Textbooks to improve children's English speaking

A new series of English textbooks for primary school students from the third grade to the fifth grade was published in Beijing on Wednesday.

The new textbooks, named Hello Learner's English, were jointly published by the Cambridge University Press and Lejiale English Teaching, which is affiliated with TAL Education Group, one of the most popular private education companies in Beijing.

Wu Xiaowei, director of Lejiale English Teaching, said the new textbooks were published as a result of China's English testing policy changes that began last year.

Ren Zhen, an English professor from Capital Normal University in Beijing, said students will find the new textbooks more interesting. There is also an app that students can use to improve their pronunciation.

"This is also the first time Cambridge University Press has published multilevel English textbooks in a non-English speaking country," said Daniel Hutchinson, learning solutions and sales director of Cambridge University Press. "We will think about promoting it into other Asian countries if the teaching results turn out good here in China."

Textbooks for students from Grade 1 to Grade 3 will be released in 2015, he said.

The new textbooks will be used for students who take English classes at the education company in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu province. About 6,000 students in these three cities will use the textbooks, Wu said.