Application Of Production-oriented Approach In The Teaching Of College English Writing

English writing is not only an important output activity;it is also a vital manifestation of English comprehensive ability.According to the evaluation standards of College English Curriculum Requirements(2017)in China,many college students are still at a lower proficiency level of English writing.With the aim of raising students’ English level,especially their writing level,and improving the effect on teaching English writing,Professor Wen Qiufang of Beijing Foreign Studies University proposed Production-Oriented Approach(POA)in 2014.Utilizing POA theory,this thesis made an empirical study of teaching college English writing and attempted to verify whether POA teaching could stimulate students’ interest in English writing,cultivate positive attitudes towards English writing and improve their English writing level effectively.In this research,a sixteen-week empirical study was conducted among 174 freshmen of two parallel groups from Hebei Agricultural University.One group was an Experimental Group(EG)(83 students)using POA teaching,while the other group was a Control Group(CG)(91 students)using traditional teaching.The research instruments were English writing tests,questionnaires,and interviews.The experimental results of this research were as follows: First,the results of independent samples t-test showed that there was no significant difference between EG(M=79.01,SD=5.14)and CG(M=80.33,SD=5.31)during English writing pre-test(p>0.05).After a sixteen-week experiment,there was a significant difference between the EG(M=86.17,SD=4.79)and the CG(M=80.22,SD=7.49)during English writing post-test(p<0.05).Meanwhile,according to the paired samples t-test,there was a significant difference in the EG between its pre-test and post-test(p<0.05),while there was no significant difference in the CG between its pre-test and post-test(p>0.05).Secondly,pre-and post-questionnaires were used before and after the experiment to analyze the changes in students’ attitudes towards English writing and POA teaching.According to the paired samples t-test,there were significant differences in four different dimensions(cognitive information about English writing;input materials andproductive tasks;acceptance of POA;English writing problems)between pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire(p<0.05).Lastly,after the experiment,eight representative students in the EG were interviewed individually to further understand students’ perceptions and feelings about English writing and POA teaching.The experimental results of this research can be discussed as follows: First,the students in the EG made significant progress in the English writing test than those in the CG.Meanwhile,the English writing level of the students in the EG was improved significantly after the POA writing teaching for sixteen weeks.Secondly,the questionnaires revealed that students’ cognitive information about English writing,their understanding of input learning materials and productive task,and their acceptance of POA teaching were improved significantly while the students’ writing problems were somewhat reduced.Finally,it was found through interviews that POA teaching method was positively accepted,especially the part of teacher-student collaborative-assessment,the students’ writing abilities were improved to varying degrees and that POA had an effective effect on English writing.Consequently,the data of this research provide strong support for the practicality and feasibility of POA theory in the teaching of college English writing.Compared with traditional teaching,POA teaching is an effective and practical teaching method,which can improve students’ writing level to a certain extent,positively influence students’ writing attitude,and stimulate students’ writing interest.Furthermore,some pedagogical implications are drawn for the teaching of college English writing.