Tackling the conceptual issues in language educaiton: do we develop skills or competences? [Articol]

Abstract

The article examines the sometimes confusing use of the terms competence and skills in the Moldovan language education context. Teachers of English as a foreign language seem to closely follow the guidelines of the national curriculum, which does not seem to facilitate the teachers’ work in their design process. The fact that the term competence is opposed to that of skill in TEFL literature seems to be ignored by the authors of the curriculum. Thus, teachers feel forced to use the exact terminology from the curriculum, even if it can cause confusion.