An Empirical Study On Teaching Competency Of Secondary Vocational Schools English Teachers

The progress of society,the innovation of science and technology,and the development of economy all promote the tide of vocational education reform in our country.Secondary vocational schools play an important role on the training of skilled professionals and the improvement of the quality of the laborers.English teachers in secondary vocational schools play a crucial part in promoting English teachers’ teaching level and cultivating international skilled talents for domestic and overseas labor market.In order to improve the quality of secondary vocational schools,it is necessary to study the teaching competency of English teachers in secondary vocational schools.The study investigates the teaching competency of 230 English teachers in 6districts of 4 cities in Guangdong province by questionnaire.The results show that the average score of English teachers’ teaching competency in these secondary vocational schools is 4.50,which is close to a good level.The score of each primary index of English teachers’ teaching competency in secondary vocational schools is professional character 4.55,knowledge attainment 4.50,personal trait 4.48 and teaching ability4.47,indicating that the teaching competency of the respondents is relatively balanced in all dimensions.Meanwhile,the survey results also show that different English teachers in secondary vocational schools have different levels of teaching competency.From the perspective of regions,the average scores of competency rank from high to low is: Baiyun District and Tianhe District of Guangzhou,Nanshan District of Shenzhen,Sanshui District of Foshan,Chikan District and Mazhang District of Zhanjiang.From the perspective of school type,the scores of teachers’ competency in public schools are obviously higher than those in private schools.From the perspective of age,teachers aged from 35 to 45 have the best competency.The teaching competency before 45 years old increases with age,while after 45 years old it declines.According to the teaching experience,the highest level of competency is for teachers with 6-10 years of teaching age.From the perspective of establishment,teachers who have obtained the national teacher establishment are more competent than those who have not.From the educational background,the higher educational background,the higher level of teachers’ teaching competency.From the professional title,teachers with higher professional titles have higher average scores.From theteaching situation,the more number of hours per week,the higher level of teaching competency.The teaching competency of English teachers who serve as head teachers in secondary vocational schools is higher than that of the teachers’ who have never been head teachers.There is no gender difference in the teaching competency of English teachers in secondary vocational schools.The main factors affecting the teaching competency are teaching research organization,teacher training,teaching consultation,teaching observation,literature reading,teaching research and teaching pressure.Based on the results of the survey,some suggestions are put forward to improve the teaching competency of English teachers in secondary vocational schools:maintain the stability of English teachers;support English teachers to participate in training activities;attract English teachers to participate in teaching research activities;strengthen English teachers to study and communicate with each other;encourage English teachers to upgrade their academic qualifications;guide English teachers to keep reading widely;improve the level of economic treatment of English teachers.