English Language Education

Policies in the People’s

Republic of China
 Contemporary
Theory/Discussions on
English Language Policy
 Language policy, as defined by
Spolsky ( 2004 ,2012) , consists of
three components:
1. Language Practices
-refers to the actual language use of
members of a speech community,
including what language or variety of
a language is used for what, with
2. Language Beliefs or
Ideology
-refers to the views, opinions and
perceptions members of a speech
community hold towards a
language or variety of a language
and its use.
3. Language Intervention,
Planning or Management
-refers to endeavors to change or
influence language practices by those
members of a speech community with
the real or perceived authority to do
so.
• The existence of a global language
and its implications is in fact “one of
the liveliest current debates” in
applied linguistics.
• Consequently, it has received much
attention in the literature on
language policy.
Three Views on the Role
of English in the World:
1. English as a Destructive
Language
2. English as a Pluralistic
Language
3. English as an irrelevant
1.English as a Destructive Language
• Global status of English was established
and is maintained through structural
and ideological means which
marginalize, devalue and even destroy
other languages and cultures, and
benefit English speakers, particularly
native speakers, and native English-
speaking countries.
• English is consistently portrayed as more
valuable or useful than other languages,
a typical example being that it is
represented as “the language of progress,
modernity, democracy, and national
unity” .
• Such beliefs in turn result in more
resources being allocated to English than
other languages in domains such as
education, the media and international
• As English is used more and more in
such domains, it displaces other
languages, meaning the global status of
English has potentially dire
consequences, particularly for languages
which are already limited in their use .
• English plays a gatekeeping function,
determining who gains access to
education, employment and social
prestige .
• It pushes a certain set of values, ideas
and a way of seeing the world that
diminishes and degrades other
languages and cultures.
• English language education is based on
Western ideas of what constitutes good
teaching, and that Western methods are
consistently portrayed as being the
‘best’.
2. English as a Pluralistic
Language
• English is no longer the sole
property of native speakers and,
rather than destroying them,
can be used to express the
cultures and identities of all
those who speak it.
• English being used in new and creative
ways that are not linked to native English-
speaking cultures, including in literature,
popular music and fi lm, and the
development of distinct varieties of
English.
• This view also emphasizes the agency of
individuals and groups in responding to
English as a global language.
• English is taught and learnt in
diverse local contexts, meaning
teaching and learning become
infused with local customs,
beliefs and practices.
3. English as an Irrelevant
language
• English often plays little role in people’s
lives.
• Speakers of minority languages often
turn first to a national or regional
language rather English, meaning
English may actually play a limited role
in language endangerment.
English Language
Education
Policies in China
• As Bolton und Graddol ( 2012 )
say, “From the 1950s to the
1990s, Chinese education
experienced a roller-coaster
ride of changing policy
directives in foreign language
education” .
 Lam ( 2005) identifies six phases of
English language education policy
since the establishment of the
People’s Republic:
1. “the interlude with Russian”
2. “the back-to-English movement”
3. “repudiation of foreign learning”
4. “English for renewing ties with the
West”
5. “English for modernization”
• English language education policy
requires the participation and support
of students, teachers, parents and other
community members.
• Due to space restrictions, it is not
possible to deal in detail with the
development and revision of each
English language curriculum at all
levels of education.
• It is important to recognize that teaching
methodology and the experience of learning
English have always, and continue to, vary
considerably across urban and rural areas,
coastal and inland provinces and well-
resourced and less well-resourced schools
and universities.
• The teaching practice of individual teachers
is also influenced by their beliefs and
experiences, the nature of the student
cohort and interactions with colleagues.
 Russian as the Main Foreign
Language: Early 1950s to Late
1950s

• Russian was the main foreign language

in China’s education system due to the
country’s close relationship with the
Soviet Union.
Official and Popular Views
of English and Major
Developments in English
Language Education
 As Lam ( 2002 ) points out, “because
China’s initial vision was alignment with
the communist nations, the foreign
language that received much attention in
the 1950s was Russian”.
• Russian language courses were
introduced into the syllabuses of
secondary and higher education in
1952.
• English language education consequently
experienced a decline.
• April 28, 1954 - the Ministry of Education
ruled that only Russian would be taught in
secondary schools in order to ease the
demands of school on students.
• English was removed from the secondary
education syllabus and while English
language education did not cease
completely, it was rare to fi nd English
 Teaching
Methodology and the
Learning Experience
• Influenced by the Soviet Union, the
Chinese adopted the Grammar
Translation Method (GTM) which
dominated English language teaching in
the 1950s.
• The GTM, focuses almost exclusively
on the grammar rules of a language.
The majority of time is devoted to
reading and writing, while very little or
no attention is paid to speaking and
 In China, the GTM was adapted to include
oral drill work in the late 1950s and early
1960s, but the essence remained the same,
as Yao ( 1993 ) describes:
Typical language class at the time was
usually conducted in Chinese. The teacher
started a new lesson with an oral summary
of the text, and then read the text two or
three times while the students listened.
After that (s)he would explain it word by word,
phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence, and
passage by passage, both semantically and
grammatically, with a lot of oral and written
translation shared between the teacher and the
students. Students were taught to read rather than
to speak the language, though the teacher did, from
time to time, raise questions on language or
grammar points for the students to respond to.
Recitation and retelling of the text was regarded as
a useful means for measuring the learner’s fluency.
Terminal assessment was carried out through a
Return to English: Late 1950s
to Mid-1960s .
• English was restored as the main
foreign language in China’s
education system due to the
breakdown in relations with the
Soviet Union.
Official and Popular Views
of English and Major
Developments in English
Language Education
• Relations between China and the Soviet
Union soured over disagreements in a
number of important policy areas such
as economic development, ideology and
international relations in the late 1950s,
and eventually led to the Sino-Soviet
split in 1960.
• Russian was no longer viewed as a
valuable and prestigious foreign
language, and increasing attention was
given to English.
• There was of course a shortage of
English teachers.
• Many Russian teachers had to retrain
as English teachers in order to keep
• Many universities set up departments of
English, and institutes specializing in
English were set up in major cities to
meet the newfound demand for English
teachers .
• The Ministry of Education also began to
recruit teachers from overseas, the fi rst
group arriving from Britain in the early
1960s, in an attempt to improve English
language education
• In 1963, the Beijing English Language
Education Policies in the People’s
Republic of China.
• Institute of Foreign Languages put
forward a proposal, later ratifi ed by the
government, which suggested that each
year fi ve more foreign languages should
be added to teaching programs with the
aim that within ten years foreign
language programs should cater for all
major languages of the world
 Teaching
Methodology
and the
Learning Experience
• In the early 1960s, with Western
literature on foreign language teaching
coming into China, the Direct Method
was extensively used.
• The Direct Method is based on the
assumption that people can learn a
second language in the same way as
they learn their first language.
• The focus is on oral skills and all
teaching and presentation is done in the
target language as translation is held to
interfere with the learning process.
• Students were to learn through listening
to and talking with the teacher .
• Chinese teachers of English took these
principles to heart and taught
exclusively through English while using
posters, pictures and photos to help
students learn vocabulary.
• However, there was criticism that the
absence of the learners’ native language
can cause problems.
 Rejection and Abandonment of
Foreign Language Education: Mid-
1960s to Early 1970s .

The high point of English language

education of the previous phase was not to
last as almost all foreign language
education ceased due to drastic political
changes in China.
 Official and Popular Views of English and Major
Developments in English Language Education
• Mao Zedong remained committed to the idea of radical
revolution and initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966.
• In broad terms, the aim of the Cultural Revolution was to
establish a new society through the destruction of traditional
Chinese practices, beliefs and culture, and the purging of
foreign culture and influence.
• During this period China was also effectively shut off from the
outside world, isolating itself from both the West and the
Soviet Union.
• All foreign language learning came under severe and often
violent criticism during the Cultural Revolution.
 Teaching Methodology and the Learning
Experience

• The Audiolingual Method is based on the theory

of behaviorism and sees foreign language
learning as habit formation.
• Classroom activities consist of memorizing
dialogues and performing pattern drills in the
hope that correct language will become
automatic in learners.
 Revival of English: Early
1970s to Mid-1970s
• This phase saw a revival of English language
education as a means of re- establishing
relations with Western countries, especially
the USA.
 Official and Popular Views of English and Major
Development in English Language Education
• There was a limited revival of
• English language education.
• Some notable successes were achieved, such as
• China entering the United Nations (UN) at the expense of
Taiwan in 1971, and President Richard Nixon’s visit to China
in 1972.
• English was seen as essential for such relations and some
universities began teaching.
• English again and a small number of students were sent
overseas to study English.
 Teaching Methodology and the Learning Experience
• Teachers were made to use textbooks full of political slogans
designed specifically for the Cultural Revolution rather than
effective language learning.

English for Modernization: Late-1970s to Early 1990s

• This phase represents a high point for English language
education as English was seen as intimately connected to
China’s new direction of modernization, reform and opening
to the outside world.
 Official and Popular Views of English and Major
Developments in English Language Education
• Deng Xiaoping became China’s paramount leader in 1978 and set the country on a
• new course of development and modernization. This plan, known as the Four
• Modernizations, was aimed at agriculture, industry, national defense and science
• and technology.
• There were 445 departments and institutes of foreign languages with a
• teaching staff of 8,628 and 31,089 full time students. Of these 24,368, or just over
• 78 %, majored in English.
• English language teaching television programs such as Follow Me , Sunday English
and Ying Ying Learns English were watched by many millions of people eager to
acquire the language for such purposes.
 Teaching Methodology and the
Learning Experience

• Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) started to

become known. CLT is also known as the Situational
or Functional Approach in China.
• The essence of CLT is a view of language as a system of
meaning and a way of communication rather than an
abstract set of grammar rules.
English for International Stature: Early
1990s to the Present

• In this phase, which continues to the

present day, English continues to be linked
to reform and opening up, as well as to
China’s efforts to play a greater role on the
world stage.
 Official and Popular Views of English and Major
Developments in English Language Education
• The Tiananmen Square Massacre was certainly very tragic
and earned worldwide
• Condemnation.
• By the early 1990s, China’s political situation
• returned to stability and the economy continued to develop
rapidly, with double
• figure increases in GDP for much of the decade.
• The Teaching of English in Primary Schools , issued in
January 2001, which specified that English language
education would begin in Grade 3 of primary school in cities
and suburban areas.
The English Curriculum Standards consist of nine competence-
based levels, each of which conceptualizes English language
proficiency in terms of five areas:
• Language skills (the four macro skills of speaking, listening, reading
and writing).
• Language knowledge (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, functions
and topics).
• affect (international perspectives, patriotism, confidence, and
motivation).
• Learning strategies (communicative, resourcing, meta-cognitive and
cognitive strategies).
• Cultural understanding (cultural knowledge, understanding of
English-speaking cultures and awareness of cross-cultural
differences).
 Teaching Methodology and the Learning Experience

An entire issue of the journal Foreign Language World devoted to

the topic interest in other teaching approaches and techniques also
increased, most notably task-based language teaching (TBLT). In TBLT,
language learning and teaching occurs through the completion of a series
of pedagogic tasks which aim to prepare learners for real world language
use “a pedagogic task is a piece of classroom work

having a beginning, middle, and an end, and a focus principally (although

not exclusively) on meaning”.
 Overview of English in China’s Education System
Most Chinese children attend kindergarten from the ages of three to six. Children
then go to primary school for six years, between the ages of six and eleven. Junior
secondary school then takes up three years, and senior secondary school another
three years
There are also specialist and vocational secondary schools,
which may focus on agriculture, engineering, foreign languages or teacher
training,
among many other disciplines.

There are three types of university in China: the normal university, 1

which focuses on teacher training; the specialist university, which teaches and
researchers only in a particular discipline such as commerce, engineering or
 Kindergarten and Primary School
In primary school, English is compulsory from Grade 3 onwards. In 2012,
there were 16,152,389 students enrolled in Grade 3, 15,429,664 enrolled in Grade 4,
15,804,784 enrolled in Grade 5 and 15,538,895 enrolled in Grade 6 (Ministry of
Education, 2012a ), with 364,589 English teachers
Junior Secondary School
English language education is similarly compulsory throughout junior secondary
school, where in 2012 there were 47,630,607 students enrolled and 544,691 teachers
of English. Junior secondary school students
receive four class hours of English per week in all three years, with Grade 7focusing on Level 3
of the English Curriculum Standards, Grade 8 focusing on
Level 4 and Grade 9 focusing on Level 5. All junior secondary school graduates are
required to reach Level 5 in order to graduate, and are assessed through an external
examination
 Senior Secondary School
In senior secondary school, students continue to receive four class hours of English
per week in all three years . English language
education in senior secondary school puts “special emphasis on developing students’
skills in using English to obtain and process information, to analyze and
solve problems, and to think and express themselves”.
University
Once at university, every student must study English for at least one year. There are
two English language programs, one for students who major in English, and the
other for students who major in another field. Once at university, every student must study
English for at least one year. There are
two English language programs, one for students who major in English, and the
other for students who major in another fi eld
 English Majors
twenty-fi rst century, there were already more than 300
established English major programs at universities in China English majors study English
throughout the four years of their degree. This program
is made up of eight bands taken in two stages.
Non-English Majors
The English language program for non-English majors is called College English
and its requirements are somewhat less stringent than those for English majors.
English language education must make up 10 % of the total
number of credits students require to earn an undergraduate degree.
University students, whether they are English majors or not, are likewise expected
to participate in language learning activities outside of class, which are often organized
by the university’s English Club
 Bilingual Instruction
It is also likely that students in university and some secondary and primary
schools will receive some of their courses through English as the medium of
Instruction.
The Ministry of Education’s website
lists 34 universities offering courses through English as the medium of
instruction in various areas across the sciences
English Beyond Formal Education
Once students complete their formal education, English is still likely to play a role
in their personal and professional lives. The education system is obviously the main means
through which the Chinese
learn English, and the place of English within it has become so prevalent that learning
the language is now arguably “part of what it means to be a Chinese citizen”.
 Policy Outcomes
English language education policy is particularly relevant to two aspects of language
practices, namely the uses of English in China and the population’s levels of
profi ciency in English and degree of English usage.
The Uses of English in China
The
offi cial and popular stance on English and English language education has undoubtedly
contributed to this state of affairs. Several major domains in which English has
a notable presence are briefl y surveyed here by way of indication.
 Research, Scholarship and Publication
English is often used in research, at conferences, in in joint projects with foreign
scholars, for reading technical manuals and journals, and meeting or negotiating
with foreign visitors across many academic disciplines, although some use English
more than others (Gil & Adamson, 2011 ).
Chinese academic journals published entirely in English.
 Media
It is now possible to fi nd some English used in every kind of media format within
China.
China Central Television News (CCTV News), formerly known as China Central
Television 9 (CCTV 9), is China’s all English television channel.
CCTV News
began broadcasting on 25 September 2000, and features a range of programs
including
documentaries, entertainment and news
According to the China Internet Statistics
Whitepaper, there were 632 million Internet users in China as of June 2014 (China
Internet Watch, 2015 ). While not all of these users will view English-language
content,
these fi gures nevertheless indicate the scope of Internet use within China and
its potential as a means for accessing such content.
 Business
English is used in joint ventures operating in China and also in business dealings
between Chinese and foreign companies. Some uses of English in the business
domain include email, fax and telephone communication; writing contracts and letters;
completing forms; and reading and researching professional or specialist business
literature (Li & Moreira, 2009 ; Pang, Zhou, & Fu, 2002 ).
 Tourism
Tourism is a huge industry in China, with large numbers of tourists from many
countries visiting each year.
English is very commonly used for communicating with foreign
tourists in hotels, tour groups, travel agencies and some service industries (Gil
& Adamson, 2011 ).
Signs in English can be seen at almost all tourist attractions.
 Literature and Creative Arts
Fictional and autobiographical works written in English by Chinese writers began
to appear in the fi rst few decades of the twentieth century.
English also features in contemporary pop music, with many Chinese artists
incorporating English words, phrases and sentences into their songs for various purposes
such as enhancing the song’s appeal to the audience; refl ecting the language
practices of both the artist and the audience; and expressing a modern, multilingual
identity (Smart, 2013 ).
In everyday interaction, English is sometimes used in jokes, puns and plays on
words by Chinese people.