There has been much discussion recently about reducing the weight of English in China's high-stake tests such as the national college entrance examination. It is argued by some applauding the recent change to reduce the importance of English in tests so that it will lead students to focus more on learning Chinese. The TV program Writing in Chinese has exposed the problem that students and the general public cannot write in Chinese as they used to do.
Some blame the design of the curriculum for giving English an equal or greater amount of emphasis, which might have contributed to the failure in teaching Chinese. But this is probably not a fair accusation since children in English speaking countries cannot spell either.
I doubt that studying English in itself hurts the study of Chinese. In fact, high achievers in English or another foreign language are more likely to be high achievers in Chinese. It has been proved many times in recent Chinese history that those capable of using a foreign language are also masters in their mother tongue. Qian Zhongshu, Lu Xun and Lin Yutang are just a few examples.
Another trend of thought for curriculum reform is related to the perception of "worth". It is true that English is one of the subjects that students do spend too much time on, with pitiful results. This makes some doubt if it is worth giving it priority. But this is not a sound argument either as students still need to study things that matter more to their future in spite of challenges learning English presents to them.
Improvements in Chinese language education should not be achieved by sacrificing another important subject. There should be a robust(健康的) foreign language education program, as a foreign language improves a student's future job prospects. Bashing(抨击) English education as a waste of time or using it as a goat for failures in Chinese education are both harmful tendencies.
To be constructive, we ought to start a dialogue on ways to make improvements in learning outcomes so that students' time learning English is spent more effectively. There are a few things that could improve English education, such as assessment design，learner motivation and teaching style，
I am sure there are many other areas where changes can greatly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of English learning. The public discourse at present is a little oversimplified. People are arguing for or against English having less weight in major tests, when the dialogue should be taken a step further, to the improvement of learning or teaching methods that may benefit the teaching of other subjects as well, Chinese included.
小题1:In paragraph 3 Qian Zhongshu, Lu Xun and Lin Yutang are mentioned to _____.
A．show respect for their capabilities of learning languages
B．prove English and Chinese are not contradictory
C．confirm the importance of learning English in China
D．tell the readers English Education is to blame小题2:According to the passage, which of the following statements is right?
A．The TV program Writing in Chinese is very popular at present.
B．Good results of learning English are not worth so much time.
C．Some are in favor of attaching less importance to English in exams.
D．Sacrificing English can improve Chinese language education.小题3:In the writer’s opinion, what should be done to solve the argument?
A．Increasing time spent in learning Chinese.
B．Increasing time spent in learning English.
C．Reducing the weight of English in examinations.
D．Improving the learning outcomes effectively.小题4:Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
A．English education is still important in China.
B．Chinese education is more important in China.
C．English contributes to the failure in teaching Chinese
D．Ways to make improvements in learning Chinese.
