中国教育改革之“英语改革路”China 2013 educational reform targets English 2013

Chinese education authorities rolled out a series of reforms targeting English courses in 2013. The reforms, across several regions, all seemed to downgrade the role of English in the education system.
2013年中国教育部门公布了一系列改革英语的方案。从各地公布的方案看，无一例外地都是削弱了英语在教育体系中的地位。

As the public continues to debate the government plans, the effects of the intended reforms are still to be explored. CRI's editor takes a closer look.
改革方案一时间引起了社会的巨大争议，但改革进一步深入的脚步还在继续。小编带你做一个详细梳理。

In early December, the Ministry of Education released a draft of the reform plans for Gaokao, China's national college entrance exam. The plan said English would not be a Gaokao test subject in the future. Instead, students can take English tests organized by social organizations. Those tests can now be taken more than once, even in the same year, and only the highest score will be cited as a reference for college admissions.
12月初，教育部公布了高考改革方案。该方案指出英语将来可能不再是高考考试科目，实行社会化一年多考的改革，由学生自主选择考试时间和次数，考试最高分作为高考录取时的参考。

The reform will be piloted in some provinces beginning in 2014 and, after being evaluated, expanded upon in 2017. By 2020, a new testing and recruiting system will be formed and promoted nationwide.
这些改革将在2014年一些省份试运行，经过评估后将于2017年推广实施，到2020年全国基本形成新的考试招生制度。

As part of efforts to implement the plan, the Beijing Municipal Committee of Education has said it's considering reducing the difficulty of the city's English test, starting in 2014.
为实施该方案，北京市教委正在考虑从2014年开始降低英语考试的难度。

Meanwhile, the Beijing educational authorities said they will be cutting the weight of English in the scoring systems of both the Gaokao and senior high school entrance exams starting in 2016. Moreover, educational authorities in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong have also announced similar moves to downgrade the role of English in the classroom.
同时，北京教育部门宣布将于2016年降低英语在高考和中考中的评估比重。江苏、浙江和山东等省的教育部门也宣布了类似规定降低英语在课堂教育中的比重。

Xiong Bingqi, vice-president of the Beijing-based 21st Century Education Research Institute, explained why the authorities are choosing to target English: People are not satisfied with the level of English education in recent years. All students are required to learn English at school and pass exams. But their practical ability to use the language is not improving. As such, the current reforms put an emphasis on the reformation of English education.
北京21世纪教育研究院副院长熊丙奇这样解释改革英语的目的：近年来社会对英语教育有颇多不满，所有的学生都要在学校学英语并参加考试，但他们实际运用英语的能力并没有提高，所以要把改革的重点放在英语教育的改革上。

Critics have long complained Chinese students have focused too much on English, which they contend risks sidelining the mother tongue, Chinese.
很多评论家也经常指出中国学生把太多的精力放在英语学习上，以至于母语中文都要靠边站了。
 
However, the planned downgrading of English in the curriculum hasn't so-far appeared to have dampened interest in learning English among high school students.
但是目前看，在课程设置上削弱英语比重的方案并没有降低高中生学习英语的热情。

"I will definitely continue to learn English as we have to communicate with the outside world. What really matters is for us to acquire a foreign language instead of earn high scores in an exam, such as Gaokao."
“我肯定还是要继续学英语的，因为我们还要跟外面的世界交流呢，掌握一门外语才是最重要的，而不是在考试比如高考中取得高分。”

"I think English is an important language. It will be widely used in my work and communication with foreigners."
“我觉得英语是门很重要的语言，在我的工作和与外国人沟通中还要大量用到呢。”

Educatinal expert Xiong Bingqi said what's more important is to reform the country's enrollment system in an effort to better nurture and select talent. He says the key is to push forward the separation between exams and enrollment. To achieve this, the educational authorities should delegate power to social organizations and schools to allow them to adjust exams and enrollment. Without this kind of reform, the current plans are unlikely to produce the intended effects.
教育专家熊丙奇认为最重要的是国家在培养和选拔人才制度的改革。他认为最关键的是推动考试和录取分离。为达此目的，教育部门应该把权力委托给社会机构和学校，让他们组织考试和录取。没有这样的改革，目前的改革方案很难达到预期目的。

Currently, the quality of education is largely evaluated by educational authorities. And only a selected number of universities here in China have the right to recruit students on their own.
目前，素质教育是教育部门评估的重点。在中国只有一部分大学有自主招生的权力。