Should English Be Taken Out of the Gaokao?

A report that the Education Ministry is considering excluding English from the required subjects for the national college entrance examination， also known as gaokao， has recently attracted much attention from the public.

In December 2013， the ministry released a draft of gaokao reform plans. In the document， it was revealed that English would not be included in the future. Instead， students can take English tests organized by social organizations. Those tests can now be taken more than once and only the highest score will be cited as a reference for college admissions. The reform will be piloted in some provinces beginning in 2014 and， after being evaluated， it is planned to be expanded upon in 2017. By 2020， a new testing and recruiting system will be formed and promoted nationwide. All of these reforms and decisions together seem to downgrade the role of English in the education system.

The reform has triggered debate among the public as they watch the changes being pushed forward. The following are excerpts of opinions：

Cheng Fangping （www.ifeng.com）： From the start of 2014， topics on gaokao reform have been a source of contention， particularly the reforms concerning English. There are enough reasons for English to be excluded from gaokao subject list. Chinas current gaokao has three important subjects： Chinese， mathematics and English， but in many other countries， the required test subjects for college entrance examination are usually the national language， math and science.

The method of teaching English in China has long been queried. From kindergarten to college， and even those studying for a Ph.D degree， students are required to learn English. The English test level is also often linked to ones career progression. However， despite the overemphasis on English and the year of endless efforts for language learning， many Chinese are still not good at using the language.

However， in many other countries， citizens are not required to learn a foreign language， but translation services are well developed in various sectors. Adding English to gaokao test subject list has already left a negative impact. For example， some students are better at English than at Chinese， though what is tested is very different. Worse still， some students begin to lose confidence in themselves or even lose interest in studying just because they do not do well in English.

Even in countries where English is the official language， English capability is not a decisive factor that can affect ones whole life. In China， English is not the official language and is not so often used， there is no need for this overemphasis on English.endprint

Guo Yingjian （The Beijing News）： If English tests are to be organized by social institutions， is the test result still authoritative？ When the score of English test is still used for college admission， instead of just a simple reference， is gaokao still authoritative when another subject organized by social organizations counts？

When English is tested in other ways， who is supposed to take charge of this important test？ How will the test be standardized so that it will fully reflect a students English level？ How can we improve the new testing system， so as to ensure fairness？

Once English tests are organized by social organizations instead of being part of gaokao， it will trigger many issues for English education in schools， including elementary and higher education. Students may begin to pay less attention to and even neglect English as a subject. Meanwhile， although its said that there will be more than one English test throughout the year， this may put more pressure on students， instead of relieving them of hard work on English learning. Finally， some teachers of English will begin to worry that they might lose their jobs in the future.

Problems concerning education fairness may rise as well. Although we cant see it now， sooner or later， well see the negative consequence. Therefore， its important for the government to decide how to come up with measures ahead of time.

Wu Fei （The Beijing News）： English will not become less important just because the test is organized by social organizations. When the tests are conducted several times a year， there will be many positive results. For instance， if a student is capable of passing the test during the second year of senior high school， then he can spend more time on other subjects like Chinese and mathematics for the rest of their time in high school. Also， if a student is concentrating on certain subject he is very interested in， he may choose not to take the English test at this time. As part of gaokao， the test can only be taken once a year. More importantly， one can choose the highest score out of many attempts for their college admission.

Over the past decade or so， Chinese students have been required to learn English since primary school， and in college， they have to pass College English Test-4 （CET-4） and some also have to sit for the CET-6. They spent too much time learning English. Its great for the ordinary people to learn one or two foreign languages as it is also part of being a modern citizen of the world. However， more important is to improve teachersEnglish teaching capability， so that students will know how to use the language theyve spent so much time learning. Students also have other subjects and skills they must learn aside from English.endprint

Reforms on the education system must be conducted carefully， as it might affect a students whole life. Their personal interests and further development of students in the future cannot be neglected.

Mao Jianguo （Shanxi Evening News）： While English is becoming increasingly popular in China， voices critical of the craze for English learning are also rising. In general， Chinese students spare no efforts to learn English， but their practical ability of using the language has not improved much after yearsof hard work. A large number of students are still at the stage of being able to read and write， but they cannot speak well. Against this backdrop， the new round of reform on English education and tests is started.

Some people are afraid that the reform will increase tuition fees. These worries are not groundless. When English tests are done by social organizations， test-organizing institutions may well become a huge interest group. Tutorial or cram classes will develop fast. As a result， the expense of English learning and tests will exceed current amount.

Another worry is that instead of being relieved of schoolwork， students may have to face up to even heavier pressure. Although English tests are to be done by social organizations， test results will still be referred to in college entrance examination. In this case， students will keep taking tutorial class and keep taking English tests until they achieve the most satisfactory result. This will add more pressure on students.

For so many years， the way English education in China has been criticized. One of the big reasons is that under the examination-oriented education method， the importance of English is raised repeatedly， and students are almost driven to take too many English tests， big and small. That is why， although they have achieved high scores， many students are ultimately incapable of communicating in English. However， if they are able to take English tests more than once， students will feel less pressure， as they will have more opportunities.

There surely will be some problems， but its unacceptable to give up the reform just because of these issues. There are always solutions for problems， as long as relevant departments really work hard to cope with them.endprint