum standards, English teaching materials, and students' actual English level.
2.1.3English Teaching Objective Design
According to Wu Libao and others (2017), when designing teaching objectives, teachers should ensure that they are scientifically based and measurable in order to contribute to both the teaching of teachers and the learning of students. The five elements of teaching objective design were also decomposed and examined by Wu Libao and other scholars. Teachers should, first and foremost, make certain that the behavior subjects of their teaching objectives are students while setting teaching objectives for them. Secondly, the main objects of teaching objectives are content knowledge, discipline thinking, and even discipline spirit contained in the content knowledge. In order to connect the subject and object of teaching objectives, Wu Libao and others (2017) stressed that teachers should take the learning methods and appropriate teaching methods advocated by curriculum standards of various disciplines as reference. The final step is for teachers to ensure that the conditions necessary for the achievement of teaching objectives are in place and to describe the extent to which teaching objectives are being achieved. When it comes to teaching design, the teaching objective design serves as the starting point and ultimate destination of English teaching. The author highlights the five factors that are engaged in the English teaching objective design on the basis of the five elements discussed above. In the first place, students are the subject of English teaching objectives. Secondly, the teaching material of the English teaching objectives consists primarily of the English subject knowledge that students must gain, the English subject thinking that students must develop, and the English subject spirit that students must cultivate. Thirdly, English teachers should determine suitable teaching methods through the analysis of the English curriculum standards, students' learning situation, and teaching materials. Fourthly, it is necessary to guarantee that teaching conditions, such as software, hardware, and space-time, are compatible with the realization of teaching objectives. Finally, teachers should determine the degree and standards necessary to accomplish the objectives in order to assess the level and quality of students' learning outcomes.
2.2The Relationship Between the Three Dimensional-objectives and Core Competencies
The relationship between three-dimensional objectives and core competencies must be clarified in order to assist English teachers in achieving the transformation of teaching objective design from three-dimensional objectives to core competencies so as to promote the actual implementation of teaching objectives pointing to the cultivation of core competencies. On the one hand, the core competencies are the further refinement and integration of three-dimensional objectives from the perspective of mechanism of formation. Three-dimensional objectives include three dimensions: knowledge and skill, process and method, as well as emotional attitude and value. The General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) clearly point that the core competencies consist of correct values and attitudes, indispensable qualities, and key abilities. Core competencies refine knowledge and skill objectives, and process and method objectives into abilities, and emotional attitude and value objective into indispensable qualities. The formation of ability and indispensable qualities is the organic unity of three-dimensional objectives.
On the other hand, the core competencies are the development and innovation of three-dimensional objectives. Three-dimensional objectives focusing on cultivating students from different angles will lead to the separation of the three levels of objectives to a certain extent. While the core competencies pay more attention to the integration of three-dimensional objectives and can make up for the fragmentation of three-dimensional objectives. The core competencies, which are higher than the three-dimensional objectives in the manifestation, mainly refer to the key abilities and necessary qualities that individuals show when comprehensively using knowledge, ideas, and methods to solve problems in different situations.
To sum up, on the one hand, the three-dimensional objectives are solid foundation for the formation of core competencies. On the other hand, only based on the three-dimensional objectives can the core competencies be more specific, more comprehensive, and more focused on improving the individual's ability from different aspects. It is beneficial to direct the teaching objectives design by clarifying the relationship between three-dimensional objectives and core competencies.
2.3Principles of Designing Teaching Objectives
In his book The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker (2006) proposed the SMART principle as one of the concepts of objective management. As time goes by, this principle is considered as a principle for designing teaching objectives.
S stands for specific. The specific principle refers to the use of scientific, precise, and comprehensive language to clearly describe the behavior standards that students must meet in order to understand what to do and how to do them. Teachers should develop specific teaching objectives based on curriculum standards, teaching materials, and the level of their students.
M stands for measurable. The measurable principle means that teaching objectives must have clear data or basis that can be used for tracking and measuring whether teaching objectives have been achieved or not. If teaching objectives cannot be measured, then it is impossible to judge whether they have been achieved.
A stands for attainable. The attainable principle requires teaching objectives should conform to instruction and students' reality. On the one hand, teaching objectives can be used to guide the teaching process effectively and, ultimately, they can be accomplished through teaching practice. On the other hand, the teaching objective must have certain feasibility, which can guide learners' learning behaviors. If teaching objectives are set too high, students are more likely to lose confidence and interest because they cannot reach them. On the contrary, teaching objectives should not be set too low. Therefore, teachers should take the development of learners into account and ensure that students at different levels can achieve the expected teaching objectives through hard work .
R stands for relevant. The relevant principle means that teaching objectives of different dimensions or between different chapters, and different modules are often interrelated so as to form a whole and point to the all-round development of students. First and foremost, teaching objectives should be closely aligned with English curriculum standards, teaching materials, and student's learning status. Secondly, teaching objectives for each lesson and each unit should be connected. Finally, teaching objectives should involve various possible aspects of different dimensions.
T stands for timed. The time-bound principle means that there is a certain time limit for the completion of teaching objectives.
In this thesis, the author will utilize the SMART principle and ABCD model to analyze the teaching objectives arsing in teaching plans.
2.4Principles of Stating Teaching Objectives
Armstrong and Savage jointly proposed the ABCD model, in which each letter represents a significant component of the statement of teaching objectives (Jeremy 1983).
A represents behavior audience, also known as behavior subject, which refers to learners in ABCD model, and students in teaching process. The standard teaching objective should begin with “Students are able to...”. Different proportions can be used to describe the behavior subject. Firstly, we can divide behavior subjects according to the academic performance, for example, excellent students, advanced students, and slightly less advanced students; secondly, we can use the percentage such as 50% of students to present of the number of students.
B represents behavioral verbs. Behavioral verbs are used by teachers to depict students' observable, operational, specific, and measurable learning behaviors. We can take these verbs including predicting, reciting, comparing for example. Besides, teachers should avoid using some vague, general, abstract, and unpredictable verbs.
C stands for behavioral condition, which means specific limits or ranges that affect learning results and provides a reference for assessment. The statement of behavioral condition usually are characterized by prepositional phrases, such as “according to...” and “by virtue of”. Behavior condition generally includes four types of conditions such as environment, equipment, time, and information.
D stands for behavior degree, which refers to the minimal level of performance that students must accomplish in order to achieve teaching objectives. It can be used to quantify students' learning performance or results. Adverbs of degree can well describe “how well students are doing”. Teachers can resort to the pattern,“adverbs of degree and measurable behavioral verbs”, to describe students' learning results such as “being able to read aloud more fluently” and “being able to retell basically”.
2.5Related Studies on English Subject Core Competencies at Home and Abroad
At the end of the twentieth century, the world has entered an era marked by booming technology, economic globalization, cultural diversity, and fierce social and global competition (Zhang Chuansui & Zou Qunxia 2017), having a good command of both knowledge and skills is essential for people to live in a society with numerous and relentless challenges. Under the influence of such environment, a lot of countries and international organizations turn their hands to the study of essential qualities and core competencies a person should have globally. After that, researches of core competencies start to appear and numerous academic accomplishments have been made.
2.5.1Overseas Studies on English Subject Core Competencies
The international communities have begun to study core competencies in 1990s. At present, the research of core competencies tends to be mature and abundant representative academic achievements have been made. As for the cultivation of English subject core competencies abroad, the author mainly takes the guiding documents of some countries as reference.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposed four core competencies including “learning to know”, “learning to do”, “learning to live together”, and “learning to be” in the report Learning: the Treasure Within in 1996. Then the fifth competency “lifelong learning and development” was put forward by UNESCO in 2003. One year later, The UNESCO published Developing Core Competency in Education: Lessons from Some International and National Experiences, which gave a preliminary definition of core competencies. “The core competencies were those enabling individuals to lead a ideal life and promoting society to well operate” (Zhang Na 2015). In March 2013, the report Toward Universal Learning: What Every Child Should Learn clearly proposed seven core competencies. Each dimension of core competencies put forward different requirements complying with the principle from simple to complex as well as from easy to difficult for children at three levels of education including early childhood level, primary level, and post-primary level.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have decided for the first time to develop a framework of core competences for the twenty-first century since 1997. Then the Definition and Selection of Competences project (hereafter referred to as DeSeCo) was carried out from 1998 to 2003, during which the connotation of core competencies and educational policies of member states were thoroughly investigated. Additionally, the core competences were defined in the DeSeCo project, which served as a standard for member states (Looney 2009). Each of three core competencies closely related to each other and needed to be realized by lifelong leaning.
Five “new basic skills” were determined by Council Of European in Lisbon Union in March 2000, which were regarded as the prototype of core competencies (Pepper 2011). In March 2003, the concept of core competencies was put forward for the first time. At the same time, the first version of “eight competencies” presented itself and replaced the five “new basic skills”. Since then, some expressions and connotation of “eight competencies” have been adjusted on the basis of extensive research. In 2006 the official version of “eight competencies” was released.
During their research into the overall framework of core competences, researchers in other countries are also actively considering the relationship between the framework of core competencies and the core competencies pertaining to the English subject. In today's increasingly globalized world, the talents needed by the future society may face more internationalization and cross-cultural communication, and require cross-cultural communication skills and global awareness. And the development of such skills is inextricably linked to the study of a foreign language. As a result, studying foreign language has far-reaching implications. English among other foreign languages possesses the function of cultivating part of core competencies.
Many international organizations, governments, and regions, like the OECD, the European Union, and Australia, have included foreign language competency as a core competency. One of the eight core competencies in the European Union framework is using foreign language for communication, which refers to “the ability of understanding, expressing, and explaining in appropriate social and cultural environments” (Cheng Xiaotang & Zhao Siqi 2016). In addition, foreign language, especially English, also bear the responsibility of cultivating other core competencies in the European Union core competency framework. For example, the ability to communicate effectively in a variety of social and cultural settings is related to English competency. In Australia's core competency framework, English lessons should assume the primary responsibility of cultivating cross-cultural understanding (Pepper 2011).
To sum up, in the process of building their own core competency systems, countries all over the world have realized the importance of foreign language, especially English, for the cultivation of other core competencies. English is more than a language of communication; it is also a language of thought. The worldwide community has come to agree on the need of interacting with various cultures, developing cross-cultural awareness and ability, and promoting the further development of students' cognitive abilities through the use of foreign languages, particularly English.
2.5.2Domestic Studies on English Subject Core Competencies
English, as a language, has both instrumental and humanistic attributes. Gong Yafu (2014) argued that it is theoretically impossible to pay attention to the value of English subjects and English lessons in primary and secondary schools only from the perspective of English as a communication tool. Cheng Xiaotang (2014) also claimed that English, except for being as a communication tool, also has multiple educational values. Grasping the educational value of English subject will help us understand the connotation and elements of English subject core competencies. On the basis of fully absorbing theoretical and practical research results of core competencies at home and abroad, English subject core competencies are proposed and clarified into language ability, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability. The results of literature review reveal that research on English subject core competency has increased since its formal proposal, with the majority of the study focusing on three aspects: the connotation of English subject core competencies, approaches for cultivating English subject core competencies, and teaching strategies for English subject core competencies.
At present time, the connotation of English subject core competencies explained in the General Senior English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) is the mainstream among researchers. Furthermore, based on the General Senior English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition), some researchers have conducted a more in-depth study on the connotation of English subject core competencies. As defined by the General Senior High Schools English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition), English subject core competencies are a concentrated reflection of the educational value of English subject. Language ability, cultural awareness, thinking capacity, and learning ability are among the main qualities gained through English lessons. Cheng Xiaotang (2014) held that English lessons have multiple educational values. Learning English can not only improve students' cross-cultural communication ability, but also cultivate their thinking ability. The specific elements contained in the four dimensions of English subject core competencies were divided in detail by Cheng Xiaotang and Zhao Siqi. Cheng Xiaotang and Zhao Siqi (2016) divided language ability. Language knowledge includes phonetics knowledge, words, grammar knowledge, discourse knowledge, and pragmatic knowledge. Language skills consist of listening skill, speaking skill, reading skill, writing skill. Cultural awareness primarily relates to one's cultural stance and attitude, as well as one's capacity for cultural identification, which are created through the process of explaining, comparing, and summarizing cultural phenomena in discourse. Thinking capacity mainly relates to abilities connected to English learning, such as the ability to generate new ideas and deepen understanding of the world with the help of English. Learning ability encompasses not only the methods and strategies for learning English, but also relates to attitude toward English and English learning. Similar with Cheng Xiaotang's viewpoint, Guo Baoxian and Zhang Jianzhong (2019) also realized the educational value of English as a subject. Guo Baoxian and Zhang Jianzhong (2019) found that people in the past only consider English as a tool of communication but ignore the educational value of English as a subject. These scholars believed that the English subject core competencies are derived from the essence and educational function of English subject. According to Xia Guming (2018), language ability is a comprehensive ability comprised of language knowledge, cultural understanding, language abilities, and learning strategies. Cultural awareness is gradually formed in a series of learning activities of cultural understanding and cultural identity, and is reflected in cultural awareness, humanistic quality and behavioral orientation. In terms of learning ability, Xia Guming believed that the definition of learning ability in the General High School English Standards (2020 edition) is more accurate in terms of broader connotations, namely, the three elements of learning motivation, learning perseverance, and learning ability. As for the thinking capacity, he analyzes it from the relationship between language and thinking. He believed that learning English can make up for the limitations of thinking controlled by a single language.
Regarding the research on approaches for cultivating English subject core competencies, Wang Peirong (2018) made recommendations on specific teaching activities and teaching design incorporating English subject core competencies. The suggestions include in-depth analysis of teaching materials and students, establishing teaching objectives based on core competencies, selecting appropriate teaching methods, and designing rich teaching activities around core competencies. Wang Peirong (2018) embedded the English subject core competencies into whole process of English teaching, which is helpful to provide theoretical basis for teachers to cultivate core competencies. Ji Xiaoting (2016) argued that the cultivation of English subject core competencies needs efforts at different levels. In terms of policy, clear and understandable standards can be formulated for students at different stages, and operable teaching suggestions can be proposed for teachers in advance. At the teacher level, teachers should improve their own qualities and thinking abilities. In terms of teaching activities, teachers in the teaching and research group can design teaching activities through cooperation and innovate in-class and after-class teaching of English subjects in their own school so as to form the core competency training system of English subjects in their own school. Wang Qiang (2015) examined the key flaws with the current English reform and proposes remedies for nurturing students' English subject core competencies through curriculum integration and the use of modified teaching techniques. According to Lu Ziwen (2015), he claimed that the focus of the English subject should shift from language acquisition to students' core competencies. Besides, teachers should change the center of the construction of core competencies from theoretical level to practical level.
When it comes to teaching strategies for English subject core competencies, Guo Baoxian and Zhang Jianzhong (2019) provided techniques for the integrity teaching design of English subject core competencies. First of all, teachers should determine the objectives of English subject core competencies to focus on rather than present all the content without any key points. Secondly, teachers should build a real situation to achieve teaching objectives. Thirdly, teachers and students should try their best to inspire each other in the context of communication. Fourthly, the English subject core competencies should be integrated as a whole so as to avoid separate cultivation. Finally, teachers should paying attention to the connection between four elements of English subject core competencies. Starting from the unit integrity teaching design of the English, Wang Tianshi (2022) suggested that teachers should integrate the English subject core competencies into the unit integrity teaching by decomposing hierarchical objectives, creating multi-modal resources, summarizing, and integrating new knowledge. Wang Xiaofeng (2017) presented the teaching design in the form of teaching cases, and she produced two teaching types, including reading and writing as well as listening and speaking, by combining teaching activities with English subject core competencies. Taking unit 3 “Getting along with others” as an example, Dong Yujing (2021) explored the unit integrity teaching design for developing students' English subject core competencies from four aspects: firstly, determining teaching objectives, key points, and difficult points of the unit; secondly, planning teaching hours; thirdly, designing various teaching activities, and finally conducting teaching evaluation. Chen Ling (2021) proposed strategies on the specific step of teaching design for the English subject core competencies. Taking five minute comprehensive activities as the main form of lead-in to exercise pupils' independent preview can not only improve their enthusiasm for preview, but also enable students to perform well in subsequent classes and teaching.
To sum up, scholars' research on students' English subject core competencies mainly focus on the connotation, system construction, cultivation approaches, and teaching strategies. These literature above show that scholars puts forward suggestions on the cultivation of students' English subject core competencies from a macro perspective. Besides, scholars only mention that the teaching objectives should highlight English subject core competencies in terms of strategies, but rarely investigate the current situation of the design of teaching objectives from the perspective of English subject core competencies. This is a territory that begs to be explored.
2.6Related Studies on Teaching Objectives at Home and Abroad
The greater part of the literature on teaching objectives has payed particular attention to the study of the definition, clarification, current state of teaching objective design, teaching objective design strategies, and teaching objective statement strategies. Detailed elaboration will be further presented in the following section.
2.6.1Overseas Studies on Teaching Objectives
Studies on teaching objectives abroad have primarily focused on the definition and clarification of teaching objectives, as well as teaching objective design techniques.
As for the definition of teaching objectives, studies on teaching objectives abroad start much earlier than that in China and have attracted much attention, among which the definition, classification, and statement of teaching objectives are at issue among scholars. In 1934 Taylor put forward the term “teaching objective”, but he didn't give it a clear definition (Anthony 2007). In the wake of the presence of teaching objectives, various explanations of the term are offered by some researchers. Mager (1962) argued that teaching objectives guide the whole teaching process. In fact, his idea just pointed out the function of teaching objectives instead of being a clear definition of teaching objectives. It was not until Bloom and Gagne who indicated teaching objectives are expectations of the outcome of some behaviors presented by learners after knowledge acquisition that the definition of teaching objectives became explicit (Bloom 1956 & Gagne 2005). The idea is very important that many researchers tend to give their explanations of teaching objectives based on the definition given by Bloom and Gagne. Bloom and Gagne put learners that is students as the principle leaders of study instead of teachers, which helps to guide teachers to take students' needs into account when setting teaching objectives. Brown (2001) defined teaching objectives as “precise assertions that explain a specific actions or skills that learners will acquire or accomplish at the conclusion of a lesson. Brown's idea is much more specific in that it indicates that the content of teaching objective may involve knowledge, behaviors, and skills, which provides a foundation for curriculum formulation, reform, and revision. Besides, Richards has similar point of view with Brown. According to Rechards (2008), teaching objective referred to “a description of the precise changes that a program aims to achieve and that emerges from the analysis of the purposes into its multiple components.”
With regard to the taxonomy of teaching objectives, internationally influential theories of education objective taxonomy mainly include Bloom's taxonomy of teaching objectives, Gagne's five categories of learning and Ausubel's classification of meaningful learning (Robert 2007). Bloom and others split teaching objectives into three categories: cognition skills, motor skills, and emotional skills, laying the groundwork for how teaching objectives are classified in China. In the 1950s, a committee headed by Bloom divided the teaching objectives in the cognitive field from low level to high level into six aspects: remembering and understanding, applying and analyzing, as well as evaluating and creating (Jeremy 1983). In 1964, Bloom's collaborators put forward the classification of teaching objectives in the field of emotion. The classification of motor skills were published at the latest, and several classification methods appeared. The teaching objectives of this kind of motor skills were divided into seven levels from low level to high level: perception, orientation, guided response, mechanical action, complex explicit response, adaptation, and innovation. Following the classification of Gagne (2005), learning outcomes may be classified into five categories: verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, physical skills, and attitudes. Ausubel distinguished three types of meaningful learning: representational learning, idea learning, and proposition learning (Robert, 2007; 2009). As for the design technique of English teaching objectives, at present, there are three popular design techniques of teaching objectives in the world, namely R.E.Mager's behavior objective design method, Gronlund's method of inner and outer processes, and Eisner, E.W.'s performance design method (Hauenstein 1998). Each of the three design techniques has its own sphere of application. “Behavior objective” was first proposed by Bobbitt to be used for designing curriculum goals (Bobbitt 1918). Later, Taylor summarized curriculum goal and teaching objective as “behavior” and “content”. He was the first one to emphasize designing objectives using behaviors. The behavior objective design method is characterized by using observable and measurable behavior verbs to design objectives, which is suitable for describing objectives of knowledge and skills. Cognitive psychologists believed that the internal psychological changes produced by learning can not be measured by specific behaviors. Gronlund proposed the combination of inter and outer processes method in order to make up the what Mager's method lacks in measuring psychological activities. Gronlund's method is characterized by the combination of describing internal psychology and explicit behavior, which is suitable for the teaching objective design of cultivating students' ability to analyze and
solve problems (Graves 2005). Eisner, E.W.'s performance objective design technique is based on the individualized performance of each student in the specific educational situations.
2.6.2Domestic Studies on Teaching Objectives
The research on English teaching objectives at home focuses on three aspects: the current state of teaching objective design, teaching objective design strategies, and teaching objective statement strategies.
Certain teachers conduct investigations into the status in quo of teaching objective design and and implementation. Luo Fang (2021) conducted a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 130 teaching plans and identified the following issues with the design of teaching objectives in primary schools. To begin with, the dimensions of three-dimensional teaching objectives are not comprehensive, which mainly focus on the process and method objectives among three-dimensional objectives. Secondly, there is a deviation in the statement of teaching objectives. Jiang Lirong (2016) studied the English teaching objective design in junior middle schools and found that teachers do not have a correct and clear understanding of teaching objectives. What's more, some teachers even confuse curriculum objectives with teaching objectives. Besides, as for the statement of teaching objectives, these problems including lack of behavior subjects, subject dislocation, ambiguity of hierarchy are common. What's more, some teaching objectives are too general to be measured. Finally, she attributed the reasons for these problems arising in the design of teaching objectives to teachers' insufficient quality and the constraints of examination and evaluation system. Zheng Zeting (2019) investigated the current situation of English teachers' understanding, design, and implementation of teaching objectives in senior high schools, and she discovered that, while some teachers have recognized the importance of teaching objectives, they do not devote enough attention to their design. Furthermore, teachers lack a thorough understanding of the design ideas and methodologies used to achieve teaching objectives. Furthermore, students' language abilities are overvalued, while their critical thinking and cultural awareness are overlooked.
Aside from the current situation of the design of teaching objectives in primary schools, junior middle schools, as well as senior high schools, some scholars also try to propose strategies for designing teaching objectives.
Some scholars take a unit or a module as an example to design English teaching objectives in order to present the strategies or methods of designing English teaching objectives for English teachers. Xie Shuzhen (2019) presented how to design unit teaching objectives according to unit theme as well as requirements of the General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition), and refined specific teaching objectives in accordance with the principles of integrity and continuity of teaching objective design. Zhou Hui (2010) took the reading material “Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln” as an example and formulated the three-dimensional objectives according to the General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) and the actual situation of students. She gave detailed teaching steps to show how to design and carry out teaching activities around the teaching objectives. Some scholars put forward strategies from the integrity design of teaching objectives. Shi Luqiong (2019) designed a case of unity teaching objective design and analyzed the unit teaching effect after practicing the design model of teaching objectives of unit integrity instruction. Lu Feng (2016) put forward the methods and steps for setting and implementing teaching objectives through the analysis and research of specific teaching cases and analyzed the achievement of each teaching objective one by one.
As for the strategies for the statement of teaching objectives, Zheng Shiqiang (2013), Li Yahong (2016), and Lu Liqiong (2018) analyzed the problems existing in the statement of teaching objectives, and offered some solutions to these issues, as well as specific standards for English teaching objective statements. The strategies suggested by these scholars can be summarized in the following aspects including clear behavior subjects, measurable behaviors verbs, clear and specific behavior conditions, and reflecting the requirements of different levels in the performance degree. Ma Yaoyao (2016) investigated the current situation of English teaching teaching design in junior middle schools and pointed that the teaching objective should be reasonably stated with reference to ABCD behavior objective statement method.
To summarize, research on English subject core competencies both domestically and internationally focuses on the following areas: connotation, cultivation methodologies, and teaching strategies. To truly execute the English subject core competencies, teachers must incorporate the four competencies of English subject into the teaching objective. At the moment, research on teaching objective is primarily concerned with the design and implementation of three-dimensional objectives. However, few research have combined English subject core competencies competencies and teaching objectives. Besides, rarely seen is research on the content dimension and levels of English subject core competencies reflected in teaching objectives, as well as the implementation of English subject core competencies in teaching objectives, both of which are important areas that scholars should investigate in the coming days.
Although some scholars try to design teaching objectives based on core competencies, the majority of these studies are case studies published in journals, with little study on current situation of the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies. The dimensions and levels of English subject core competencies in teaching objectives that exist in teaching design are also unknown. In terms of research methods, when investigating the overall situation of the design of teaching objectives, scholars lack the construction of investigation record scale. They simply extract the teaching objectives from English teaching plan for subjective analysis and judgment, which is not scientific. In addition, some scholars just describe the embodiment of the core competency of each teaching objective in words without conducting quantitative research. Analyzing the overall situation of teaching objectives in this manner is inefficient and difficult. As a result, it is critical to analyze data using consistent indicators.
With the aim of achieving the cultivation of students' English subject core competencies, teachers must first formulate teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies. Through this study, we can learn about the current situation of teaching objective design based on English subject core competencies after the General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards being released since 2017. Additionally, suggestions for resolving problems that arise in the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools will be given. What's more, the analysis record scale of teaching objectives under the guidance of core competencies constructed in this thesis can also provide a better carrier for other scholars to observe and analyze teaching objectives.
2.7Theoretical Foundations
2.7.1Systematology Theory
The main content of the Systematology founded by the famous theoretical biologist L. Von. Bertalanffy is that all objective things exist in the form of various systems. The orderly operation of all things in the world depends on their respective systems. English teaching design is a system, and so is the teaching objective design. Under the guidance of the theory of Systematology, every element involved in the system of teaching objectives should be treated as a whole at first. Besides, when designing teaching objectives, the interrelationship between these factors should be explored and reflected. The four aspects of English subject core competences are related to teaching objectives in both a partial and total manner. Additionally, curriculum standards, instructional materials, student characteristics, and the teaching environment are all factors that must be taken into account. Finally the optimization of English teaching objective design needs to be realized by following the principle of comprehensiveness and hierarchy.
2.7.2Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development theory serves as a critical theoretical foundation for designing teaching objectives. The theory implies that there are two levels of students' development: one is the current level referring to the problem-solving level that students can achieve when they act independently; the other is the possible development level, that is, the potential obtained through teaching (Vygotsky 1978). The Zone of Proximal Development is the distinction between the two levels. The responsibility of teachers is to precisely define the students' zone of proximal development and to determine the path and strategies for traversing it. From Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development theory, when teachers design teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, they must first understand the original development level of students. Finally, teachers determine the teaching objective based on English subject core competencies that students will acquire at the completion of a lesson based on the students' actual circumstances and English curriculum standards.
Chapter Three Research Methodology
The chapter primarily discusses the research questions and presents the selection of research participants. In addition, the explanation and illustration of main research methods of text analysis and interview are also presented.
3.1Research Questions
The thesis must answer the following four research questions in order to survey the current situation of English teaching objectives in senior high schools from the perspective of English subject core competencies.
(1)What are the ways of presenting English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools?
(2)What are the characteristics of the distribution of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools?
(3)What are the characteristics of the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools?
(4)What are the characteristics of the statement of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools?
3.2Research Participants
On the one hand, 60 senior high school English teachers from 60 high-quality lessons are chosen as the research participants of the text analysis. The author collects 60 teaching plans with total 331 teaching objectives. Among 60 English teaching plans, 20 teaching plans are collected from provincial high-quality lessons, 20 teaching plans are collected from ministerial high-quality lessons, the rest of teaching plans are 26
collected from municipal high-quality lessons respectively. There are two reasons can be used to explain why choosing high-quality English teaching plans on the “one teacher, one lesson” website. On the one hand, the platform contains teaching designs from front-line English teachers in most regions and schools in China, which is convenient for the author to collect teaching objectives set by front-line high school English teachers. On the other hand, those teachers whose lessons stand out for being high-quality lessons are relatively excellent in various regions and schools. The problems depicted in their teaching objective design are more representative and can pique teachers' interest.
Additionally, 6 senior high school English teachers across three grades from Fushan NO.1 Senior High School in Yantai participate in the interview. There are two reasons for choosing these research participants at Fushan NO.1 Senior High School in Yantai. The author is a senior high school intern. During the four-month internship, the author is able to communicate with English teachers at this school and has the opportunity to interview them. The basic information of the 6 teachers is presented in the following table.
Table 3.1 Basic Information of Six Teachers
Teachers Gender Age Teaching Years Educational
Background
T1 Female 25 1 Bachelor
T2 Female 33 9 Bachelor
T3 Female 36 12 Master
T4 Male 40 16 Master
T5 Female 44 20 Bachelor
T6 Male 50 26 Bachelor
3.3Research Instruments
This thesis adopts two research methods including text analysis and interview to learn about the current situation of teaching objective design based on English subject core competencies and reveal existing problems in the design of teaching objective design based on English subject core competencies,
3.3.1Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale
In order to make text analysis more convenient, the author uses SMART principles, ABCD model, General Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition), Cheng Xiaotang and Zhao Siqi's connotation of English subject core competencies, and Xia Guming's connotation of English subject core competencies, as well as Bloom' teaching objective taxonomy as reference to establish a Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale in which the conceptual requirements of the teaching objectives and the actual requirements of core competencies are presented in the form of indicators so as to help teachers observe and analyze the implementation of teaching objectives. The advantages of the Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale are presented in the following two aspects. On the one hand, it simplifies the description of the teaching objective design with unified measurement standards and simplified recording methods, making it more convenient and objective to analyze data for researchers. On the other hand, the Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale can help teaching objective designers to find problems in advance so as to solve problems more effectively and put the cultivation of core competencies into effect. The Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale is attached at the end of the thesis.
3.3.2Interview
Since the analysis results presented in the design of teaching objectives of high-quality lessons may deviate from the teaching objective design in actual teaching situation, the author designs seven questions in the interview to learn about the relevant reality in daily teaching (See Appendix B for the interview outline). Some questions can only be answered through interviews. For example, would you take the cultivation of English subject core competencies of students as the fundamental principle? If not, what is the fundamental principle? How do you distribute the four elements of English subject core competencies when designing teaching objectives? How do you design teaching objectives under the requirements of comprehensively cultivating students' subject core competencies? What ideas and methodologies are you familiar with when it comes to the design and statement of teaching objectives?
3.4Data Collection
The data for this study came from teaching plans of high-quality lessons and interviews. 60 teaching plans of provincial, ministerial, and municipal high-quality lessons were collected from the platform of “one teacher, one lesson”. After analysis, the author found that all the elements of the teaching plan were basically complete, all of which were effective teaching design plans. Finally, the author extracted 331 teaching objectives from these 60 teaching plans.
Concerning the interview, it was conducted in Chinese to alleviate participants and enable researchers to quickly ascertain their opinions. Six English teachers from Fushan NO.1 Senior High School in Yantai were interviewed after getting their permission. The author interviewed each of the six teacher separately. The time and places for interviewing these English teacher were depended on every teacher's actual situation and the author's needs. At the same time, the author made some notes for further analysis and recorded interview content using mobile phones after getting teachers' permission.
3.5Data Analysis
In terms of the analysis of English teaching objectives in teaching plans, after collecting 60 teaching plans, the author used the Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale as a reference to make detailed analysis of 331 teaching objectives in 60 teaching plans and analyzed obtained data by means of WPS Excel 2019. First of all, the author should be familiar with the Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale, and had a full understanding of indicators in the scale. Secondly, the author treated all the teaching objective in every English teaching plan as a whole to ascertain how many English teaching objectives were presented as three-dimensional objectives or four-dimensional objectives. The author then went through each teaching objective involving English subject core competencies one by one to determine and quantify the distribution features of English teaching objectives. Thirdly, the author analyzed all teaching objectives according to the dimensions in SMART principles and ABCD model so as to figure out the characteristics of the design of English teaching objectives and the characteristics of the statement of teaching objectives. At the same time, the author highlighted the teaching objectives that had reference value or distinguishing characteristics so as to facilitate subsequent analysis by examples. Finally, the author used WPS Excel 2019 to make the analysis data into visual tables and figures.
In terms of analysis of interview, following the interviews with the six English teachers, the transcripts and translations of the interviews were completed. Then the author classified these answers from six English teachers according to the same theme, namely the interview questions. Besides classification, the author attempted to compare the results of interview and text analysis in order to find the existing problems and summarize the current situation of teaching objective design based on English subject core competences.
Chapter Four Results and Discussion
In this chapter, the author presents problems existing in the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies through text analysis and interview.
4.1The Ways of Presenting English Teaching Objectives
The author collects 60 English teaching plans for senior high schools from the website of “one teacher, one lesson”. As Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2 indicate, among the 60 English teaching plans, 26 teaching plans present teaching objectives according to three-dimensional objectives, which account for 43% of total English teaching plans; 17 teaching plans design teaching objectives in the form of English subject core competencies account for 28% of all teaching plans; 13 teaching plans just listing teaching objectives without giving definite taxonomy of teaching objectives account for 22%; 4 teaching plans which present teaching objectives by combining three-dimensional objectives and English subject core competencies account for 7%. Out of 17 teaching plans, 13 teaching plans contain teaching objectives titled with four English subject core competencies; 4 teaching plans contain specific aspects of English subject core competencies and have core competency awareness.
From the perspective of the sequence of objective development, the three-dimensional objectives have developed to the four-dimensional objectives, that is, English subject core competencies. These teaching objectives are derived from high-quality teaching plans. These excellent teacher should be conversant with pertinent theories of English subject core competencies and should include them consciously into the design of teaching objectives. However, the research results show that only 28% of teaching plans practice the objective design based on English subject core competencies.
 
Despite the fact that English curriculum standards have changed, 43% of teaching plans remain focused on the original three-dimensional objectives, indicating that some teachers pay little attention to the teaching objectives and seldom verify whether the teaching objectives are really working. Among the 60 teaching plans, 22 % of the teaching objectives still fail to reflect the need of cultivating English subject core competencies. It can be seen that the policy requirements of English subject core competencies still lag behind.
Combining English Subject Core
Competecies and Three-dimensional
Objectigves
 
 
 
 
 
 
As for the integrity of objective design, teaching objectives in 17 teaching plans
are presented in the form of English subject core competencies, among which teaching objectives in 13 teaching plans take four competencies as titles, implying that some teachers separate the four competencies of the English subject core competencies and apply teaching contents to the four core competencies in a mechanical manner. In addition, there are 10 teaching plans aiming to fully embody four English subject core competencies in one lesson, indicating that teachers anticipate all four English subject core competencies to be reached fully in each class, which is neither possible nor realistic. Here are some examples involving four elements of English subject core competencies.
Language Ability
Enable students to apply learning outcomes to act out a real interview by themselves in groups.
Learning Ability
(1) Students will be able to make full use of various reading skills.
(2) Students will be able to use varieties of learning sources such as multimedia and handouts to learn.
Thinking Capacity
Students will be able to examine and judge themselves as well as others carefully and objectively by means of critical thinking, which can help students have a reasonable self-understanding.
Cultural Awareness
Students will be exposed to western job interview etiquette and will be able to expand their knowledge of international culture.
The teacher mechanically divides the four components of the English subject core competencies and overlooks their interdependence. Additionally, the statement of teaching objectives is ambiguous and unspecific. Furthermore, the author discovers that teaching objectives in four English teaching plans combine three-dimensional objectives and English subject core competencies. Here are some examples below.
Language Aim
To make sentences by using subjunctive mood.
Ability Aims
(1) Encourage students to express their own ideas using appropriate mood.
(2) To master sentences about persuading somebody to do something.
Emotion Aims
(1) Enable students to actively participate in English teaching activities through group work.
(2) Help the students to promote their confidence by dealing with grammar exercises.
Language Ability
Students are able to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by means of context.
Learning Ability
Students are able to establish a correct viewpoints of English learning.
Cultural Awareness
Students are able to distinguish the difference of tradition festivals between China and the United States.
Thinking Capacity
Students are able to cultivate logical thinking by inducing grammar rules.
The teacher presents the three-dimensional objectives and the English subject core competencies in parallel, showing that teacher is unaware of the connection and difference between the three-dimensional objectives and the English subject core competencies. This mechanical superposition of teaching objectives will lead to the repetition and redundant description of objectives.
When being asked the way to present teaching objectives, two teachers from Fushan No.1 Senior High School such as Teacher 5 and Teacher 6 choose to list the corresponding contents directly according to the four dimensions of English subject core competencies when designing teaching objectives; Teacher 1 and Teacher 3 continue to design teaching objectives using the traditional three-dimensional objectives; two other teachers like Teacher 2 and Teacher 4 just list the three-dimensional objectives first and then supplement the English subject core competencies.
In conclusion, the author finds that most teachers take the three-dimensional objectives as the basic framework when designing teaching objectives. The percentage of English teachers who design teaching objectives using English subject core competencies is lower than the percentage of teachers who utilize three-dimensional objectives. Furthermore, some English teachers are unable to differentiate between three-dimensional objectives and English subject core competences. When designing teaching objectives, they not only design three-dimensional objectives, but also present four aspects of English subject core competencies. In addition, some teachers who design teaching objectives without definite taxonomy have not only abandoned the use of three-dimensional objectives for teaching objective design, but also have failed to convert to the English subject core competences for objective design.
4.2The Characteristics of the Distribution of English Teaching Objectives
The author has examined 331 teaching objectives to figure out the distribution of the teaching objectives from the perspective of English subject core competencies. As Figure 4.3 shows, there are 163 teaching objectives aiming to develop students' language abilities among 331 teaching objectives. 57 teaching objectives aim to cultivate students' cultural awareness. 49 teaching objectives embody the ability of thinking capacities. Finally, 62 teaching objectives aim to develop students' learning abilities.
 
 
 
According to Figure 4.4, it can be found that the distribution of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies is uneven. There are significant variances in the proportion of the four parts of English subject core competencies, among which the achievement degree of language ability objectives accounting for 49% is the highest. However, in contrast, the achievement proportion of cultural awareness objectives, thinking capacity objectives, and learning ability objectives is low, accounting for 17%, 15%, and 19% respectively. The data above shows that the thinking capacity objectives are very easy to be ignored by English teachers in senior high schools. Furthermore, teaching objectives of cultural awareness and learning ability are inadequate.
 
 
The author then conducts a specific analysis on the distribution of each dimension of English subject core competencies in teaching objectives.
Language ability is divided into two parts: language knowledge and language skills (Cheng Xiaotang & Zhao Siqi 2016). Words, phonetic knowledge, grammar knowledge, discourse knowledge, and pragmatic knowledge constitute language knowledge. Language skills are comprised of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing. Cultural awareness is a three-dimensional concept that encompasses cultural knowledge, cultural comprehension, and cross-cultural communication awareness and ability (Xia Guming 2018). The thinking capacity encompasses remembering and understanding, applying and analyzing, evaluating and creating (Lan Chunsi 2019). The learning ability involves learning strategies, learning attitude, and learning channels (Xia Guming 2018).
The distribution of specific aspects within each of the English subject core competence dimensions in teaching objectives is not exhaustive. As Figure 4.5 shows, from the perspective of language ability, more teaching objectives involving language knowledge account for 60% of 163 teaching objectives. The percentage of language skills is only 40%. In terms of cultural awareness, cultural understanding objective accounts for 49%, which is higher than the percentage of cultural knowledge and cultural communication awareness and ability. In terms of thinking capacity, the two dimensions of applying and analyzing, remembering and understanding account for 49% and 41% respectively, which are much higher than evaluating and creating in teaching objectives. In terms of learning ability, learning strategy objectives account for 63%, which is higher than learning attitude and learning channels in teaching objectives. In a word, the specific dimensions of the English subject core competencies are not fully developed.
120%
 
Figure 4.5 Distribution of Specific Dimensions of English Subject Core Competencies
 
As for the language ability, the author designs the two aspects including langue knowledge and language skills in Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale.
As Figure 4.6 shows, among 97 teaching objectives of language knowledge, 34 teaching objectives involve words; 2 teaching objectives are involved with pronunciation; 11 teaching contain grammar knowledge; 33 teaching objectives involve discourse knowledge; 17 teaching objectives involve practical knowledge; and 11 teaching objectives contain pragmatic knowledge. As Figure 4.6 and Figure 4.7 show, when designing teaching objectives, teachers will give priority to words, discourse knowledge, and grammar knowledge, while ignoring the pragmatic knowledge, especially phonetic knowledge.
Although words, discourse knowledge account for a high proportion in the objective of language knowledge, some problems still exist. In terms of objectives of words, teachers frequently list pertinent words and phrases for students to remember rather than using discourse to assist students in grasping and mastering the meaning and usage of words. For instance, students are able to master the following words: hometown, attractive, fortunate, pretty, put up, and architecture. Concerning the current situation of the discourse knowledge objectives, teachers design teaching objectives by focusing on the content, type, and theme of discourse, while ignoring the relationship between paragraphs and the relationship between parts of the text and the theme,
implying that teachers concentrate on the text's micro-structure while ignoring its macro-structure.
Practical Knowledge
Discourse Knowledge
Grammar Knowledge
Phonetic Knowledge
Words
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Figure 4.6 Distribution of Langue Knowledge Objectives
Language skills include five skills ranging from listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing (Cheng Xiaotang & Zhao Siqi 2016). As Figure 4.8 and 4.9 show, among 66 teaching objectives of language skills, 12 of the 66 language skill objectives involve listening, which make up 18%. 24 teaching objectives involving speaking skills account for 36%; 15 teaching objectives involving reading skills account for 23%; 14 teaching objectives of writing skills account for 21%; 1 teaching objective involving viewing skill accounts for 2%.
Viewing . 1
Writing 14
Reading 15
Speaking 24
Listening 12
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Figure 4.8 Distribution of Language Skill Objectives
 
Figure 4.9 Percentage of Each Dimension of Language Skill Objectives
 
All in all, it can be ascertained that English teachers in senior high schools give priority to speaking skills, then followed by reading skills, writing skills, listening skills, and viewing skills when designing teaching objectives. There are only one teaching objective involving viewing skill, which means that most English teachers in senior high school have little idea of the viewing skill. In other words, teachers in senior high school are not familiar with new pedagogical ideas of English Curriculum Standards and do not practice the requirements of English subject core competencies.
Cultural awareness is defined in the General Senior English Curriculum Standards
(2020 edition) as cultural knowledge, cultural understanding, and cross-cultural communication awareness and ability. As a result, the author investigates cultural awareness from these three angles. As Figure 4.10 and Figure 4.11 show, there are 57 teaching objectives of cultural awareness. Of 57 cultural awareness objectives, 16 teaching objectives involving cultural knowledge account for 28%; 28 teaching objectives involving cultural understanding account for 49%; and 13 teaching objectives accounting for 23% involve cross-cultural communication awareness and ability. As depicted in Figure 4.10, senior high school English teachers will prioritize cultural understanding first, followed by cultural knowledge, and ultimately cross-cultural communication awareness and ability when designing teaching objectives. Cultural knowledge lays the groundwork for gaining an understanding of both Chinese and Western cultures, as well as cross-cultural communication awareness and ability; Cultural knowledge and understanding are extended and deepened by the development of cross-cultural communication awareness and ability. (Meng Yuan 2018). It is obvious that teachers do not understand the relationship between the three components of cultural awareness and they tend to compartmentalize the components of cultural awareness.
Cross-cultural Cummunication Awareness
and Ability
 
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Figure 4.10 Distribution of Cultural Awareness Objectives
 
Figure 4.11 Percentage of Each Dimension of Cultural Awareness Objectives
 
In terms of thinking capacity, Lan Chunsi (2019) believed that it is relevant to verify the cultivation of thinking capacity embodied in English teaching objective design by using Bloom's objectives of cognitive process dimension. As a result, the author establishes three levels of teaching objectives including remembering and understanding, applying and analyzing, as well as evaluating and creating in the Teaching Objective Analysis Record Scale (see Appendix one), and analyzes thinking capacity objectives from these three aspects. There are 49 thinking capacity objectives among 331 teaching objectives. As Figure 4.12 and Figure 4.13 show, among 49 teaching objectives, 20 teaching objectives belonging to remembering and understanding account for 41%; 24 teaching objectives involving applying and analyzing account for 49%; 5 teaching objectives involving evaluating and creating account for 10%. As Figure 4.12 shows, English teachers tend to design more teaching objectives belonging to remembering and understanding as well as applying and analyzing. Additionally, cognitive processes at the third level are only occasionally involved.
 
 
Figure 4.12 Distribution of Thinking Capacity Objectives
 
 
 
 
As for learning ability, it refers to students' awareness and ability to actively employ their English learning strategies, as well as their ability to extend their English learning channels and try to increase the efficiency of their English learning. Learning ability is primarily composed of learning attitude, learning strategies, and learning channels (Xia Guming 2018).
As Figure 4.14 and Figure 4.15 show, there are 62 learning ability objectives among 331 teaching objectives. Of 62 learning objectives, 18 teaching objectives involving learning attitude account for 29%; 39 teaching objectives involving learning strategies account for 63%; 5 teaching objectives describing learning channels account for 8%.
 
As two figures below demonstrate, teachers in senior high schools tend to consciously design learning strategies, followed by learning attitude and learning channels. The development of the three elements of English learning ability is unbalanced, in which learning strategies account for more than 50%, while senior high school English teachers have paid insufficient attention to the other two components.
 
 
 
 
 
The author interviews six senior high school English teachers about how to allocate the four elements of English subject core competencies when designing teaching objectives, three teachers indicate that they will comprehensively consider the four competences in one lesson. On the relationship between the four components of English subject core competencies, all teachers argue that the four elements of English subject core competencies should complement each other. The improvement of any aspect has ripple effect on other aspects. They also claim that the cultivation of thinking capacity and learning ability can not only promote English learning, but also benefit the learning of other subjects. It demonstrates that teachers have realized the significance of core competencies in their students' English acquisition. However, more than half of the teachers also argue that they do not pay enough attention to thinking capacity and learning ability in their daily teaching process. Two teachers like Teacher 2 and Teacher 1 harbor the idea that under the context of exam-oriented education featured by paying more attention to students' scores, they will firstly consider language knowledge when designing teaching objectives, and then add other core competencies according to specific situations.
Simply put, English teachers frequently prioritize language ability objectives over other objectives such as learning ability, cultural awareness, and thinking capability. In terms of language ability, the percentage of teaching objectives devoted to language knowledge is greater than the amount devoted to language skills. As for language knowledge, teachers focus on words most, followed by discourse knowledge and grammar knowledge, but focus less on phonetic knowledge and pragmatic knowledge. Among language knowledge, phonetic knowledge with minimum percentage is particularly ignored. As for language skills, English teachers pay more attention to speaking skill, followed by reading skill, writing skill, listening skill, and finally viewing skill. Among the five language skills, speaking skill accounts for the highest proportion. Besides, teachers design more teaching objectives involving reading skills and writing skills. Finally, viewing is the least developed of the five abilities and is rarely considered in senior high school English teaching objectives. In terms of cultural awareness, cultural comprehension, accounting for the biggest proportion than the other two competencies, is the most important aspect of cultural awareness, followed by cultural knowledge, and ultimately cross-cultural communication consciousness and ability. From the perspective of thinking capacity, teaching objectives are mostly focused on the first two levels of thinking cognition, namely remembering and understanding as well as analyzing and applying. The behavior verbs used by English teachers in senior high schools mostly reflect the lower level of thinking cognition. However, the last higher level of thinking cognition like evaluating and creating is less involved. From the standpoint of learning ability, the design of teaching objectives is primarily concerned with learning strategies, while ignoring learning attitudes and channels.
4.3The Characteristics of the Design of English Teaching Objectives
Over of the course of studying, 60 teaching plans containing 331 teaching objectives have been collected from the website called “one teacher, one lesson”. In order to examine how English teachers design teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools, the author analyzes these 331 teaching objectives using SMART principles.
As Figure 4.16 shows, among 331 teaching objectives, 113 teaching objectives comply with specific principle, 135 teaching objectives accord with measurable principle, 285 teaching objectives follow attainable principles, 290 teaching objectives embody relevant principle, and only 10 teaching objectives follow timed principle. As Figure 4.16 below shows, we can clearly find that most English teachers in senior high schools are able to design relevant and attainable objectives. When teachers design objectives, principles including measurable and specific come after relevant and attainable principles. Nonetheless, only a minority of English teachers in senior high schools place a premium on measurable and specific principles. To most extent, teachers tend to use imprecise, ambiguous, and general verbs of behavior to design objectives. Only ten timed objectives show that timed principles are least likely considered and
almost ignored by most teachers when designing objectives.
 
■ Total Number ■ Number
Figure 4.16 Distribution of SMART Principles
 
As Figure 4.17 shows, the teaching objectives that conform to the specific principle account for 34% of the total 331 objectives.
 
Figure 4.17 The Percentage of Specific Objectives
 
Here are some examples following specific principle extracted from 331 teaching objectives.
(1)Let students know the geographical location, climate, city profile of Xiamen, and master the vocabulary and methods related to a certain city.
(2)Get students to learn and grasp the following grammar rules and usage (v.ing and v.ed ) in this part.
(3)Students are able to select the correct Chinese cities by listening to key words and numbers.
Specific teaching objectives describe such concrete and clear behavior outcomes that students are able to know exactly what they are going to do and how they should do by themselves. These specific objectives are crucial in guiding and evaluating students' leaning. On the one hand, teaching objectives can stimulate students' learning motivation. Only when learners clearly understand the expected learning outcomes can they carry out achievement activities with clear objectives, and finally achieve self-improvement. On the other hand, teaching objectives describe specific behaviors, which can provide scientific basis for teaching (He Kekang 2002).
Although some teachers have taken specific principle into account when designing teaching objectives, the number of nonspecific teaching objectives is much more than that of specific teaching objectives. There are 198 nonspecific teaching objectives accounting for 64% of total teaching objectives.
Here are some examples of nonspecific teaching objectives.
(1)Master language points including key words, phrases, and sentence patters, and use them correctly.
(2)Understand different customs and etiquette of foreign countries
(3)Students are able to understand cultural connotation, absorb cultural essence, and develop firm confidence as well as deep love for Chinese culture.
Just as the first example shows, the teaching objectives is too general too be attained because they do not list these important words, phrases, and sentence patterns in detail. In this way, students will feel confused and do not know what they are going to learn according to the teaching objectives. The last two examples just require students to learn about culture. But they do not clearly explain what kinds of culture and why they should learn about them. These teaching objectives are applicable to almost every teaching objective of any class, which are general in content and perform practically no function.
As illustrated in Figure 4.18, there are 135 measurable teaching objectives, which account for 41% of total teaching objectives.
 
Figure 4.18 Percentage of Measurable Objectives
 
Here are some examples of measurable teaching objectives.
(1)Most students will be able to locate the key words and key information exactly while reading.
(2)Learn how to collect and analyze information they need through team work.
(3)Cultivate students ability to collect and analyze information they need through team work and express their viewpoints.
Measurable teaching objectives generally use words that can reflect the changes of external behaviors rather than verbs that belong to implicit cognitive categories such as learn, understand, and master. Just as these examples above show, these teaching objectives utilize specific action verbs like summarize, locate, analyze, and express. These words are observable and can be easily measured by teachers.
As Figure 4.18 shows, the number of attainable objectives account for 86% of total objectives.
 
Figure 4.19 Percentage of Attainable Objectives
 
Here are some examples of attainable objectives.
(1)Enable students to learn some words related to traffic and traffic congestion.
(2)Find out the adjectives that can reflect the attitude of the author toward to natural disasters.
(3)Students are able to learn about tornado and hurricane and able to introduce them to others in their own words.
The attainable objectives can be achieved by students at different levels after certain efforts. Most teachers can take students' abilities into account when designing teaching objectives and try to ensure those objectives can be completed in one lesson.
However, there are 46 teaching objectives which can not be achieved in one class. Here are some examples.
(1)To help students promote their ability of speaking and writing.
(2)Students can enhance their writing abilities by responding to the topic efficiently.
(3)Enable students communicate fluently and improve their speaking ability.
It will take significantly more time and efforts to develop students' speaking and writing abilities. One lesson is not enough for students to achieve these teaching objectives. Therefore, students can not achieve them through efforts in a class.
As Figure 4.20 shows, 290 relevant objectives account for 88% of total teaching
objectives.
 
Figure 4.20 Percentage of Relevant Objectives
 
Here are examples of relevant objectives.
(1)Know some new words related to astronauts and sentence structure: “to do” as an attribute.
(2)Sort out the structure of news by mind maps.
(3)Deepen their understanding of a Chinese Taikonauts and arouse their love for science and our country by means of role-play and group discussion.
The relevant principle means that the teaching objectives of different dimensions, or between different chapters and different modules are often interrelated, forming a integrity and pointing to the all-round development of students. The design of teaching objectives should closely connect with English Curriculum Standards, teaching materials, and the development of students. First of all, these teaching objectives are relevant to teaching materials. These teaching objectives are aimed at Book two module five Chinese Taikonaut Back on Earth. Secondly, these teaching objectives are relevant to the English Curriculum Standards because these teaching objectives embody English subject core competencies. The first objective aims to enable students to remember some words in the discourse of Chinese Taiknaut Back on Earth, which belongs to language ability. The second objective aims to enable students to figure out the structure of the text, which is the discourse knowledge required by English Curriculum Standards for students to master. The last teaching objective aims to arouse students' love for science and our country by role-play and group discussion.
As Figure 4.21 shows, teaching objectives adhering to timed principle account for 3% of total teaching objectives.
 
Figure 4.21 Percentage of Timed Objectives
 
Here are some examples:
(1)Students are able to read the passage and fill in each blank with proper choice in 10 minutes.
(2)Students are able to summarize the main idea of the text in 5 minutes.
(3)Students are able to figure out the relationship between different characters in 10 minutes after reading the passage.
The timed principle of teaching objectives describes the time spent in teaching activities, which can help teachers improve the efficiency of English teaching. Besides, the timed principle can help teachers plan and organize teaching objectives reasonably. Nonetheless, there are just ten timed objectives, indicating that timed principles are unlikely to be considered by teachers when designing teaching objectives. Most teachers do not realize the importance of timed principle and almost ignore setting time for students when they complete tasks and do exercises.
When six teachers being asked about the principles they follow when designing
teaching objectives, they claim that the design of teaching objectives is largely related to the curriculum standards and requirements of the college entrance examination, and is affected by the quality and ability of students, which implies that teachers prefer to design teaching objectives based on relevant principle and attainable principle. Furthermore, the school's demanding requirements for students' academic performance and high enrollment require teachers use grades to measure students' learning outcomes.
All in all, as for the characteristics of the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools, the author finds that the teaching objectives designed by senior high school English teachers are basically in line with the attainable principle and relevant principle; However, the measurable principle and specific principle are less taken into account by English teachers, which means they tend to use vague and general behavior verbs in designing teaching objectives. In addition, most teachers do not realize the importance of timed principle and almost ignore the time setting for students when completing tasks and doing exercises.
4.4The Characteristics of the Statement of English Teaching Objectives
The author takes ABCD model consisting of behavior audience, behavior verb, behavior condition, and behavior degree as the theoretical basis to analyze the total 331 teaching objectives in 60 teaching plans. According to Figure 4.22, among 331 teaching objectives, 295 teaching objectives have behavior subjects; 122 teaching objectives contain behavior verbs; 66 teaching objectives contain behavior conditions; and 23 teaching objectives contain the degree of behavior. As Figure 4.22 demonstrates, senior high school English teachers can consciously take the two factors of behavior verbs and behavior subjects into account when designing teaching objectives, but ignore the behavior condition and behavior degree. In other words, the two factors of teaching
 
condition and the differences between students are overlooked by teachers in their teaching practice.
 
 
 
Figure 4.22 The Distribution of ABCD Teaching Objective
The author then analyzes the application of the four elements of ABCD teaching objective model in teaching objectives. As Figure 4.23 shows, in terms of behavior audience also known as behavior subject, 120 teaching objectives take students as the behavior subjects; 175 teaching objectives start with teachers as the behavior subjects; and 36 teaching objectives have no obvious behavior subjects.
 
 
 
 
From Figure 4.24 we can clearly see that more than half of senior high school
English teachers have some problems in designing teaching objectives raging from dislocating behavior subjects, designing objectives without definite subjects to ignoring students' leading role. Generally speaking, teachers in these high-quality lessons should outperform front-line English teachers in senior high schools in terms of teaching abilities, teaching design, and teaching philosophy. However, according to the data about the design of teaching objectives, more than half of senior high school English teachers in high-quality lessons still fail to practice the student-centered teaching idea, which will lead to teacher-centered English teaching and make students rely too much on teachers. In the long run, the student will lack enthusiasm and initiative in English learning. In addition, this situation also shows that in the process of English curriculum reform, some teachers still unable to advance with the times.
 
Figure 4.24 The Distribution of Behavior Subject
 
According to Figure 4.25, 120 teaching objectives which take students as the behavior subject account for approximately 47% of total teaching objectives.
 
 
Figure 4.25 The Percentage of Student as Behavior Subject
 
Several instances are shown below.
(1)Students are able to master the vocabularies of traffic congestion by introducing pictures, and raise problems through reading and discussion.
(2)Students can understand the passage about the Human Development Report.
(3)Students can know more about three great western composers and how to write a biography.
According to Figure 4.26, teaching objectives with teachers being behavior subject account for 53% of total 331 teaching objectives.
 
Figure 4.26 The Percentage of Teacher as Behavior Subject
 
We take three teaching objectives as examples below.
(1)Guide students to summarize the definition of the gap year according to the video.
(2)Enable students to analyze characters according to given information.
(3)Help students learn to appreciate the type, background, and the plot of the film.
After analyzing and summarizing 331 teaching objectives, the author finds that 7 teaching objectives do not have behavior verbs, and directly list the words, phrases and sentence patterns that students should master in a class. Therefore, these 7 teaching objectives are excluded in this discussion and analysis. We take the following teaching objective as examples. Knowledge objective: (1) words: hometown, attractive, fortunate, pretty, sound, harbour, architecture, gorgeous, nuisance, starve. (2) Phrases: feel fortunate in doing something.
As Figure 4.27 shows, of 321 teaching objectives, 135 teaching objectives which can be measured by teachers easily account for about 41% of total teaching objectives; 190 teaching objectives which are not measurable account for approximately 59%.
 
■ Total Percentage ■ The Percentage of Measurable Objecives
Figure 4.27 The Percentage of Measurable Objectives
 
Just as Figure 4.27 indicates, more than half of English teachers in senior high schools tend to utilize behaviors that can not be easily observed and tested. Here are examples below.
(1)Students are able to command vocabularies through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
(2)To know the discourse structure and main idea of the passage.
(3)Through learning, students can master the basic characteristics and reading methods.
Then the author counts the number of behavior verbs being frequently used among 190 teaching objectives and finds that the top 8 behavior verbs commonly used by senior high school teachers include “learn”, “understand”, “know”, “improve”, “master”, “train”, “grasp”, and “command”, which can be seen in Table 4.28.
As can be seen from Table 4.28, the most frequently used behavior verbs are “learn”, “understand” and “know”. However, these high-frequency behavior verbs belong to the implicit cognitive category with vague connotation, which can not help students clearly aware of the degree they should achieve after learning. Besides, it is difficult for teachers to observe and measure students' learning outcomes under the guidance of such behavior verbs. Therefore, the description of behavior should be able to solve the problem of what to do, which can indicate the ability that learners should have at the end of a class and reflect the changes of external behaviors as much as possible. Besides, the rest of verbs including “improve”, “master”, “grasp”, “train”, and “master” are too general in content. Some specific verbs could be used to replace these general verbs. Teachers can use the following verbs including “summarize”, “talk about”, “explain”, “debate”, “distinguish”, etc. to replace the verb “understand”. In addition, teachers can use these words like “describe”, “list”, “state”, “identify”, “outline” to displace “grasp”, and “master”. Finally, The verbs of “improve” and “train” can be superseded by these verbs like “generalize”, “produce”, “exchange”, “predict”, “rewrite”, and “conclude”, etc.
Table 4.28 Behavior Verbs in Teaching Objectives
Number Verb Quantity
1 learn 24
2 understand 20
Table 4.28 Behavior Verbs in Teaching Objectives (Continued)
3 know 19
4 improve 18
5 master 15
6 train 10
7 grasp 6
8 master 5
 
There are 66 teaching objectives with behavior conditions among 331 teaching objectives. Behavior condition refers to the specific limit that affects the learning results and provides a reference basis for assessment. The expression of behavioral condition is usually characterized by the prepositional structure such as “according to”, “by means of”, etc. Behavioral condition generally includes environment, equipment, time, and information. There are generally four types of description of behavior conditions: the environment of completing behaviors, the assistant equipment, time limit, and auxiliary information.
According to Figure 4.29, of 66 teaching objectives, 34 teaching objectives describe situations in which learning behaviors are finished; 7 teaching objectives involves equipment for learning; 9 teaching objectives establish definite time constraints for students to finish a task; 16 teaching objectives provide auxiliary information to help students to learn.
 
 
0 10 20 30 40
Figure 4.29 Distribution of Behavior Condition
 
Here are some examples.
(1)Students are able to share their opinions about their experiences in trips in groups.
(2)Students are able to sort out the structure of news by means of a mind map and improve their abilities to summarize the main idea.
(3)Help students know how to introduce a city from different aspects such as location, climate, and famous tourist attractions, etc.
(4)Students are able to fill in the blanks using correct forms in five minutes.
The behavior environment in first teaching objective is groups in which students share their opinions. The second teaching objective presents the assistant equipment that is the mind map. The third teaching objective gives students detailed information to guide students to describe a city. The last teaching objective has specific time limit for students to fill in the blanks in five minutes. Only 67 teaching objectives with behavior conditions among 331 teaching objectives indicate that most English teachers in senior high schools pay little attention to the conditions in which students learn.
The degree of behavior can be used to measure how well students learn. Usually, the adverbs of degree can be used to describe the achievement of objectives from two aspects: the accuracy of behaviors and the quality of behaviors (Zheng Zeting 2013). As Figure 4.22 shows, there are 23 teaching objectives with behavior degrees among 331 teaching objectives.
Here are some examples below.
(1)To help the students master the meaning of key words and phrases, and identify them correctly in the text.
(2)Around the topic, based on the text, students can quickly obtain the required topic information and master the author's writing intention.
(3)Students are able to express their viewpoints fluently and creatively.
These adverbs of degree including “correctly”, “quickly”, “creatively”, and “fluently” describe the correctness and quality of students' behaviors.
When being asked the theories and methods of teaching objective statement, three teachers from Fushan No.1 Senior High School including Teacher 5, Teacher 3, and Teacher 2 claim that they know little about theories and methods of stating objectives. In addition, they also argue that as long as they can design teaching objectives, it doesn't matter whether they understand these theories or not. Teacher 6 believes that activating students' interest in English is more important; even if a teacher is proficient in theory, it will be futile if he or she does not do well in teaching. When being asked which of the four components mentioned in the ABCD model they apply, three teachers argue that they use students as the subjects of behavior, while three teachers indicate that they use themselves as the subjects of behavior. Three teachers assert that they use a range of verbs to guide their students' learning. Additionally, only one teacher analyzes the conditions and time constraints associated with completing learning tasks while designing teaching objectives.
In conclusion, with regard to the characteristics of the statement of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, although English teachers in senior high schools can take into account the two elements of behavior subject and behavior verb in ABCD teaching objective model, there are problems of deficiency, dislocation, and vague position of behavior subject. Besides, the use of behavior verbs is vague and general in content; In addition, English teachers ignore the behavior conditions and the behavior degrees.
Chapter Five Conclusion
Chapter Five is the conclusion of the research which concludes four parts including major findings, teaching implications for designing teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future study.
5.1Major Findings
The major findings are based on the above data analysis and discussion in Chapter Four. The thesis aims to answer four research questions by means of two research methods including text analysis and interview. Therefore, the major findings are presented around the four research questions.
Firstly, the ways of presenting teaching objectives based on English subject core competences in senior high schools are as follows: the three-dimensional objectives have been used for a long time, and objective designers form design inertia. Therefore, it is difficult for English teachers to upgrade the three-dimensional objectives to the four-dimensional objectives covering English subject core competencies. Most teachers take the three-dimensional objectives as the basic framework when designing the teaching objectives. Although some teachers use English subject core competencies to design teaching objectives, the comprehensiveness and hierarchy of the English subject core competencies are difficult to achieve, and the implementation effect of English subject core competencies is difficult to guarantee. Furthermore, some teachers fail to clarify the relationship between three-dimensional objectives and English subject core competencies. When designing teaching objectives, they not only design three-dimensional objectives, but also present four aspects of English subject core competencies. In addition, some teachers have not only abandoned the use of three-dimensional objectives for the design of teaching objectives, but also have failed to convert to the core competences for objective design.
Secondly, with regard to the characteristics of the distribution of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies in senior high schools, English teachers frequently prioritize language ability over other abilities such as learning ability, cultural awareness, and thinking capability. From the view of the overall situation of the four elements of the core competences of the English subject, it can be concluded that the cultivation and realization of students' core competence is influenced by the attainment of the English subject core competences. The teaching objectives do not cover the English subject core competencies fully, which is easy to make the development of students' subject core competencies incomplete and can not truly reflect subject educational value. Among the overall 331 teaching objectives, the four aspects of English subject core competencies can not be reflected in each teaching objective, and there is a lack of one aspect more or less.
In terms of language ability, the percentage of teaching objectives devoted to language knowledge is greater than the amount devoted to language skills. As for language knowledge, teachers focus on words most, followed by discourse knowledge and grammar knowledge, but focus less on phonetic knowledge and pragmatic knowledge. Among language knowledge, phonetic knowledge with minimum percentage is particularly ignored. As for language skills, English teachers pay more attention to speaking skill, followed by reading skill, writing skill, listening skill, and finally viewing skill. Among the five language skills, speaking skill accounts for the highest proportion. Besides, teachers design more teaching objectives involving reading skill and writing skill. Finally, viewing is the least developed of the five abilities and is rarely considered in senior high school English teaching objectives. In terms of cultural awareness, cultural understanding account for the biggest proportion than the other two competencies. From the perspective of thinking capacity, teaching objectives are mostly focused on the first two levels of thinking cognition, namely remembering and understanding as well as analyzing and applying. The behavior verbs used by English
teachers in senior high schools mostly reflect the lower level of thinking cognition. However, the last higher level of thinking cognition like evaluating and creating is less involved. From the standpoint of learning ability, the design of teaching objectives is primarily concerned with learning strategies, while ignoring learning attitudes and channels.
Thirdly, as for the characteristics of the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, the teaching objectives designed by senior high school English teachers are basically in line with the attainable principle and relevant principle; However, the measurable principle and specific principle are less taken into account by English teachers, which means they tend to use vague and general behavior verbs in designing teaching objectives.
Last but not least, with regard to the characteristics of the statement of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, although English teachers in senior high schools can take into account the two elements of behavior subject and behavior verb in ABCD teaching objective model, there are problems of deficiency, dislocation, and vague position of behavior subject. Besides, the use of behavior verbs is vague and general in content; In addition, English teachers ignore the behavior conditions and the behavior degrees.
5.2Teaching Implications
In order to achieve the effect of improving students' English subject core competencies in English teaching, English teachers in senior high schools need to highlight the English subject core competencies in teaching objectives, which is the key problem to be coped with. Aiming at dealing with the problems arising in the design of teaching objectives, the author proposes some suggestions on the design of English teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies.
When designing teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies,
senior high school English teachers should strive to expand their knowledge base of
64
English subject core competences so as to maintain their teaching ideas current while they are teaching. Furthermore, teachers should have thorough understanding of the development of students' English subject core competences before carefully analyzing teaching materials to ensure that the English subject core competencies are emphasized as much as feasible.
From the standpoint of English teachers, they should first shift their focus away from three-dimensional objectives and toward English subject core competencies. Additionally, English teachers should be familiar with the SMART principles and the ABCD model and attempt to utilize them as a theoretical foundation for designing teaching objectives. Secondly, the English teaching and research groups should conduct an analysis of existing English teaching objectives to identify problems in order to raise teachers' awareness of the importance of English subject core competencies through collaborative guidance and to closely align English subject core competencies with English teaching objectives. Thirdly, teaching objective should be redesigned by English teachers in senior high schools and the cultivation of students' English subject core competencies should be emphasized at the same time so as to achieve breakthrough in the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies. Fourthly, teachers in senior high schools should take excellent teaching objective cases as reference in order to explore the optimal method of the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies. Last but not least, a mutual exchange platform should be built to answer questions and solve doubts about the theoretical study of core competencies and problems encountered in the cultivation of students' English subject core competencies.
From the perspective of students, the object of teaching objective design is students who occupy the main position of teaching. English teachers must do in-depth investigations into students' core competencies so as to learn about students' core competencies well in advance of. First of all, English teachers can conduct periodic tests with the help of questions reflecting English subject core competencies so as to timely learn about the present level of student' English subject core competencies and find out their deficiencies in four English subject core competencies. Secondly, teachers can communicate with students about English subject core competencies to help students clarify their learning objectives. When designing teaching objectives, teachers should focus on the special needs of students on the basis of meeting the requirements of General Senior High English Curriculum Standards.
From the perspective of teaching materials, to begin with, teachers should analyze the requirements of the General Senior English Curriculum Standards (2020 edition) and study the key and difficult points of teaching objectives so as to match the English subject core competencies with relevant contents in teaching materials. Besides, teachers should focus on the analysis of the teaching materials and extract English subject core competencies behind the teaching materials so as to find an entry point to cultivate students' core competencies and lay the foundation for the design of high-quality teaching objectives oriented to the English subject core competencies. Additionally, teachers should design teaching objectives for different levels of learning and prepare for the implementation of English subject core competencies in advance across each unit, semester, and academic year in.
Last but not least, when stating teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies, teachers should utilize correct and effective methods.
Firstly, teaching objectives should vary from students' differences. Due to the difference of students' learning condition, it is necessary for teachers to design flexible teaching objectives to reflect the hierarchy of teaching objectives and leave enough space for the generation of teaching objectives. When stating teaching objectives teachers can use the method of hierarchical definition to outline the proportion of students who can achieve the teaching objectives. Teachers can categorize students into groups based on their academic performance, such as exceptional students, middling students, and slightly poor students, among other categories. Besides, percentage can also be used to divide students, for example, 70% students and 56% students. Finally, students can also be divided by whole and part, for example, all students, most students, and three fourths students.
Secondly, teachers should try to use verbs that can reflect the external changes behaviors. These verbs should be measurable, precise, and easy to understand. In the process of designing teaching objectives, if the verbs of cognitive categories such as learn, know, and understand are often used, the learners' learning effect is difficult to observe and measure.
Thirdly, teachers can use phrases of prepositional object to state behavior conditions like “according to”, “by means of”, and “on the basis of”, which are generally placed in front of teaching objectives. Behavioral conditions generally include environment, equipment, time, information, and other factors. There are generally four types of statement of behavior conditions: one is the situation of completing behavior, such as through autonomous learning, group discussion, and so on; The second one is the equipment allowed to be used, such as the use of notebooks to record important information, and the use of iPad to watch micro classes for self-study; The third one is the time limit such as writing a composition in 20 minutes; The fourth one is to provide auxiliary information, such as spelling new words according to phonetic symbols and spelling rules, overcoming new word obstacles and reading text according to contexts.
Lastly, teachers can use degree adverbs to describe students' behavior degrees. Adverbs of degree can clearly convey how well students are doing. Teachers should often use adverbs of degree and observable behavioral verbs to state teaching objectives, for example, reading text fluently, reciting a passage basically, and understanding roughly. The degree of behavior performance can also be placed after the statement of behaviors. And the degree of achievement of the preset teaching objectives can be described from the two aspects like behavior accuracy and quality. For example, when testing the students' mastery of words, the degree description of 95% accuracy rate can be added.
5.3Limitations of the Study
Due to the author's limited theoretical level and practical experiences, there are still some deficiencies in the research process of this thesis.
Firstly, the samples of teaching objective are not comprehensive enough. The author merely collects 60 English teaching plans ranging from 2018 to 2019 from the “one teacher, one lesson” website. The design cases of teaching objectives that can appear on the website of “one teacher and one lesson” are generally excellent. Although these teaching plans have forward-looking advantages in finding problems existing in the design of teaching objectives, some potential problems may be ignored because the thesis lacks the analysis of teaching objective design of front-line English teachers in Fushan No.1 Senior High Schools. In addition, the author just interviews 6 English teachers in Fushan No.1 Senior High School instead of communicating with these teachers of 60 high-quality lessons to further learn about their viewpoints on teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies.
Secondly, although the author puts forward some suggestions on the design of teaching objectives based on the English subject core competencies, the effect of these suggestions needs further practice and investigation.
Thirdly, when designing English teaching objectives based on English subject core competences, the author does not take the impact of teachers' age, education background, major, teaching level, and other factors on the design of teaching objectives into account, which may lead to the lack of depth of this study.
5.4Suggestions for Future Study
Firstly, in order to ensure the universal applicability of the research results, the research areas and samples should be expanded.
Secondly, when analyzing the teaching objectives, we can also consider the influence of teaching age, educational background, major, teaching level, and other factors on the design of teaching objectives based on English subject core competencies.
Finally, when carrying out the relevant research, we can focus on the research on the differences between teaching objective design and implementation, the comparative research on the teaching objective design of high-quality lessons and regular lessons, and the empirical research on the teaching objective design based on English subject core competencies in English teaching practice.
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