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Basic information of Chinese education

okalinai — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:45:15 +0000

In China, there is a law called “the compulsory 9-year education law”, which consists of primary school and middle school educations. This law has come into effect since 1st of July in 1986 (Overview of the education system in China, n.d.), and has given the free education to huge number of children. Under the law, children have to go to school from 6 years old. Nowadays, the 6-3 system, which means 6 years of primary school and 3 years of secondary school education, is common. Adding pre-school education and 3 years of high school education, China express the terms of these educations “the basic education”, and other three components are: occupational education, higher education and adult education (The open university, 2008). Higher education usually consists of 4 years of university or college education. Therefore, the Chinese education system today, which can be expressed “6-3-3-4 education”, is just same as Japanese one though it is not adjust to every place in China because of its wideness.
Other general features of Chinese education are that there are private schools and public schools. Private schools, which started to operate early 1980s (25 surprising facts about China’s education system, 2009), put emphasis on English language education than public schools, and so they are likely to hire foreign teachers (word press, n.d.), and at basic education, the schools usually starts between 7 to 8 o’clock in the morning with 30 to 40 students in a class (personal interviews for some Chinese people, 2009). Unlike Japanese one, Chinese education system divides a year into two semesters (The open university, 2008). Semester one starts on 1st of September, and semester two begins on 1st of March after the Spring Festival holiday. There is also another holiday during July and August.

Abstract

okalinai — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:44:21 +0000

This paper discusses how the English education in China has been changed with expansion of Chinese economy. The main purpose of this paper is to learn about what happens to English education in China and what state English has for Chinese people these days. In each section, what I was adamant about is to relate the topics to present situation of Chinese people by picking information about their lives.
This paper could be divided into following 5 parts, starting with about Basic information of Chinese education, followed by the present condition of English at each education levels, the relationship between Chinese history and English education, the recent events that have impacted on English education, and the status of English for Chinese people.
This paper basically focus on the educations in the urban cities where has developed with effects of other countries, which means that the places has needed other languages to communicate because it is very difficult to talk about all of the places of English education while China is a big country and has differences between each area.

Events that have impacted English education in China

okalinai — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:05:07 +0000

One of the recent events which enhanced Chinese people to study English was the Beijing Olympic. According to Feng (2007), the Committee of Beijing Residents for English Speaking, established in 2002, let people pass the English examination in 2008 who worked the jobs which might have opportunity to face foreign people coming to China to see the Olympic, such as the taxi drivers, the waitress. From this event, people might have changed their ideas of English. There might be people who realized the importance of English.

The things have changed recently

In terms of the English education, the new education program was introduced in China around the year of 2002, especially focusing on listening and speaking. The new program has two special features. According to Lin (2002), the new curriculum required teaching English from grade 3 in elementary schools and it is divided into 9 levels, and there are some rules for students: After graduating elementary schools, students need to get level 2. Then, after graduating junior high schools, they need to get level 5. Moreover, reaching level 9 is required to the students who studied at high schools which put stress on foreign languages and the other high school students need to reach level 8.

Primary schools

Studying a language from earlier step seems to help people to master the language quicker. Foust (2003) mentioned that “Science suggests that when it comes to ease of learning and proficiency in a foreign language, earlier is better.” Many Chinese parents seem to consider it and let their children study English earlier, and let them take English exams. One of the most popular exams for children aged for 7 to 12 in China is YLE (Young Learners English tests), which is an exam formed 3 levels and evaluate listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities, and approximately 2 million people have took the test since 1997, the year it launched (New Oriental Education and Technology Group, 2008). In this exam, every student gets a score up to 5 for each section (Hinata, 2008).This test might bring the heart of competition for children in terms of studying English.

However, the important thing of teaching English for primary school students is not make them compete but make them have a confidence to communicate in English. According to Lin (2008), English grammar should not be taught, but there are some things that students have to know, for instance, the grammar of English is not the same as that of Chinese. Lin also mentioned that the final test is held just for teachers to know their students’ strong points and weaknesses, not for students to improve their ability of English (2008). Teaching English in primary schools in China is an opportunity for children to meet English from earlier age. Furthermore, at one of the primary schools in Beijing, students speak actively in English class (Ozeki, 2006). Thus, there are many students who enjoy learning English, and this could help students to master it quicker.

University

Recently, English is not only for the English major students. In most of over 1,000 universities with more than 11 million students in China, English is required foreign language (Cortazzi & Jin, 2004). The major courses such as information technology, bio-technology, new material technology, finance and law are taught in both Chinese and English, and 5-10 % of the entire classes are given in English (Xinhua News Agency, 2001). There are English courses for all students. Standard English is taught in first 2 years and divided 4 terms, and end of the each terms, students are needed to take the exam, which are called CET (College English Test) level 1, 2, 3 and 4. If students do not pass the CET 4, they cannot get bachelor’s degree (Miyahara, Yamanaka, Kinoshita, Namoto & Murakami, 1997). “There are level 6 and 8, too” said Sun Yu, who is from Xi’an in China and now studying English in New Zealand, “People who pass the level 6 and level 8 have more chance to get a better job.” (Personal interview, 2009) Level 6 is for the English major students. In addition, there is another English exam for oral skills related to CET, which is the CET-Speaking English Test (SET). “It has been added since 1999, and band one to three and five (CET 1-3 and 5) are achievement tests administrated at collegiate level at the end of each semester.” (Chen & Klenowski, 2009)

There are many universities that tie up with universities in overseas in China. They have many programs to study abroad. Wan Chenxi, who is from Beijing and now is studying in New Zealand, said that he has finished his 2 years in his university in China, and needs to study for 2 more years in New Zealand to get the bachelor’s degree, which is one of his school programs (personal interview, 2009). This kind of program might enhance Chinese people to study abroad. A teacher from China said that in university in China, the motivation of the students whose major are English is very high. It is seen that students reading English in the morning in the campus (Hu, Personal interview, 2009).

Open Door Policy

okalinai — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:33:31 +0000

One of the biggest things that have influenced on the Chinese English education was the economic reform, which was started by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. Under this reform, China started to trade with outside of the country and to try to get the any kind of idea from other cultures. As it opened its door to other countries, foreign languages became very important for the country. Many schools and universities started teaching English as a main foreign language again (Yang, n.d.). A variety kind of scholars and professionals in overseas were welcomed to China to give lectures, and students have been allowed to go to study abroad since this time (Chow, 2007). Since this year, not only has this event changed the system of education but also in terms of social economy. For example, now China is one of the most important countries of the United States, as it is a key trading partner. Chinese consumption will grow continuously with estimating that China will be the second immense consumer market of the world following the United States, having approximately $3.7 trillion for its total household spending (Roett & Paz, 2008). Thus, this economic reform was the first step for China to become one of the most important countries all over the world, and English, which seem to be a important language for many countries to communicate, has been becoming more and more important tool for the country.

- Yang, R. (n.d.). Teaching English to Primary School Students in the People’s Republic of China. Retrieved on October 24, 2009. from http://www.education.monash.edu.au/centres/mcrie/docs/bookchapters/global-english-ch05.pdf#search=’rui yang teaching english to primary school students’

- Chow, G. (2007). China’s Economic Transformation. Singapore: Blackwell Publishing Ltd

- Paz, G. & Roett, R. (Eds.) (2008). China’s expansion into the western hemisphere: implications for Latin America and the United States. Washington, D.C.: The brookings institution.

Chinese English education was greatly influenced by economic reform in China, which began under Deng Xiaoping in 1978.

then incorporate this 1962 quote from Xiaoping which is here

Why did this attitude create a great influence in Chinese English education?

References

okalinai — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:42:49 +0000

Cortazzi, M., Jin, L. (2004). English Language Teaching in China: A Bridge to the Future. Kam, H., Wong, R. (Eds.). English Language Teaching in East Asia Today. (pp. 123). Singapore: Eastern University Press.

Edvec Institute of Education. (2007). English education in universities in China 1. Efe. Retrieved on May 25, 2009, From http://blogefe.blog97.fc2.com/category12-3.html

Foust, L. (2003). Earlier is Better. Parent’s Press. Retrieved on August 26, 2009, from http://www.parentspress.com/edulanguages.html

Hai, T., Qiang, N., Wolff, M. (2008). CHINA EFL: A NEW PARADIGM. In Megan, L., Hall, S. (2008). (Eds.). Education in China: 21^st Century Issues and Challenges. (pp. 188). New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Hinata, K. (2008). The admirable primary English education in China: The comparison of primary school English education between in Japan and China. Space ALC. Retrieved on May 24, 2009, From http://eng.alc.co.jp/newsbiz/hinata/2008/05/post_477.html

Hobson, N. (2005). The Globalization of English. WebProNews. Retreived on March 22, 2009, From http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2005/03/07/the-globalization-of-english

Kingsley, B. (2003). Chinese Englishes. Cambridge: the Press syndicate of the University of Cambridge
KNNSport. (2008). Crazy English [video]. Retrieved on August 27, 2009. from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AjRkWm1jAU

Lin, C. (2008). Primary School English Education in China. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Retrieved March 30, 2009, from http://www.fltrp.com/newsdetail.cfm?icntno=87222&channel=2

Lin Lin.(2002). English Education in Present-day China. Retrieved on March 11, 2009,
from http://www.accu.or.jp/appreb/09/pdf33-2/33-2P008-009.pdf

Miyahara, F., Yamanaka, S., Kinoshita, M., Namoto, M., Murakami, R., Yamamoto, H. (1997). Is the state of the English education in universities good as it is?. Tokyo: Shohakusha.

New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc. (2008). New Oriental to Administer Cambridge Young Learners English Exam. Breitbart.com. Retrieved on May 24, 2009, From http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20081120.CNTH020&show_article=1

n.g.(2002). The level of the foreign language connects to their salary. Renminwang. Retrieved April 12, 2009. From http://j.peopledaily.com.cn/2002/09/23/jp20020923_21605.html

Ozeki, N. (2006). The things appear from the English education in China. English Educational Essay. Retrieved on May 24, 2009, From http://www.eigokyoikunews.com/eigokyoiku/essay/200602/index.shtml

Xinhua News Agency. (2001). China to Promote Bilingual Education. China. org.cn. Retrieved March 22, 2009, From http://www.china.org.cn/english/2001/Sep/19574.htm

Introduction

okalinai — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:20:51 +0000

Introduction

Nowadays, people often see or hear the word “Globalization”, which means that each culture and economic structure in the world are becoming linked internationally. It could be said that if a country wants to be global, it needs a tool to communicate with other countries. “English”, as one of the most important international languages, is one such tool. People often use it when they talk with people from different countries. People could live in everywhere if they can speak English. It might be because of that English is recognized as a world language everywhere. Hobson has written that both a Korean chief visits Shanghai on his business and a Brazilian biochemist goes to Sweden to attend a conference might use English to speak (2005). Thus, English also seems to be one of the most important tools for business. While English states like this, many companies all over the world have set their eyes on the field of the Chinese economy. This is a good opportunity for Chinese people to develop their economy. However, the language spoken in China is not English but Chinese, which might make people from other countries difficult to establish their businesses there, compared to establishing them in English spoken countries. While many people have started learning Chinese language, I believe that it would help China develop more quickly if more and more Chinese people can speak English well.