1 Introduction

This section elaborates on the importance of textbooks in international Chinese language teaching, points out that textbook usage is influenced by teachers' educational philosophies, emphasizes the necessity for teachers to innovatively use textbooks under the guidance of teaching theories, identifies current research gaps, and introduces the aim of this study: to explore the strategies used by international Chinese language teachers in employing spoken Chinese textbooks under the guidance of the "Production-Oriented Approach" (POA) theory and to assess teaching effectiveness, thereby discussing pathways for textbook development and enhancing teachers' effectiveness in using teaching materials.

2 Textbook Use and Evaluation Under the "Production-Oriented Approach"

This section discusses the application of the "Production-Oriented Approach" in the use and evaluation of intermediate spoken Chinese textbooks. It first introduces the definition of textbooks and new perspectives on textbook usage, elaborating on three orientations in textbook use and emphasizing that "teaching with textbooks" is the more effective orientation advocated by the POA. Subsequently, it presents the textbook usage philosophy based on the POA proposed by Wen Qiufang, which includes teacher-led instruction, production goals determining instruction, and input materials serving those goals, and details the four stages of textbook use for teachers: selection, adjustment, modification, and supplementation. Furthermore, it proposes three evaluation dimensions for textbook usage effectiveness: appropriateness of production goals, effectiveness of facilitating activities, and achievement of production goals. Finally, it identifies issues in intermediate and advanced spoken Chinese teaching, such as difficulties in interaction, low speaking rates, and separation of learning from application, analyzes the relationship between these problems and the insufficient exploitation of textbook value, and presents the specific problems this study aims to explore regarding intermediate spoken Chinese textbook usage and instructional design based on POA teaching theory.

3 Case Analysis of Textbook Use

This section examines the use of intermediate spoken Chinese textbooks based on the "Production-Oriented Approach" through case analysis. It begins by analyzing the background of the teaching experiment, including the selected textbook, teaching subjects, instructors, teaching methods and duration, as well as students' learning needs and existing problems. It then defines the unit themes and production goals, reflecting on and setting teaching objectives. Regarding the selection and adaptation of input materials, adjustments are made to the textbook content, including selecting and modifying text materials, adding or deleting vocabulary and rearranging the order, and adapting exercise formats. Finally, the teaching process is designed according to the POA instructional flow, comprising motivating, enabling, and assessing phases, aiming to enhance students' discourse expression and textual organization abilities.

4 Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness

This chapter investigates the effectiveness of using intermediate spoken Chinese textbooks based on the "Production-Oriented Approach" through methods such as questionnaires, post-class interviews, and teacher reflection logs, conducting a comprehensive evaluation from four dimensions: student classroom engagement, perceived gains, satisfaction, and evaluation of textbook content. Questionnaire results indicate that students rated textbook content, classroom engagement, perceived gains, and satisfaction highly, with reliability coefficients of 0.749, 0.726, 0.952, and 0.822, respectively. In post-class interviews, students found the adapted materials practical and interesting, believed the motivating phase effectively enhanced attention and learning interest, but considered the immediate discourse production exercises challenging. Teacher reflection logs showed that teaching effectiveness improved in the second and third rounds compared to the first, primarily due to optimization in the motivating phase and supplementary materials.

5 Discussion and Implications

This chapter employs various research methods to explore how international Chinese language teachers use and redesign intermediate spoken Chinese textbooks based on the "Production-Oriented Approach," confirming the close relationship between textbook usage effectiveness and teaching methods as well as teachers' philosophies. The study finds that teachers play a leading role in textbook use, needing to select, supplement, and adapt textbook content based on student needs and teaching issues, while also requiring comprehensive planning awareness and reflective abilities. This demands that teachers possess professional beliefs, theoretical knowledge, and systematic teaching philosophies. External environmental support, such as establishing professional learning communities for teachers, is also crucial for teacher development. Furthermore, the research findings impose higher demands on international Chinese textbook development, pointing out issues in intermediate spoken Chinese textbooks such as insufficient variety in models and lack of specificity. It suggests adjustments in textbook and exercise design, focusing on text meaning and training in discourse expression abilities, utilizing information technology and digital platforms to initiate digital textbook development, and establishing themed material text libraries as supplementary resources for textbooks. Finally, it proposes that future research could extend time spans and apply to different course types, integrating textbook research with classroom teaching studies.