Paper Status Tracking

Journals by Title

Journals by Subject

Contact us

	[email protected]
	3275638434

	Paper Publishing WeChat

Useful Links

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Article

Open Access

Balancing Examination Preparation and Language Competency Development in Postgraduate Entrance Examination English Elective Courses: A Perspective From Chinese Application-Oriented Universities

Author(s)

LI Zhentan

Full-Text PDF Download XML 46 Views

DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2026.08.005

Affiliation(s)

Nanning University, Nanning, China

ABSTRACT

Postgraduate entrance examination English elective courses have become an important part of College English education in Chinese universities. However, many of these courses remain strongly examination-oriented, with limited attention to students’ broader language competencies and longer-term academic needs. From a competency-based perspective, this paper examines the relationship between examination preparation and language competency development in application-oriented universities. It discusses the limitations of excessive test-oriented instruction and considers how examination tasks can also support academic reading, writing, translation, critical thinking, and autonomous learning. The paper argues that examination preparation and competency development need not be treated as competing goals. A more balanced approach can better address students’ immediate examination needs while supporting their subsequent academic development.

KEYWORDS

postgraduate entrance examination English, College English curriculum, competency-based education, application-oriented universities

Cite this paper

LI Zhentan. (2026). Balancing Examination Preparation and Language Competency Development in Postgraduate Entrance Examination English Elective Courses: A Perspective From Chinese Application-Oriented Universities. US-China Education Review A, August 2026, Vol. 16, No. 8, 586-590.

References

Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language pedagogy. In J. C. Richards and R. W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication (pp. 2-27). London: Longman.

Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-47. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/I.1.1

Carlgren, D. (2021). Competency-based curriculum transition: A conceptual framework. The Journal of Competency-Based Education, 6(2), e01229. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/cbe2.1229

College Foreign Languages Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education. (2020). College English teaching guidelines (2020 edition). Beijing: Higher Education Press. [In Chinese]

Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride and J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected readings (pp. 269-293). London: Penguin.

Spencer, L. M., Jr., & Spencer, S. M. (1993). Competence at work: Models for superior performance. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Wang, S. R. (2016). An interpretation of the Guidelines on College English Teaching. Foreign Language World, 37(3), 2-10. [In Chinese]

Wen, Q. F. (2014). Debate on teaching EGP or ESP in college English: Problems and suggested solutions. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, 36(1), 1-8. [In Chinese]

Wen, Q. (2018). The production-oriented approach to teaching university students English in China. Language Teaching, 51(4), 526-540. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144481600001X