The Golden Curriculum represents a shift to quality teaching at classroom practice, emphasizing high-order, innovative and challenging courses in higher education of China. However, there is a lack of study specifically focusing on teaching competencies for implementing a Golden Curriculum in English language education. Therefore, the study addresses this gap by exploring the Golden Curriculum teaching competency elements required for university teachers of English as a foreign language in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two groups of experts, resulting in 19 themes emerging from the thematic analysis of transcriptions in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude. These themes encompassed various aspects, including in-depth content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, technological pedagogical and content knowledge; professional-level English language proficiency, data-driven instructional design ability, competency-based delivery ability, adaptive assessment ability, human-AI pedagogical collaboration ability, praxis-theory integration ability, positive learner engagement ability, collaborative stakeholder engagement ability, higher-order thinking skills; dedicated and committed identity, content awareness, self-awareness, people awareness, technology awareness, and resilience and fulfilment. The findings serve as a foundation for the creation of a Golden Curriculum teaching competency framework, empowering educators to meet the challenges of today’s educational landscape and enhance student performance.
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