Theoretical Foundation for Developing Instructional Guide for China Pre-Service EFL Teachers to Teach Phonics

In China, the absence of a phonics instructional guide hinders pre-service EFL teachers’ preparation for phonics instruction. To bridge the gap, the purpose of this article is to lay the theoretical groundwork for developing a phonics instructional guide for Chinese pre-service EFL teachers and then to produce a research methodology for this instructional guide. The Bottom-up Theory of Reading Process; the S-R Theory with Reinforcement, particularly Instrumental Conditioning; and the Trial-and-Error Theory of Learning all have pedagogical implications for implementing explicit and systematic phonics instruction for EFL beginners in China. Additionally, in conjunction with the Andragogy Theory of Adult Learning, these theories provide a theoretical foundation for instructional design. Following the ADDIE sequential framework, a multi-phase mixed methods experimental design was used to collect data from 254 representative samples chosen through a stratified random sampling technique. The findings indicate that within the theoretical framework and with the incorporation of specific design frameworks into the ADDIE sequential framework, the instructional guide was successful, although some refinement is still needed. Furthermore, the findings suggest that additional research could be conducted on advanced evaluation levels.