Research on the Development of Interdisciplinary Teaching Competence for Junior High School English Teachers from the Perspective of Professional Learning Communities

Qi Wang

doi:10.63313/EH.9107

Authors

Qi Wang China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637000, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63313/EH.9107

Keywords:

Professional Learning Community, Interdisciplinary Teaching Competence, Teacher Professional Development, Lesson Study, Junior High School English, Curriculum Reform 2022

Abstract

The Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition) has introduced “interdisciplinary thematic learning,” requiring English teachers to develop interdisciplinary teaching competence—a demand further intensified by increasingly interdisciplinary Zhongkao examination papers. However, most junior high school English teachers, typically trained in English-related majors, lack sufficient interdisciplinary knowledge and instructional design capacity, and existing school-based teaching and research systems rarely support interdisciplinary collaboration. Adopting the perspective of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), this paper combines literature review, text analysis of the 2023–2024 Nanchong Zhongkao English papers, and theoretical deduction to examine how PLCs can facilitate teachers’ interdisciplinary teaching competence. The paper proposes three core mechanisms through which PLCs promote such competence: interdisciplinary knowledge co-construction, collective reflection and practice improvement, and professional identity reconstruction. Building on these mechanisms, four practical pathways are further designed, namely constructing interdisciplinary teaching and research communities, carrying out interdisciplinary lesson study, establishing online interdisciplinary learning networks, and providing school-level institutional safeguards.

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