17.  English Teaching in China

Some people say that English teaching in China is a total failure.  After ten years of English learning, most graduates can’t properly communicate with foreigners, nor can they translate between languages with confidence, let alone write in English. 

As far as college English teaching is concerned, there are three main reasons that help bring about the problem.  To begin with, College English teaching is, to a great extent, teacher-centered, turning a language class into a lecture on grammar.  It is still very common that the teacher explains every language point in detail, with students taking notes all the time.  Secondly, culture is neglected in English teaching.  Some outdated materials and a great deal of grammar exercises in the book mislead students to pay too much attention to separate words and grammatical rules.  Finally, test-oriented education, in a sense, leads astray language teaching in China.  For example, the nationwide College English Test is so over-emphasized in some colleges that teacher teach just for the sake of test, and students learn nothing other than testing techniques.  As a result, students’ language competence is weakened though the passing rate has increased. 

Therefore, in my opinion, English teaching in China should be reformed.  The education should be oriented towards all-round development of personal qualities.  And language abilities should be given priority in language teaching and learning.