On the Relative Effectiveness Of the Process- and Product-Oriented Approaches to Teaching English Composition

Author: Chia-Hsiu Tsao(Language Education Center, Fooyin University of Technology)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 51, No. 1
Date：April 2006
Pages：23-39
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2006045101002

Abstract：

Despite the long-running controversy regarding the relative merits of product- and process-oriented approaches to teaching English composition, few empirical studies on the effectiveness of either approach have been conducted. This study compared the relative effectiveness of the two approaches by conducting a quasi-experiment. The subjects were 40 English majors form two intact advanced writing classes in a 5-year college program, and the experiment lasted for one academic year. The results showed that: (1) the two approaches are both valid means of upgrading the students' overall ability in English writing, but neither of the two is clearly superior to the other; (2) a further analysis of the difference between the two approaches with regard to the four categories of composition (content, organization, grammar and usage) revealed that the product-oriented approach is more effective than the process-oriented one in improving the students' grammar and diction; (3) with regard to the profieciency level of students, the product approach is particularly effective in enchancing the grammar skills of less proficient writers, while the process approach cannot really improve either the grammar or diction skills of students at all levels of proficiency.

Keywords：English writing instruction, process-oriented approach, product-oriented approach

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