Research on Pathways for Foreign Language Classroom Innovation in Holistic Development at Private Universities

Traditional foreign language education in China has long relied on the “dual-basics” training model, which prioritizes linguistic fundamentals (phonetics, vocabulary, grammar) and basic skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing). While this instrumentalist paradigm enhances test-taking proficiency, it systematically neglects the cultivation of humanistic qualities and critical thinking, leading to widespread “critical thinking deficiency syndrome.” Holistic education, emphasizing the integrated development of cognition, emotion, and morality, offers a theoretical framework to address the “skill-over-humanity” dilemma in foreign language education. However, empirical validation of its practical implementation and pedagogical efficacy in private universities remains underexplored. This study conducts a quasi-experiment at Zhejiang Yuexiu University, comparing the effects of a holistic education model (experimental class, n = 40) with traditional pedagogy (control class, n = 40). Grounded in the ASK framework (Awareness-Skill-Knowledge), the study integrates blended learning and multidimensional assessment. Results indicate that the experimental class significantly outperformed the control class in attention span (82% vs. 68%, p < 0.01), CET-4 pass rate (85% vs. 70%, p = 0.042), and self-rated critical thinking (4.3 vs. 3.6, p < 0.05). Qualitative analysis reveals high-frequency terms in experimental students’ reflective journals, such as “cultural empathy” (28.6%) and “social responsibility” (15.4%), whereas the control group exhibited utilitarian concerns like “exam pressure” (34.2%). The findings demonstrate that holistic education synergistically enhances language acquisition and humanistic literacy through contextualized interaction and metacognitive training, providing a replicable paradigm for transforming private university foreign language education from “knowledge transmission” to “value-oriented cultivation”.