Optimizing L2 Curriculum for China Post-Secondary Education

This instructional paper examines the lack of L2 English skills demonstrated by Chinese post-secondary education students and the results of empiric testing to determine what key language functions were missing from a student's tool box when exiting their primary education phase.The identification of these skills and ability gaps allowed for construction of L2 bridge curriculum that would allow students to acquire the necessary foundation skills to exchange information in a meaningful fashion consistent with college and university freshmen and sophomore students. Three years of development in a vocational college environment using TQM (Total Quality Management) elements of continuous improvements and testing with comparative metrics against non-participating classes allowed for dynamic development and improvements in the curriculum package prior to its deployment at the University level in 2014. A two year post assessment took place from 2015-2017 and tracked students continuing test results for both the CET 3 (College English Test ) series examinations and the IELTS ( International English Language Testing System ) examinations which are used as a advancement/graduation metric in many institution settings. The overall results indicate that using element(s) of the optimized L2 curriculum conveyed a significant improvement and advantage over institutions course programs in terms of L2 language skill, ability, and function that included vocabulary span, reading, and writing proficiencies. The demonstrated skill acquisition advantages are reflected in comparative testing and scoring on both formal CET 3/IELTS tests and general oral communication skills in both post-secondary environment and post-graduation settings. The use of this type of curriculum package provided significant advantages in closing L2 level skills gaps found between non-affluent and affluent students.