STARTING YOUNG: A parent picks up one out of a set of textbooks titled New Standard Kindergarten English at the book release event in Beijing on May 11, 2011 (WAN XIANG)

Sang raised his concerns to Beijing Review, "In an increasingly globalized world, learning foreign languages is high on the agenda of every country's educational institutions. However, not a single country would allow it to happen at the cost of one's own mother tongue."

China Business Morning Post, a newspaper in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, carried an editorial on October 22 concerning education reforms relating to English, saying that "studying one's mother tongue is always an indispensable focus of public education while studying a foreign language is a personal choice."

New learning methods

Increasing numbers of people have been questioning the effectiveness of the China's English learning obsession. Some say that the English examination system in the country needs to change as it puts too much emphasis on grades and ignores the development of student's comprehensive language capabilities.

Bao Guangjian, a radar systems engineer in Beijing, said that his English classes in school involved little oral English training, and that he could hardly utter a word when he first had to speak to someone face-to-face.

"My English studies in college were all about memorizing the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4) vocabulary and writing mock exam papers. I have a relatively large vocabulary, but I can only understand little more than 20 percent of a basic conversation in English," Bao said.

"We do not want students to devote too much time to repetitive learning of English grammar. This kind of learning process makes speaking and listening weaker," said Li Yi, a spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Education Commission. "Current English education methods and the entire structure of assessment programs have to be rethought."

The reforms in Beijing and other places have unleashed a torrent of support from netizens who have long complained about the huge burden brought by excessive English examinations.

According to an online survey initiated by news portal Sina.com on October 21, around 72.5 percent of the respondents supported lessening the importance of English in gaokao, while 22.7 percent opposed it.

Li said that China's test-oriented English education was ineffective in making students more internationalized.

"I find that there are many college students who have good English grades but are actually 'deaf and dumb' when it comes to using the language for communicating. Many of them also know very little about Western culture," Li noted.

Chu Zhaohui, a research fellow with the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences, said that reducing English's share of the total college entrance exam score does not mean that the importance attached to the language has lessened. Instead, according to him, it intends to highlight practical application of the language. For example, after the reform of English testing is implemented, the percentage of points allocated to listening comprehension will actually increase to 30 percent, compared to the 20 percent it accounted for before.

Sang told Beijing Review he expects further reforms by Beijing's education authorities to make the learning of the language more application-oriented.

Despite widespread opposition to excessive focus on exams, many parents said that they still attach great importance to their children's English education as it continues to have an impact on their future.

"English learning can help broaden children's horizons and help them understand different cultures," said Chen Weiping, father of an 8-year-old who opposes Wang's call to scrap English classes in primary schools.

"Primary school students studying English is fine. Just don't give them too many exams," Chen said.

Parent enthusiasm for extracurricular English training programs has not dampened either. Cheng Da, father of a fourth-grade student, said that his son's English training programs, which focus on speaking ability, cost his family more than 10,000 yuan ($1,600) a year.

"Of all the subjects taught in schools, English is the most useful, as it facilitates communication," Cheng said. "Even if English was no longer tested in the college entrance exam, I would not stop supporting my son's oral English lessons."

In September, the Ministry of Education issued the second draft of regulations on reducing students' academic burdens. It proposed canceling unified English examinations in primary schools in an attempt to make English education less test-oriented.

Experts and the public have generally expressed support for the initiative, saying it will help lighten students' workload while allowing them to focus more on cultural and practical subjects.

Email us at: lili@bjreview.com