As learning is seen to be a social process as well as an intellectual activity in which teachers work in active partnership with students, "Teaching by Joint Presentation" (TJP) project sought to investigate what a humanistic concept of teacher-student joint presentation and critical inquiry can evoke in the language classroom within Chinese context. 289 college English literature learning students and 87 in-service secondary school teachers have participated in this study. The findings articulated a series of multifaceted differences concerning with students' learning aspiration and competence, together with the complexities of teaching methods in a humanistic language classroom. The results indicate that humanistic ideal does increase students' learning competence of critical insight, independent thought and reflective analysis. The study provides insights into humanistic competence growth of Chinese college language students based on empirical evidence.