A Brief Analysis about the Content and Current Situation of Vocational Students Oral English Skills Competition

楊靜宇

【Abstract】Higher vocational education is an important part of Chinas higher and vocational education system. The target of which is to cultivate high-quality and skilled talents， and skills competition is one of the most direct ways to test the results of skills training. Vocational students oral English skills competition has received more and more attention， vocational colleges also make it the platform to present skills and teaching achievements to achieve the aim of deepen the reform of English teaching in vocational colleges. This paper aims to cause peoples reflection to the reform of English teaching by analyzing the current situation of the competition based on the content.

【Key words】Higher vocational education； oral English； skills competition

Foreword

Vocational students skills competition is proposed by education department and held by either the education department with other relevant departments or other organizations authorized by Ministry of Education， it focuses on vocational majors， it includes students vocational skills competition and teachers teaching skill competition. Among which， Oral English Skills Competition not only helps the students to develop their interest in learning， but also practice their ability to express themselves.

1. The content

From 2004 on， English Course Guiding Committee decided to hold vocational students oral English skill competition every year； whats more， the Ministry of Education brought the competition into national vocational students skills competition since 2011， which not only improves students interest to the language， but also brings enlightenment to the reform of English teaching in vocational colleges. Oral English skill competition can be divided into the preliminary contest and the quarter-final. The preliminary contest gives priority to oral retelling； students will be assigned an English passage and given 15 minutes to prepare and retell the passage within two minutes. The quarter-final is more complicated， it includes description， communication and debate. Description tests students statement ability by asking him/her to describe a photo or an advertisement within 15 minutes. Communication requires students to communicate with the judgers by using daily conversation expressions or professional communicative expressions after fifteen-minute preparation. Students are divided into two groups by drawing lots； judgers mark the students according to the students oral statement and their debating behaviors.

2.The current situation

Its easy to find that the competition tests students overall capacity including comprehension， thinking， and responding. These are also standards that the companies use to choose talents. But after analyzing the current situation we didnt find it meet the expected effect， which can be seen in following two aspects. First， the students ability to use English is too poor and they dont have good English knowledge. Since the enrollment marks reduce every year， so does the overall quality of the students. Due to the restriction of students learning habit and ability， oral expression， grammar and vocabulary， teachers find it difficult to carry out their teaching plans. This is the essential reason why students cant get high marks in the competition. Second， students are not good at communicating and analyzing， like they cant describe a picture correctly and express their own opinions afterwards. These are shortcomings shown when teaching English in vocational colleges， the colleges should change what and how they teach according to students behavior in the competition， and provides ideas for the cultivation of talents.

Conclusion

Just like vocational students oral English skill competition， other English competitions in vocational colleges are the most suitable ways to test students English skill levels. By coaching competitors， we found the problems while they learn oral English， and thought about the reasons. The acquisition of English knowledge and skills counts on both scientific teaching methods and students daily accumulation of knowledge. What should be remembered is that skill competition is the way， improvement is the purpose， and to achieve the goal of promoting teaching and learning by organizing skills competitions.

References：

[1]Cohen，A.D.（2000）.Strategies Based Instruction for Learners of a Second Language.NASSP Bulletin.

[2]Ellis，Rod.（1999）.Learning a Second Language Through Interaction.Philadelphia：John Benjamin.

*2016年度湖南省教育廳科學(xué)研究項(xiàng)目 16C0861。