Improving Chinese primary school students’ oral English proficiency through interdisciplinary teaching

Abstract

In the context of accelerating globalization, English serves as a key tool for international communication and plays a vital role in developing Chinese primary school students’ oral communication skills for their future growth. However, traditional primary school English teaching methods, such as the grammar-translation method and the audiolingual method, have obvious limitations in cultivating students’ practical oral English skills and are difficult to meet the students’ needs of using English for communication in real-life situations. The Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition) in China actively advocates interdisciplinary teaching, providing a new direction for the reform of primary school English teaching. This study aims to deeply explore the specific paths, application status, challenges faced, and effective implementation strategies of interdisciplinary teaching in improving the oral English proficiency of Chinese primary school students. Through an extensive literature review, the theoretical foundations and key research findings on interdisciplinary teaching are synthesized, and the current application of interdisciplinary approaches in primary school oral English instruction is examined. With the help of the case analysis method, successful cases of interdisciplinary teaching are analyzed, and experiences and lessons are summarized. The study finds that interdisciplinary teaching has been applied to a certain extent in primary school oral English teaching, but there are still some problems. At the teacher level, difficulties in integrating subject knowledge, coordination issues of teaching time, and the shortage of teaching resources restrict the effective implementation of interdisciplinary teaching. At the student level, v individual differences make it difficult for some students to adapt to interdisciplinary teaching, and unclear learning objectives impede learning. At the teaching management level, the imperfect evaluation system and insufficient training and support also hinder the promotion of interdisciplinary teaching. In response to the above problems, this study proposes a series of targeted teaching strategies. Teachers should improve their ability to integrate subject knowledge by participating in training and self-study, plan teaching time reasonably, and make full use of network resources and school support to enrich teaching resources. They should pay attention to students’ individual differences, clarify learning objectives, and guide students to learn independently. Schools and educational departments need to improve the evaluation system, strengthen the training and support for teachers, and create a favorable environment for interdisciplinary teaching. These strategies have achieved certain results in practice, which helps to improve the oral English proficiency of primary school students, enhance students’ learning interest, and improve their comprehensive literacy. This study enriches the theoretical research on interdisciplinary teaching in primary school English, provides teachable practical guidance for educators, and is of great significance for promoting the reform of primary school English teaching and cultivating talents who meet the needs of the times.