Effects of a Production-Oriented English for Cabin Crew Course on Oral Communication and Professional Skills

บทคัดย่อ

This mixed-methods intervention study evaluated a needs-based English-for-Cabin-Crew course implemented using the Production-Oriented Approach (POA) at a Chinese vocational college. Forty-nine second-year cabin crew students completed a 16-week, 64-hour course organized around the flight-service sequence and a motivating–enabling–assessing cycle. Parallel pre- and post-tests assessed six dimensions of oral communication and five components of professional competence. Paired-samples t-tests and Cohen’s d quantified change; a 23-item perception questionnaire and interviews with 10 students examined acceptability and learning experience. Overall oral communication increased from M = 1.52 (SD = 0.40) to M = 2.21 (SD = 0.61), t (48) = 17.45, p < .01, d = 2.49. Every oral dimension improved significantly, with the largest effect for fluency (d = 2.73). Overall professional scores increased from M = 83.27 (SD = 11.60) to M = 86.57 (SD = 10.47), t(48) = 5.05, p < .001, d = 0.72; however, only professional vocabulary was individually significant. Students evaluated the course highly (overall M = 4.30), and 95.9% described it as very or mostly successful and effective. Interview themes emphasized authenticity, confidence, collaboration, and the usefulness of production tasks. Triangulation showed that perceived professional improvement was stronger than several objective component gains, underlining the importance of multiple outcome measures. The findings support differentiated evaluation in vocational ESP, with separate indicators for language performance, professional knowledge, and situated procedural competence. POA-based ESP can rapidly improve oral performance, while professional procedural competence may require longer, simulator-intensive practice and direct observation in authentic training environments. The findings also identify priorities for refining the course.