A case study of the language policies in Hubei province， China， with particular focus on the place of English

ZHAN Yu-yue

【Abstract】English language learning and teaching have enjoyed a nearly 40 years history in China. During this time English became the domain foreign language and billions of Chinese have learned this language more or less. However， English education has long been the centre of controversy， especially in Hubei， which is a major province of education. Thus， a number of language policies have been conducted to deal with this problem. In this article， the author will carry out a case study of the language policies in Hubei province， China and pay particular focus on the place of English within this province. Beginning with Englishs global language status， this article then explores evolution process of the language policies in China and Hubei to find out the unique differences in this particular province. Besides， due to the reform in English test in NCEE recently， a discussion will also be carried out to discuss the pros and cons of this policy.

【Key words】case study； language policy； English teaching and learning

【作者簡介】詹玉月，湖北文理学院。

I. Introduction.

A hundred years ago， a Polish scholar Zamenhof created a new international language called Esperanto， hoping that in the future all nations in the world could share a same language. However， a hundred years has passed， Esperanto does not become the language of the world and even be forgotten. By contrast， English， used to be a national language， has become a global language. Today， nearly a quarter of the population of the world can speak or use English fluently. Therefore， in those non-native English speaking countries， English learning is usually one of the most important parts of those nations language education， and China is no exception.

In this article， the author will carry out a case study of the language policies in Hubei province， China and pay particular focus on the place of English within this province. This article will start with talking about how English becomes a global language and its different models. Then， some introduction will be given to the language policies in Hubei. Afterwards， special attention will be paid to the English learning， teaching and using in Hubei and some discussions will be carried out about the recent National College Entrance Examination （NCEE） reform on English exams. What are the pros and cons of this reform on English teaching and learning in Hubei， and can it bring us a benign shift on English education nowadays？

II. English as a global language.

Before we go deeper investigating about the English learning and teaching in Hubei province， some discussions will be conducted about the use of English in the global context.

Firstly， what is a global language？ According to Crystal （2003）， a global language is a language that achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country. By the year of 2014， there were totally 79 territories in the world using English as their official language. In addition， in over one hundred countries in the world， English is the language most widely being taught as a foreign language. Taking China for example， though English has no official status， it is one of the three main compulsory courses from primary schools to universities in almost all over the country.

Why English， not the other languages？ Historically， British imperialism offered the first opportunity for the worldwide spread of the English language. Another reason is the sociocultural reason. With the promotion of economic globalization， the language has penetrated deeply into the international domains of political life， business， safety， communication， entertainment， the media and education， thus， people have come to depend on English in many walks of life （Crystal， 2003）. In short， multiple reasons contribute to the status of English in the world nowadays.

With the increasing number of English speakers in recent years， a new phenomenon is more prominent that there are also more and more varieties of English. According to Kirkpatrick （2007）， there are mainly three models of World Englishes： English as a native language （ENL）， English as a second language （ESL） and English as a foreign language （EFL）. This classification can help to explain the difference in the ways that English is used in different countries. ENL is spoken in countries where for most of the population English is their first language. ESL is spoken in countries where English is usually the official language， but not the main language of the country. EFL is spoken in countries where English is not actually used or spoken very much in daily life， but learned at school or used in international trade. China， Indonesia， Japan are those typical EFL countries （Kirkpatrick， 2007）.

III. Language policies in Hubei province.

After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949， three main language policies have been operated， the standardization of Chinese， the propagation of English in education and the development of minority languages （Lam， 2005）. Thus， a very important language policy in China， as well as in Hubei， is the promotion of English and other foreign languages. In terms of the foreign language policies in the past decades， according to Lam （2005）， apart from a very short interlude with the Russian language in the 1950s， English has always been considered as the most valuable foreign language in China.

Thanks to the reform and opening policy， since 1978， English has become the dominant foreign language in China （Chen， 2011 cited in Zhang， 2012）. From then on， the policy directions met a great support of syllabus design and materials development from English language professionals as well as some eminent ELT （English Language Teaching） experts from overseas and ELT was also established as a professional discipline during those years （Lam， 2005）. In 2001， the National English Language Teaching Guidance was published to guide the English language teaching and learning on the all levels of school in the nation. The implementation of this policy marked as a milestone for English language education in China till now （Zhang， 2012）.

Firstly， the document emphasizes that foreign language is not only an important tool to get the information from the world but also to improve the nations qualities in these aspects. It requires that English language course should be established in the first year in primary schools and goes through the whole primary years. In addition， the document also proposed the minimum level that students should reach in different learning stages. Similar guidances were also published for guiding the secondary and high schools English teaching and learning.

Therefore， from those series of official documents we can see that， since 1978， English has been the only foreign language that received such national attention in China （Zhang， 2012）. However， at the same time， even though nearly the whole nation shares the same language policies， because of various reasons （different economic conditions， lack of professional English teachers， different local conditions）， the implementations of English teaching and learning programs are still different in different provinces. As a major province of education， Hubei not only implements the national language policies actively but also attaches great importance to the English language education and next session will mainly talk about the English learning and teaching in Hubei.

IV. English in Hubei province.

As a typical EFL country， when talking about the position of English in China， especially Hubei nowadays， on one hand， we may say affirm that English is everywhere in peoples daily life， however， on the other hand， English is also used nowhere.

In the past decades， due to the English promotion policies mentioned above， English education enjoys a great prosperity. According to a recent online survey， 90% of the participating students， ranging from primary school pupils to doctoral students in universities， English was their compulsory course. In fact， the proficiency of English also has a great influence on ones development in learning recently. Learning English well can ensure students a decent score in the National College Entrance Examination and then they can have the chance to enter a better university. In college， English majors have to pass the Test for English Majors （TEM） 4 and 8 in order to get a bachelors degree （most of the English majors have to pass TEM 4， TEM 8 is optional）， and for those non-English majors， college English is a compulsory course in their first two years curriculum. Apart from the English tests at the end of each semester， non-English major students also need to pass a national English test for college students， called The National College English Test （Band 4 or Band 6； CET-4 and CET-6） before graduation. Only by passing these exams and getting the CET-4 certificate that they can be a qualified college graduate. If the students want to go further study to receive a masters degree or a doctors degree， they have to take another set of entrance examination and among which English is still a compulsory subject. During the later post-graduate study， they will continue to learn English and pass the CET-6. Otherwise， they will not get the degree.

Wuhan， the capital city of Hubei province， is one of the three scientific and education centers of China， and it has the largest number of enrolled college students in the world in 2011. Due to the English learning requirements mentioned above in universities， English has always been an important part of education in Hubei， especially in colleges. Taking the Wuhan University as an example， whose passing rate of the CET-4 has been over 80 percent， and TEM-4 has reached 62.7%， 10 percent higher than the average passing rate of colleges throughout the country.

Except for students， English is also playing an indispensable part in other peoples life. Media is the main medium that through which ordinary people can have daily access to English. With the globalization of culture and art， Western countries， especially Americans TV series， programs and Hollywood blockbusters are now having a deep influence for Chinese young people. By watching these programs and movies， they can not only learn a great deal of Western culture but at the same time learning English as well.

In terms of career development， English is also crucial for some working people. Recently， in Hubei， English tends to be a must for a well paid， promising and stable job. Certificates of CET-4/6 or TEM-4/8 become a necessity for college graduates to find a decent job. Whats more， get a job does not mean that you can say farewell to English， because in the later promotion， English is still an important aspect to be reviewed.

However， from the investigation in the previous paragraphs we can see that English learning is mainly carried out in schools and used for exams or job promotions. Even though we can have easy access to English in daily life， we do not tend to use it actually. Because after all， English is only a foreign language， it is by no means a necessity to ordinary people and we seldom have chances or settings to use it in daily life. Even for those English professionals， apart from using English at work， they choose to use Chinese instead of English in everyday life. Another paradox is that most of the jobs do not need any English background or English is seldom used at work， but in order to be hired， applicants have to offer relevant certificates to prove their English levels. Thus， English learning tends to be exam oriented and the actual use of English has been neglected. That is why English is actually not that frequently used in Chinese peoples daily life.

In summary， as for students， job hunters and those who are seeking promotions， English is of vital importance for them. In terms of daily life， though people can have easy access to English， the actual use is limited.

V. NCEE reform on English and its influence.

In China， passing Gaokao， which is short for the National College Entrance Examination， is the only thing that matters for students when applying for college. In the past decades， Gaokao has been dubbed “once in a lifetime” or a “one-test-to-determine-a-life” for most high school graduates （China Science and Technology University， 2006； China Youth on Line， 2006a cited in Wang， 2006）. English is one of the three compulsory subjects， which scores 150 points （total score for NCEE is 750）. Thus， we can see that English accounts for a great proportion in NCEE. Though Gaokao is a national examination， due to the different educational background， in 1985， the Ministry of Education allowed the College Enrollment Office of Shanghai to employ an independent exam. Since then， permissions have been given to 16 provinces and municipalities to customize their own exams， and Hubei is among them.

The English test in Hubei is composed of two major parts， the written examination and a spoken English test. Even though the latter one is not a compulsory test for all candidates in Hubei， it is still a big difference comparing other provinces. In addition， in Hubei， passing the oral English test is necessary if students want to apply for any foreign language majors in universities. Therefore， spoken English has also been paid much attention to in Hubei. Accordingly， there are not only various English speech contests since primary schools but also in most of the schools， students can have classes with foreign teachers. The written test is carried out within the NCEE. No matter how the policy changes during the years， different from some provinces， listening comprehension has been tested in Hubei continuously. Therefore， even though the testing style is mainly the same with the national one， its content is more suitable for the provincial educational level and the talents can be better selected according to their attributes.

The Gaokao system has long been the centre of controversy regarding Chinas education reform （Han， 2013）， and recently the English test can be taken twice a year and allow students to use their highest scores to apply for universities. According to the plan， the reform will be piloted in some provinces （including Hubei province） from 2014， and a new testing system will be formed and promoted nationwide by 2020 （Zhao， 2013）.

The reform has been welcomed by many people with the opinion that it will be helpful to ease the students burden on learning English in high schools. Tang Shengchang， an expert with the national education and examination steering committee said that the reform will give students more chances， and exclude accidental factors in examinations （Zhao， 2013）. Indeed， a one-time examination cannot reflect a students real level， various unpredictable incidents can all influence an examinees regular performance. Since English test is no more ‘one-test-to-determine， it will be a great relief for students. As one of the most well-developed provinces in education， studies in Hubei are truly vigorous and taxing， such a reform can somewhat reduce students burden in the last year of high school.

This reform will definitely have a significant influence on its English education， and Hubei is no exception. Therefore， heated debate has been carried out on this reform.

Some people are in favor of the positive aspect of the influence on English education. They believe that it is a good way to help the English education back to its original function， which is for the language itself rather than only for exams. Though there are numerous English training schools in China， most of their courses are actually focusing on teaching test-taking skills， regardless of the mastery of the language itself. The deemphasis on English exams can be acted as an alert for the Chinese way of learning English， thus， it is helpful for the English education back to the right track.

However， some parents and experts are worrying that English courses may be reduced in high schools correspondingly. It is undeniable that Chinese English learning is more exam-oriented， this reform will inevitably lead to the waning in English education. Besides， the potential reduction of English in secondary and primary schools will also lead to a waste of the professional English teachers which the country has spent a lot of money to cultivate. In addition， this reform may not have a big influence on those children who are in a better family financial statuses， but the working classs and peasants childrens English learning will be affected a lot， because they may not be able to afford their childrens further English learning.

Admittedly， the new reform will bring some good effects on the present English education conditions， however， it is still not strong enough to bring us a benign shift on present English education. The Gaokao reforms in recent years as well as the new exclusion of English are all focusing on test subjects and the setting of scores， but nothing significant has been done to the assessment and admission system. Even though students can have more chances to take English exams， the exam is still there and it is still the scores that matters. As for the college admission system， nothing changed. Students can only receive just one letter of admission based on their overall scores in NCEE. Therefore， the new reform will probably make students keep taking English tests until they get a satisfactory score， which will on the contrary add to students workloads. Besides， as long as the English exam is a component of the NCEE， its exam-oriented characteristics will stay the same. Maybe that is a reason why， till now， there havent been any changes for English courses in high schools in Hubei as well as the whole nation.

VI. Conclusion.

In summary， given the national condition， though Hubei shares the same language policies published by the central government in the whole country， some provincial characters have also been considered while implementation.

Admittedly， the NCEE reform on English will have a great influence on English education in China nowadays as well as Hubei. However， in my opinion， perhaps， there will be no significant changes for English teaching and learning as long as the NCEE and college admission system stay the same. But further study still needs to be carried out after the official implementation of the reform in 2020.

References：

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