English
requirement wastes time
Hugo Tseng 曾泰元
Academics
have commented on the relationship between international competitiveness and
students’ English ability, saying that courses taught in English do not
guarantee international competitiveness and that the methods used by local
universities to improve English might be ineffective.
After
grading English test papers for the Joint College Entrance Exam for about 10
years, over these years I discovered that the English proficiency of
senior-high school graduates has been unsatisfactory.
A
large portion of them give up the subject completely or partially and the
situation has remained unchanged to this day.
The
university admission rate is almost 100 percent; the majority of senior-high
graduates are admitted into universities, which require them to take English
courses and pass an English proficiency test as a prerequisite for graduation.
Many
students suffer because of this requirement while also giving their teachers a
headache. Their poor English is a long-term problem.
As
the old Chinese saying goes: “Three feet of ice is not the result of one cold
day” (冰凍三尺非一日之寒). What can be done to help them?
All
universities across the nation highlight the importance of improving students’
English. However, their efforts have mostly been in vain. University students
actually have weaker English abilities than senior-high school students.
Many
universities make students’ English proficiency a prerequisite for graduation.
Sometimes this results in lowering standards and expectations for fulfilling
the language requirement because of the low level of their students’ English.
Such
a requirement is more like a superficial “image project.” It is a departure
from reality and impractical in nature. Given their poor English, how many
students can meet these requirements? For those who do not meet the
requirements, universities offer many time-consuming remedial courses.
Such
courses are of little help, as they only give schools and students a way to
back out of the embarrassing situation, while students waste a lot of time
learning under formalistic methods.
English
is an important skill, but not everyone has the ability, willingness or time to
learn it well. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses as well as their
judgments and values. Students need to learn how to take responsibility for
their own decisions, and this includes the decision to study a foreign
language.
When
will the authorities in charge abandon their authoritative, parental attitude
of “I am doing this for your own good” and adopt a more practical approach?
They
should change required English courses into electives and cancel the English
requirements for graduation. By doing so, everyone will be able to catch their
breath. This will also allow students to learn how to be responsible for
themselves, as they devote their time and energy to more meaningful tasks.
Hugo
Tseng is the chair of Soochow University’s English department.
Translated
by Eddy Chang