Impact of the New Competency-Based Curriculum on the Development of Language Skills in English Learners

Abstract

This article titled Impact of the New Curriculum by Competence on the Development of Language Skills in Students of English at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, UNAN – Managua, presents research carried out in the trained program in researching community intervention made in collaboration with the Pablo Olavide University UPO of Seville, Spain, in 2022. The study addresses the adoption of this curriculum at UNAN-Managua and how it has impacted the development of language skills, vocational training, and students' job skills. A mixed approach, which combines the qualitative and quantitative methods, is used. The survey to collect information and the questionnaire as a data collection instrument, which contained closed and open questions for students in the second year of the English major at CUR-Chontales, have been used, using SPSS for quantitative analysis and hermeneutics for qualitative analysis of answers.

The results indicate that 85.2% of students perceive a significant development of their language skills through the curriculum by competence. Furthermore, 100% recognize that the career study plan is based on competence, although 14.8% express little dissatisfaction related to their language skills development outside the classroom.

In conclusion, implementing the curriculum by competence has been crucial to improving the English students' language skills at UNAN Managua. However, it identifies the need to improve the integration of practical activities and exposure to language outside the classroom to optimize language skills development further. These findings underline the importance of continuously adapting educational methods to achieve the demands of the labor field and improve the quality of education in university contexts.