introduction

The importance of cultivating students' problem-solving abilities in basic foreign language education was discussed, and the practical exploration of English teaching in Beijing Second Experimental Primary School since 2017 was introduced, including using textbooks as the basis, core literacy as the goal, integrating multidisciplinary resources, innovatively designing school-based English curriculum, cultivating students' ability to discover and solve problems, developing core literacy, and achieving the goal of curriculum education.

Curriculum Teaching Design Targeting the Cultivation of Problem Solving Ability

Emphasis has been placed on the curriculum and teaching design centered on the cultivation of problem-solving abilities. According to the requirements of the "Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)", the teacher team should integrate English curriculum objectives with school education and teaching objectives, and systematically plan English curriculum teaching. The specific approach includes integrating, expanding, and extending the content of English textbooks, constructing English curriculum content that is suitable for students' development needs, providing high-quality learning resources and effective learning methods. At the same time, it is proposed to use the construction of problem maps as a strategy, and through the teaching strategies of problem chains and concept maps, guide students to structure and systematize knowledge, form thematic meanings, and enhance their thinking abilities. Taking the "Healthy Eating" unit as an example, the application of problem map teaching strategy is demonstrated. By designing driving questions and sub questions, students are guided to solve problems layer by layer, forming a knowledge network.

Developing problem-solving skills in different types of school-based courses

This article introduces how schools systematically plan and integrate the cultivation of problem-solving skills through three types of school-based courses: basic courses, extended courses, and comprehensive practical courses. Basic courses take problem maps as the path and guide students to improve their language and thinking abilities through the overall teaching design of each unit in the process of discovering and solving problems. For example, through the case study of the Foreign Language Research Edition primary school English textbook, it demonstrates how to design unit driven questions to stimulate students' exploration activities. Expansion courses focus on English reading and cultivate students' problem-solving awareness through picture books and multimodal discourse. The teaching of senior reading combines real-life problem scenarios, such as the reading activity "The Beauty of the Forbidden City", to guide students to conduct in-depth exploration. Comprehensive practical courses focus on students' daily lives and real-life issues, such as "mobile phone usage" and "healthy eating". Through interdisciplinary thematic learning, students are able to apply knowledge comprehensively in real-life situations to solve problems, achieving experiential learning and practical application. Teachers need to consider the authenticity, complexity, and suitability of problems when designing courses, in order to stimulate students' learning motivation and provide sufficient space for exploration.

Suggestions for English teaching practice based on the cultivation of problem-solving ability

Emphasis was placed on the importance of cultivating students' problem-solving abilities in primary school English teaching, and three suggestions were put forward: 1) Through teaching activities of different lesson types, such as dialogue, reading, and subject practice, students' thinking abilities such as comparison, analysis, and inference can be cultivated; 2) Design effective driving problems and problem chains, guide students to identify problems, analyze problems, and form solution strategies; 3) Follow the problem-solving process, design problem-solving tasks, and guide students to solve problems in English by creating scenarios. These teaching practices help students improve their problem-solving skills in language learning, promote a deeper understanding of textbooks and daily life, and encourage active thinking.