China's English: A History of English in Chinese Education

7. Integrating with globalization, 1993 onwards

• Integrating with globalization, 1993 onwards Despite th e politica l uncertaintie s o f th e lat e 1980s , economic reform s suc h as the Ope n Doo r Policy continued unabated , which ensured tha t the trend s towards pedagogical development s i n th e Englis h Languag e curriculu m tha t stressed communicative competenc e remaine d i n place. The ne w curriculu m that appeared i n 199 3 was marked by major innovation s that took seven years to materializ e fo r variou s logistical reasons , s o th e genesi s la y in event s tha t pre-dated th e Tiananme n Squar e inciden t an d th e curriculu m developmen t was hindered bu t no t stoppe d b y the politica l turmoil . The Ope n Doo r Policy increased people's dealings with English speaker s and was a further significan t boost to both the status and role of English. The development of international trade and the tourist industry led to the creatio n of well-paid jobs for translators and interpreters. Language study also became a for m o f entertainment , popularize d b y th e increase d acces s t o electroni c goods an d t o variou s form s o f mas s medi a i n Englis h produce d eithe r domestically or imported from overseas . There were increasing opportunitie s for foreig n trave l for business , study and, latterly , tourism . More educationa l institutions were able to import native-speaker teachers, initially at tertiary level and the n increasingl y a t secondar y level . Chin a hoste d internationa l event s such as the Asian Games in 199 0 and th e International Women's Conferenc e in 1995 , put in bids for th e Olympic Games (failin g in th e attempt to win th e 2000 Games, but winning the 2008 Games to be held in Beijing), and achieve d entry int o th e World Trad e Organizatio n i n Novembe r 2001 . By the tur n o f the century , Englis h ha d becom e a prerequisit e fo r universit y entranc e an d for man y post s i n th e civi l service . Tax i driver s i n majo r citie s ha d t o pas s proficiency tests . An interesting phenomenon tha t emerged in the late 1990 s was Li Yang's 'Crazy English ' learnin g method , whic h employ s variou s technique s t o overcome reticence in speaking English, such as chanting exhortatory slogans. Participants i n 'Craz y English' classe s ar e encourage d t o 'spea k a s loudly a s possible', 'spea k a s quickly as possible', an d 'spea k a s clearly as possible'. L i 170 China' s English: A history of English in Chinese education links English learning to a patriotic message that the language will help Chin a to exercis e economi c hegemon y ove r th e USA , Japan an d Europ e — thi s message resonates with the role of English in contributing t o nation-buildin g that la y behind th e establishmen t o f th e Tongwe n Gua n i n 1861 . As Bolto n observes, ... Li Yang's approach appears to give voice to the material hopes of millions of Chinese in a variety of brash English that twangs American but rings global with its exhortation 'Mak e the voice of China be widely heard al l over the world!' (Bolton , 2002: 196) It was estimated that, in 1995 , about 50 million junior secondar y student s were studyin g English , 350,00 0 were studyin g Russia n an d 160,00 0 Japanese (Liu, 1995) . Th e numbe r o f full-tim e junio r secondar y Englis h languag e teachers wa s 374,45 4 i n 1994 , havin g rise n fro m jus t 7 3 i n 195 7 (Stat e Education Commission, 1995) . The study of English was a compulsory subjec t for al l tertiar y students , regardles s o f thei r major , an d le d t o th e Colleg e English Test , a nationwid e examinatio n tha t attract s aroun d 5. 5 millio n...