China Downplays English-Language Education With Series of Reforms
A language school in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou.
Efforts are underway in parts of China to strip English-language education of some of its importance within the country's school systems, a move that has been widely applauded online.
The Beijing Municipal Education Commission has introduced a series of reforms to cool down enthusiasm for English in the education system since October 2013. The Commission has reduced the weight of the English ability test from 150 to 100 in the Gaokao, China's national higher education entrance examination. At the same time, the weight of the Chinese ability test will be increased from 150 to 180 in the new scheme that will go into effect in 2016.
English learning for primary school students will also be postponed from first grade to third grade.
The policy changes have been backed by Chinese Communist Party think tanks, such as the Intelligence Research Academy, whose head Zhang Shuhua argued in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that English-language studies were “destructive” to education as a whole. Zhang stressed that language studies should be treated as a means for social reform and development rather than an end.
Compared to Beijing, education authorities from other provinces have taken even more radical measures. For example, the Shandong governmentdecided to cancel the English-listening test for Gaokao in 2014, while the Jiangsu government is considering excluding the English ability test altogether from the Gaokao.
These changes have received quite a lot of support from users on China's social web, where there is a tendency to see English and Chinese at odds with each other. For example, in the comment section of a popular local media outlet, Phoenix's special feature report about the policy change, a netizen from Guangxi wrote:
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An anonymous article widely circulated online even connected the policy with the official political propaganda of the Chinese Dream :
不立即废除英语高考,中国复兴梦是白日梦!【转】
学英语是是孩子的恶梦,中国人的肿瘤,应该做手术了。
As long as the English test still is
part of the Gaokao, the revival of the
Chinese Dream is a daydream! [Repost]
The English language is the nightmare of
children, the tumor of the Chinese
people. It's time for surgery [...] How
many people have put in hours of work
sweating over learning English? This is
a factor contributing to the backward
development of our country's science and
technology. Elementary English education
is a failure of the Chinese education
system, and upper-ranking authorities
should reflect on this.
[...]
为了学英语浪费了多少有志之士的心血?这是我国科技发展迟缓的一个重要因素。全民学英语是中国教育的一大失败,高层应当进行反思。
Some educators are uneasy
about such advocacy for
radical changes. Educator
Ling Zongwei
(@凌宗伟1376361860) rebuffed the
ideological argument :
一个想复兴的民族,拒绝学外语,如何融入世界呢?我甚至怀疑取消英语教学与考试是一个阴谋。
How can a nation be revived by rejecting
foreign language learning? How can it
integrate with the world? I am a bit
skeptical about the policy and inclined
to believe that the abolition of
English-language education and
examination is a conspiracy.
Current affairs observer Xu
Jianming (@许建民) also found the
education campaign
disturbing :
当下,取消英语教学和考试之风,似乎越演越烈。人有惰性,谁都不愿考试。当年文革,学生们不仅反对考试,还打倒教师,砸烂学校,的确轻松潇洒。结果,却是荒废了学业,虚度了年华,多少人抱憾终生。经济全球化以来,印度发展加快,原因就在于英语的普及。因此,英语教学不应强制推行,但也不应一风吹。
The movement calling for the abolition
of English-language education and
examination is getting stronger and
stronger. Students are by nature lazy
and don't want to take examinations.
During the Cultural Revolution, students
were against examinations. They beat up
teachers and tore down schools.
Everything came so naturally. Eventually
they lost their time and their education
and were regretful throughout their
lives. In the time of economic
globalization, the development of India
is driven by their popular English
education. I do agree that we don't need
to make English-language education
compulsory, but abolition is another
story.
“Grey-pigeon silver-water”
(@灰鸽子银水) believed that
the policy will result in an
educational divide :
根据我对山东河南高中教育的一些了解,高考取消英语,只是取消了穷孩子学英语的权利而已,人生,又一扇窗关掉了。至于沿海的,有钱人家的孩子,他们反正是要本科出国念的,或者会在国内大学大二出国交换的,反正会学好英语的。
According to my experience in teaching
high schools in Shandong and Henan
provinces, to exclude the English test
from the Gaokao would mean to deprive
poor children of the right to learn
English. Another window in their lives
will be closed. In coastal provinces,
children from wealthy families are able
to pursue tertiary education aboard, or
they have the chance to join exchange
programs while they are attending local
universities. The opportunity to learn
English is always there for them.
Indeed, Wang Haitao, vice president of New
Oriental Education and Technology Group, a
private education institute to train
students’ language ability and examination
skill, stated [en]
that the decision will create new business
opportunities for families looking to
supplement their children's English language
education.
So far, public opinion is in favor of the education reform: 72 percent
of approximately 35,000 respondents in an online poll conducted
by Sina Survey expressed
their support for the changes to the national examination system.
However, in another online
survey conducted by state-owned broadcaster CCTV, the same percentage of
voters want to have mathematics taken off of the Gaokao, believing that
it is useless except for counting money :
继北京高考英语降分引发热议后,数学又引发了大家的集体吐槽,认为数学难度太大,平时生活中,买菜什么的需要用到几何函数吗?关于“数学该滚出高考吗”的调查显示,7万多网友支持数学滚出高考,称自己仅是“做题机器”。
Math prompts public complaints also,
following hot discussion over Beijing's
reduction of English-language points on
the Gaokao. Many think math curricula
are too difficult for students. Do we
need to use geometric function in our
daily lives when we're buying vegetables?
The poll question “should math be taken
off of the Gaokao?” received more than
70,000 yes votes from netizens, calling
themselves “mathematics exercise machine
[calculator]“. Written
by
Jack Hu
Source :
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