Research On The Development Of Professional Competence Of Primary School English Teachers

Teachers' professional development is inevitably the request of the new curriculum reforms, and the need of the teachers' self-improvement. The new educational concept in the new curriculum reforms in China constitutes new challenges for the new teachers in their teachers' professional development, especially in the teachers' professional competence development in primary schools.Questionnaire survey and interviews were carried out among 107 new English teachers in 40 primary schools in Duanzhou District, Zhaoqing. The survey shows that the majority of teachers have already adapted to the English teaching in primary schools as the time goes by.However, the new teachers' professional abilities vary from teaching design, organization and implementation, encouragement and evaluation, communication and cooperation to reflection and research. Most teachers can design the teaching plan according the three-dimension objects in English New Curriculum Standard. The majority of teachers can arose students' interest and inspire the students to explore in the English class. They can control the class as well. Most teachers can use multiple evaluation methods to evaluate students. Most teachers can communicate effectively with their students and colleagues but not with the students' parents. Some teachers initiatively reflect on their teaching after class and improve their teaching in this way. Overall, problems lie in the following aspects:(1) Teachers teaching pressure is big not only in teaching English but also in other subjects.(2) Teachers' teaching plan is not sequential.(3) Teachers have the high ability in English teaching but low ability in class management and education wisdom.(4) The communication ability between teachers and students' parents need to be improved.(5) Teaching reflection ability is high while teaching research ability is low.The main reasons for the above problems are as follows: Firstly, teachers have no conscience of teachers' professional development. Secondly, schools cannot give new teachers in time and all-round constructions. Thirdly, trainings and mentorship activities instructed by Zhaoqing Education Authority are not well organized.Three strategies are proposed to improve the development of new English teachers' professional competence in primary schools. First of all, teachers should build correct professional values and cultivate awareness and ability of self-development in professional competence. What's more, schools establish the humanistic environment, rely on school-based teaching and research and create a personal development plan Portfolio. Last but not the least, education administrative departments improve the incentive system, improve the evaluation dimensions and regulations and assure the training effective from the angle of the development of the new English teachers' professional competence.