The production-oriented approach to teaching university students English in China

Abstract

The production-oriented approach (POA) has been developed over ten years to overcome the weaknesses in English instruction in tertiary education in Mainland China. The POA tries to integrate the strengths of Western instructional approaches with Chinese contextual features and consists of three components: (a) teaching principles; (b) teaching hypotheses; and (c) teacher-mediated teaching processes. The teaching principles include 'learning-centered', 'learning-using integration', and 'whole-person education', and the teaching hypotheses are 'output-driven', 'input-enabled', and 'selective learning'. The teaching processes contain three phases, each mediated by the teacher: motivating, enabling, and assessing. The three principles set guidelines for the other two components; the three hypotheses serve as a theoretical basis for the teaching process; the three-phase teaching process reflects and illustrates the principles while testing the hypotheses.

Production-Oriented Approach to IELTS Writing Task 2

“…It is gradually developed and improved on the basis of inheriting the tradition of good education in China and drawing on relevant foreign language teaching theories. POA is committed to solving the problems of foreign language education in China, with distinct Chinese characteristics (Wen, 2017).…”

“…The third hypothesis is selective-learning hypothesis, which means learners can choose to learn what is useful for the assigned productive activity (Wen, 2016). The SLH assumes that output-driven learning with enabling input materials can lead to better outcomes when the input is selectively processed with a specific purpose for a productive activity (Hanten et al, 2007).…”

The Designing and Effects on the Application of POA in ESP Teaching

“…Through the learning of each unit in ESP course, students can have a better sense towards their majors, enhance the understanding of the profession, develop their professional potential, can also form an international perspective and thus achieve the overall goal of higher education in China--------to cultivate socially developed and globalized citizens [6].…”

“…Although they were given a variety of new titles, their most important duties are not clearly demonstrated. These important responsibilities include being the professional designers, organizers or director of English teaching [1]. College English teaching has always being under reformation for decades, and has made a lot of achievements, but there are still many shortcomings.…”

“…Teaching principles are the guidelines of the other two; teaching hypothesis is the theoretical support of teaching process; and teaching process is the realization of the teaching principles and teaching hypothesis. The role of teachers is reflected in all aspects of teaching [5].…”