China's English fervor under scrutiny(2)

It was also reported that the eastern province of Jiangsu was mulling a reform to exclude the English test from the college entrance exam, and to classify the students' English levels using letter grades or a similar system, rather than percentile marks, as a reference for college admission.

The news has unleashed a torrent of support from netizens who have long complained about the huge burden brought by excessive English tests.

"Chinese students spend too much time learning grammar, but this kind of test-oriented English is of little use in real life," microblogger "Youyouzi" commented on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

Like Youyouzi, many Chinese are now questioning the effect of the country's English learning craze on improving students' English skills other than in exams. Research by the Shanghai International Studies University shows that of China's foreign language learners, fewer than 5 percent are capable of using the language proficiently in transcultural communication.

Zeng Zihang, an office worker in Beijing, said his English classes in school involved little oral English training, and he could hardly utter a word when he first met his foreign business partners.

"My English study in college was all about memorizing CET-4 (College English Test) vocabulary and writing mock exam papers. It would have been a waste of time if I found a job that had nothing to do with English," Zeng said.

But despite the widespread opposition to the excessive focus on exams, many experts and members of the public agree that China should not slight English education as it goes through rapid internationalization.