Official figures show that some 400 million Chinese have studied English in the past 30 years. But teachers and analysts say the number truly reflects neither the general public's English level nor the limited use of English in real life.
Zhao Yong and Keith Campbell, scholars at Linfield College in Oregon, the United States, observed in 1995 that most Chinese do not use English to communicate among themselves. They only "have to demonstrate their English ability for social mobility and/or promotion". There is little difference today.
A stepping stone
Le Yucheng, director-general of policy planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proudly compares the number of English learners in the country over the past three decades with the number of Chinese whose living standards have improved during the same period - both 400 million. "Without learning from the West, we could not have raised so many people out of poverty, at least not so fast," he has said.
This mindset may help explain the determination of students who are learning English in remoter parts of the country, and the challenges they face.
Qiqihar, for example, is a sparsely populated industrial hub with little Western influence. Korean is the most commonly used foreign language. Before that, Russian courses were mandatory in primary and secondary schools for decades in all of Heilongjiang province.
But today, English is the foreign language to be studied in school. More than half of the 23,000 students at Qiqihar University are from rural areas around China, each excelling in English tests after overcoming years of improper training, which may have meant reciting from outdated textbooks.
