Beijing education authorities plan to de-emphasise English scores on standardised tests, a sign that China's obsession with the language may be waning. The Beijing municipal commission of education plans to reduce the English section of the all-important college admissions test, the Gaokao, from 150 points to 100 points in major cities by 2016, China's official newswire Xinhua reported. It will boost the value of the Chinese section from 150 to 180 points. Currently, the test weighs English, Chinese and maths equally. Officials have spun the proposal as both a practical decision and a matter of national pride. "The change highlights the fundamental importance of mother tongue in the curriculum," a representative from the commission told Xinhua. Education authorities are also considering scrapping mandatory English lessons before the third grade. They currently begin on the first day of primary school. Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, as well as Shanghai, may remove English from the Gaokao entirely. Public consultation on the proposal began on Monday, Xinhua reported. Wu Mengran, a 19-year-old recent high-school graduate in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said the change would allow students to spend more time studying oral English rather than blindly copying grammar patterns in preparation for the test. "In China, you can be really good at English tests but still not be able to use English to communicate," she said. "Very few people study English here just to study English." Chinese schools currently mandate English classes until university, giving rise to a sprawling £3.1bn private English training industry. Even remote cities are full of test prep schools and tutoring agencies. Xinhua called the proposals "no more than a minor tweak", emphasising that they would change the way that English is taught without diminishing its importance. |
北京教育當(dāng)局計劃降低高考英語分值,中國的英語熱也許就此降溫。
中國官員稱,此次高考改革方案既是一個切合實際的決定,也是關(guān)乎民族榮譽感的重大舉措。教委發(fā)言人對新華社記者說,“此次改革強調(diào)了母語學(xué)習(xí)課程的基礎(chǔ)性重要地位。” 北京市教委同時也在考慮取消小學(xué)三年級以前的英語課程。目前,從小學(xué)一年級起就已開設(shè)英語課。
新華社稱此次高考改革方案“不過是個微調(diào)”,并強調(diào)英語教育方式改革不會削減英語本身的重要性。 (譯者 吲哚乙酸 編輯 丹妮) |