1 Introduction

This section discusses the era of core competencies in China's basic education English curriculum reform, emphasizing the integration of the instrumental and humanistic aspects of English courses and the importance of cultivating students' core competencies. It also highlights the prevalence of exam-oriented education in primary and secondary schools and stresses that education should return to human development, serving the growth of students' core competencies. With the deepening of educational reforms, English teaching has shifted toward a core competency-oriented approach. The section underscores the pivotal role of teachers in educational reform and mentions the establishment of "Foreign Language Pedagogy" as a secondary discipline under Foreign Language and Literature, providing disciplinary and academic support for primary and secondary school foreign language teachers.

2 Current Status, Issues, and Causes of Junior High School English Teachers' Implementation of English Education

This section examines the current status, challenges, and underlying causes faced by junior high school English teachers in implementing the new English curriculum. Through questionnaires, online interviews, and literature analysis, it was found that teachers encounter difficulties in practicing core competency-oriented English education, primarily due to internal and external factors. Internal factors include limited educational perspectives, professional knowledge, and teaching abilities, making it challenging to meet the demands of core competency cultivation. External factors involve complex student conditions, biased evaluations, excessive workloads, and a lack of targeted training and research support. Specific issues manifest in five areas: 1) A disconnect between theory and practice, with teachers lacking pathways to translate curriculum concepts into teaching actions; 2) Insufficient theoretical grounding, as teachers lack in-depth research on language learning theories and student cognitive development; 3) Misplaced classroom focus, where teachers prioritize their own "teaching" over students' "learning"; 4) Teaching and learning driven by exams, reflecting a tendency toward exam-oriented practices and a fixation on scores; 5) Restricted professional development, with disparities across regions, schools, and individuals, and a lack of systematic and specialized training and research support.

3 Research-Based Strategies to Improve the Quality of Junior High School English Education

Educational research plays a vital role in basic-level foreign language education, particularly in enhancing teacher professional development and classroom teaching quality. The Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Basic Education Research in the New Era emphasizes the importance of reforming research work, including holistic education research, key环节 research, and innovative research methods. Both the New High School Curriculum Standards and the New Compulsory Education Curriculum Standards propose recommendations for improving teacher professionalism, highlighting the central role of research in English education.

To address the issues in junior high school English education, researchers should reinforce concepts, guiding teachers to shift from studying "how to teach" to "how students learn," and from researching "teachers" to researching "students." Specific recommendations include: deepening classroom engagement, guiding teachers to complete two critical teaching transformations and construct effective educational pathways; studying learning processes, encouraging teachers to activate students' intrinsic motivation and enhance their persistence; prioritizing "substance" over "form," instructing teachers to apply fundamental principles of foreign language teaching and new curriculum concepts to effectively use textbooks and facilitate learning; focusing on teachers, leveraging research communities to pool educational wisdom and promote sustainable development of language proficiency and teaching capabilities; and harnessing digital empowerment, helping teachers rationally analyze and scientifically improve teaching and learning behaviors and outcomes based on precise data and robust evidence.

Researchers should lead teachers in integrating new requirements into lesson design and implementation, exploring educational pathways that reflect the distinctive features of English courses. Teachers need the ability to translate curriculum concepts into teaching practices, recognizing students as the main agents of classroom learning and facilitating the transformation of knowledge into skills through experience and participation. Researchers must guide teachers to break through cognitive barriers, accurately grasp and manage the relationships between knowledge, skills, and competencies, and foster competency development.

Researchers should encourage teachers to focus on learning processes, study the patterns and characteristics of adolescent foreign language learners, stimulate interest, train learning methods, enhance motivation, and improve psychological qualities. Teachers must comprehensively understand and scientifically apply curriculum content to facilitate the transformation of knowledge into key competencies and values through deep processing. Teachers should transition from being "experts in teaching" to "designers of student learning," adopting a "learning-centered teaching" approach to ignite intrinsic motivation and organize students' participation in language learning activities.

Researchers should guide teachers to use textbooks effectively by adhering to fundamental principles of foreign language teaching and new curriculum concepts, thereby promoting learning. Teachers should avoid blindly accepting or rigidly applying any single teaching method; instead, they should cultivate critical and innovative thinking to develop approaches suited to their contexts. Researchers need to guide teachers to thoroughly analyze textbooks, understand their logical structures,编排 intentions, and key challenges, and effectively utilize the learning materials and activities provided by textbooks in alignment with student needs and real-life contexts.

Educational reform is fundamentally about transforming people, and teachers play a crucial role in curriculum reform. Teachers should prioritize learning disciplinary knowledge of English, conditional knowledge of English teaching, and practical knowledge of teaching, enhancing their language proficiency and teaching abilities. Research work should identify and leverage the educational wisdom of individual teachers and groups, encouraging timely self-reflection in learning and practice, and fostering communication, learning, and collaboration among teachers to collectively elevate professional素养 and teaching capabilities.

Digital empowerment provides teachers with precise data support and丰富的 evidence resources, enabling more scientific and effective professional development. Researchers should lead teachers in深入研究 artificial intelligence, exploring the integration of智能 technologies—such as resource creation, tool utilization, and data support—with English学科 to develop educational pathways. Researchers must fully leverage the role of "people" while complementing it with technology, respecting teacher diversity, and精准 designing and implementing personalized, tiered training and research to offer qualitative improvement suggestions with warmth.

4 Conclusion

Basic foreign language education in the new era肩负着 cultivating国际化人才 with爱国情怀, international视野, and comprehensive English proficiency的重任. It aims to use foreign languages to share China's stories and母语 to讲述外国 stories, playing a vital role in汲取 human文明成果,传播中华文化, and构建 a人类命运共同体. Achieving the goal of developing students' core competencies in basic English courses requires the collective efforts of all English teachers, focusing on the growth and development of "people." Junior high school English courses serve as a bridge in students'成长, laying the foundation for lifelong learning and适应社会发展. The recommendations proposed in this article aim to help research departments and junior high school English teachers uphold the spirit of educators, explore pathways to develop students' core competencies, implement English education, promote holistic student development, and fulfill the使命 entrusted to basic foreign language educators in the new era.