Abstract: In order to boost the development of applied English specialty from the perspective of the link.age between higher vocational education and undergraduate education, it is necessary to focus on cultiva.ting students’ core competencies , ineluding competeney in international communieation in voeational set.tings, competeney in multicultural exchange, competeney in advanced thinking and competeney in high.er-level learing autonomy. As an important way to improve students’ ability to analyze and solve prob.lems, eritical thinking, creativity and humanistic literacy, the praeticum teaching module needs to bebased on the curriculum and teaching tasks, and to integrate theoretical courses with professional prac.tice. 'Through integrating the cultivation of the critical thinking with the curriculum of practieal teaching,we emphasize the training of students' cognitive skills of analyzing, evaluating and creating on the basis ofthe development of their skills of remembering, understanding, and applying. The ultimate goal is to ad.dress the “ absenee of critical thinking skills” in English teaching regarding the linkage of higher voeational colleges and universities, which is resulted from the overemphasis of importanee of language skillsand language input while devaluing thinking skills and the funetion of output.

Key words: linkage of higher voeational edueation and undergraduate edueation, practical teaching, critical thinking, core competency, English teaching in vocational education