Teaching Competencies of Language Teachers in Research Universities in Beijing: Perspectives from Sotl and Institutional Theory

Table 6.
Language teachers’ views on the structure of teaching competencies.
Perceived Teaching Competencies
Frequency
English proficiency
Very good command of English
100% (16)
Education/work experience in English-speaking countries
100% (16)
First degree majoring in English
75% (12)
Professional ethics
Putting students first
75% (12)
Enthusiasm in teaching/Reliability
94% (15)
Life-long learning/Adaptability
100% (16)
Interpersonal skills and team spirit
75% (12)
Pedagogical
content knowledge
Teaching English literature/culture as liberal arts education
56% (9)
Understanding basic knowledge from another discipline
63% (10)
Teaching English language that students will use in further education or at workplace
69% (11)
Education in an English-related or interdisciplinary background
88% (14)
Reflection as a
form of research
Reflecting on the syllabus
50% (8)
Reflecting on teaching materials
88% (14)
Reflecting on class management
82% (13)
Rearranging
teaching practices
informed by
research
Student needs analysis
56% (9)
Rearranging the curriculum informed by research
82% (13)
Conducting research in SLA
44% (7)
Conducting research in language teaching pedagogy
44% (7)
Doctoral degree
88% (14)
The data relating to the factors that mediate the development of teaching competencies
and to the pathways for nurturing teaching competencies was analyzed in a deductive way
driven by the authors’ interest in the interpretive power of Scott’s new institutionalism the-
ory. Subthemes, such as “the culture of recognizing the importance of language teaching”,
“university assessment policy” and “national guidelines on College English teaching” were
mapped onto the institutional systems at different levels following Scott’s theory.