Comparative Research On The Current Situation Of Cultivating English Core Competencies In Urban And Rural High Schools Following The College Entrance Examination Reform

The core concept of the new curriculum reform is core competencies,which has the function of guidance for basic education.Only when the core competencies are combined with various disciplines can it be truly applied to teaching activities.In other words,it is of great significance to study the English core competencies.On the other hand,following the new college entrance examination reform contents,English has become multi-time exams in a year,which leads to the misunderstanding of students and parents,who believe that the status of English in the new college entrance examination has declined.In fact,students and parents do not realize the disciplinary value and humanistic value of English.Therefore,this research aims to find out the reasons and propose suggestions for improvement by investigating the differences in the cultivation of English core competencies between urban and rural high school students.In this research,Grade Two students and English teachers from a urban key high school in Xiangyang City,Hubei Province,and Grade Two students and English teachers from a rural key high school are taken as the research subjects.By combining qualitative and quantitative research,the teachers and students of the two high schools were investigated with questionnaires,interviews and classroom observation to solve the related problems.(1)Is there any difference of cultivating students’ English core competencies in urban and rural senior high schools in Xiangyang City,Hubei Province following the new college entrance examination reform? If so,what are the differences?(2)What are the reasons for the differences in students’ English core competencies in urban and rural senior high schools in Xiangyang City,Hubei Province following the new college entrance examination reform?(3)What measures can be taken to eliminate the differences of cultivating students’ English core competencies in urban and rural senior high schools in Xiangyang City,Hubei Province following the new college entrance examination reform?The results show that there is a difference in the English core competencies between urban and rural high school students.In other words,the language competence,cultural awareness,thinking quality and learning ability of urban high school students are better than those of rural high school students.Based on the research results,this research proposes some relevant suggestions from the following three aspects: curriculum setting and selection of teaching materials,teachers and students.(1)High schools should adopt the “optional class system” for English elective courses,and select teaching materials according to the actual development needs of students.(2)Teachers should strengthen training and change teaching concepts.(3)Students should correct their learning attitude and improve their learning methods.