Journal of Literature and Art Studies, July 2017, Vol. 7, No. 7, 935-938
doi: 10.17265/2159-5836/2017.07.011
English Language Education in China:
Progress, Problems and Reflections*
SHI Jia-lin
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, PRC
The thesis is aimed at putting forward to some problems existing in contemporary China’s English teaching by
showing progress made in recent years. Reflections have formed by contemplating the gaps of English teaching
with that of Asian & European countries. This thesis, through a general perspective, outlines what English teachers
will do to push Chinese English learning to a new level.
Keywords: China, English language, education, reflections
Historical Background of English Education and Learning in China
Since 1978, with the end of “Cultural Revolution”, China was beginning its economic, political as well as All Rights Reserved.
educational liberation & reforms, so was English education. As foreign exchange is gaining strength in recent
years, China has been launching and conducting an impressive English education innovation with the ultimate
goal of creating a bilingual schooling in Chinese and English. 2008 Beijing Olympiad was a crucial moment for
us to promote the external image & influence by building strong atmosphere of learning English. Although a
large number of educated people in ordinary jobs and circumstances speak relatively fluent English, many
acceptlanguagegrassroots civilians without better education cannot accept English as a yardstick because they tend to be
conservative or less desirous to enhance their comprehensive competitiveness in the job-hunting market. As
globalization is sweeping every corner and every country, how China faces the trend and urges its people to learn
English in a fruitful manner will be on high agenda. Through several decades’ learning English, Chinese people
have improved a lot in English understanding and acquisition. In retrospect, costs are still huge and problems are
still looming, though progress has been conspicuous, however, reflections are necessary for us to contemplate
how we could intensify English language teaching and learning in China by borrowing advanced experience from
other countries, especially the neighboring ones in the future.
Contemporary English Education Reforms
For long, Chinese students have to take numerous tests and examinations at different levels. Besides quizzes
*Acknowledgements: This paper , with the subject“Thoughts and Methodologies on Cultivating the Critical Thinking Ablities
for English-major Students”, is Funded by Educational Sciences Planning Office of Chongqing Municipality, Project Code:
2015-GX-054.
SHI Jia-lin, Doctor of American Studies, Associate Professor of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications,
Visiting Scholar with Department of History, University of Texas at Austin.
Research Interests: American Studies, Latin American Studies & Intercultural Communication.
936
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN CHINA: PROGRESS, PROBLEMS AND REFLECTIONS and tests at school, they have to pass unified English examinations administered by local education committees or
the National Education Examination Authority (generally Ministry of Education in China or MoE), in order to
enter senior high school, university and graduate school. Furthermore, when people apply for a job position
which requires certain knowledge of the English language, a test called PETS (Public English Test System) came
into being, in which scores of applicants may be taken into consideration by employers. With things continuing
this way, MoE issued unified the normal syllabuses, testing guidelines and English examinations, and meanwhile,
the local educational institutes must have tried to improve English language education so that students or adults
have to acquire related skills to communicated with people from other countries in English. Therefore, there are
still some problems to be solved.
First, we should pay more attention to teachers’ qualification and standards. Chinese learners lack the English language environment, and teaching resources and facilities are inadequate or inadvertently evenly
distributed, which has been leading to expanding disparity in English learning results among different areas.
Moreover, except the traditional foreign language institutes, the class sizes are not reasonably designed. Some
classes are too crowded, which makes it almost impossible for an English teacher to take care of each student.
Therefore, highly-qualified English teachers could make up for the lack of English language input. Second, the
implementation of English Curriculum Standards should be effectively assessed and investigated because goals
differ and students’ learning capabilities diverge. Schools, parents and students pay most of their attention to
being successful in examinations and pin much hope on grasping English. Behind the grievous anxiety, how
could we measure our students’ learning motivation, learning strategies, cultural awareness and communicative All Rights Reserved.
abilities through unified English courses and tests? Third, the merits and demerits of English tests should be fully
realized. A test is not an end, but a means of assessing the efficiency of English teaching and learning. English
language assessment is an important part of English language education in China. Students spend a lot of money
and time on learning English in order to get high scores in various English tests. Many families facilitate their
children to learn English from kindergarten. With hard work for more than ten years, students’ English
proficiency has been highly developed, but many students have obtained experiences and techniques of taking
tests. The functions of culturally transmitting and intercultural communication have been neglected. Therefore,
numerous tests in China have greatly negative backwash on teaching and learning.
As an English practitioner as well as a cultural historian, I strongly suggest that we need to remold and reflect on Chinese English teaching and learning. Initially, Students with overburdened English tests should
instead take extra activities or seminars to whet their appetites to learn English, change the current situation of
teaching to test, but veer to develop students communicative competence; meanwhile, meaning speaking
activities require communication between to solve a problem and to complete a task, thereby teamwork spirit as
well as cooperative abilities accrue. In addition, we should give students time and space for experiencing and
enjoying the charm of English learning. Usually, students spend much time in doing English test books and
exercise books, and have no time to read English newspapers and books or enjoy listening to English songs,
novels and real conversations. MoE, as the supreme authority in formulating national syllabuses and teaching
guidelines, should be decentralized and execute more flexible and efficacious policies to boost English learning.
By borrowing the advanced experience in launching English education from Asia neighboring countries such as
Japan, ROK, Singapore, Chinese central government ought to take responsibilities for seeking adequate remedy
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN CHINA: PROGRESS, PROBLEMS AND REFLECTIONS937
for dealing with the poorly-performing status quo of English learning, namely, nationwide learning with
regressive effect.
As an globally international association, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) introduces the notion of a principles-based approach (PBA) for English language policies and practices. PBA
identifies six principles aimed at helping policymakers, researchers and practitioners build effect and successful
practices within varied contexts while identifying and engaging with the challenges that the implementation of
these practices will encounter. The six principles are collaboration, relevance, evidence, alignment, transparency
and empowerment (CREATE). In order to meet the demands of globalization and the interests of the local
populations of different countries, the proposal of PBA is having major impact on global English education. By
investigating PBA principles, I totally consent to the context-appropriate standards, which connects
socio-cultural, political, economic and historical aspects of each individual country or setting. Besides, the
political and ideological orientations of language policy and planning are closely related to dominant and
powerful languages. Language becomes a power, suggesting that language policies serve the interests of
dominant groups in maintaining their power and prestige while marginalizing, excluding, and even exploiting
minority groups and speakers of other languages.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, now that English is given a privileged position, as an English educator and a councilor to my university and my local government, the road to English education will be long and prospective. On the one hand, All Rights Reserved.
we need to understand about language itself, design and deliver rational education programs to motivate students’
learning enthusiasm and adopt the scientific alternatives to arrange English teaching and learning. On the other
hand, we must have the notion of “language ecology” in an education setting by taking the diverse
“socio-political settings” into account, where the processes of language use create, reflect and challenge
particular hierarchies and hegemony. As a soft-power tool, my research first accentuates the effect and influence
of English learning with view to a variety of local areas, and meanwhile work with Professor Tania will be based
on empirical and field studies to accomplish the cross-cultural communication and pursue the most suitable and
tenable solutions to help China draw up doable and sustainable English education policies, further promoting
Chinese English education.
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