Shifting from Teaching the Subject to Developing Core Competencies Through the Subject: The Revised Senior Middle School English Curriculum Standards (2017 Edition) in China

Abstract

This chapter begins with a brief overview of the background regarding the national English curriculum reform in China since the beginning of the century with the experimentation and implementation of three major English curricula for primary and secondary education. It then introduces the Senior Middle School English Curriculum Standards (2017 edition), a revised edition to the Senior Middle School English Curriculum Standards (Experimental Edition) issued in 2003. While the experimental edition stressed on the development of students’ overall language ability including language skills, language knowledge, affect and attitude, learning strategies, and cultural awareness, the new edition moves beyond a focus on language abilities to a focus on developing students’ core competencies through the English subject (hereafter referred as the English Subject Core Competencies). These changes not only reflect the international trend in curriculum development, but they also accommodate local practices and social values in China. In the new edition of the curriculum standards, the English subject core competencies has four components including language ability, cultural awareness, thinking skills, and learning capacity, all considered to be the core qualities that should be developed through English education when preparing students for the twenty-first century. Based on the introduction and interpretation of the revised and updated curriculum including curriculum goals, course structure, content selection, teaching approaches, and assessment methods, the chapter continues to discuss the reasons behind these changes and implications for future implementation.