Language Learning Accelerates in 2008 Homestretch

Each morning as he leaves home for work, 40-year-old Zhao grabs his copy of English 200, the textbook issued by his employer, a taxi company. He studies the book when on break and, when not working, he often practices his spoken English with his daughter. When he forgets the pronunciation of a word, she helps out.

Doing their part to roll out the red carpet for the wave of foreigners arriving for the 2008 Olympics, Zhao and many of his fellow Beijing residents are energetically studying the language of English. This is especially true of workers in service trades, like taxi drivers, public transit personnel, post office assistants, mail delivery persons and newsstand attendants. A rising tide of foreign language learning has spread to every corner of the city.

Two years ago, Lian Hongxiang, 67, was among the first group of volunteers to join the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program (BSFLP). To improve her English, at her own expense Lian enrolled in language training schools and the college for the aged, where today she is an English teacher. As a tutor, she has persevered in weekly English training for community residents for two years. Lian says that she feels fortunate to be able to witness the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at her age, and she feels a sense of responsibility to improve her students’ English skills in time for the international event.

After school and during their holidays, to help fellow residents with their speaking skills, Xin Zicong and Wang Sichen, two female senior middle school students in Beijing, offer an Olympic English training class in their community. Xin and Wang’s students are retired senior citizens, with the oldest being 75 years of age. Most of those seniors want to pick up basic English, so they can greet and perhaps have a simple conversation with foreigners in town during the Games.

In the last two decades, thanks to expanding international exchange, an upsurge in foreign language learning has taken place across China, largely due to the ever-greater number of people furthering their education and working abroad. The trend is accelerating as the nation enters the homestretch to the 2008 Olympics.

Besides bolstering foreign language skills among the general public, street signs in both Chinese and foreign languages will be standardized and increased in number. Service workers located at major pedestrian traffic centers will offer assistance in foreign languages. Those who speak at least one foreign language will be categorized into three levels: primary, medium, and high. Those at the primary level will communicate at a basic level, expressing simple concepts and introductions. Those at the high level will have a university and above level of language education, and will have passed College English Test of Non-English- Specialized Band Six.

Various Beijing service trade operators and agencies have formulated not only their foreign language learning and training plans, but also systems of annual skills evaluation. Recently, some of those in the service trade have implemented the Beijing English Testing System (BETS), developed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations and the Organizing Committee of BSFLP. Designed to improve the English proficiency of Beijing residents, the tests are divided into three levels, namely BETS-1, BETS-2 and BETS-3. These programs evaluate one’s ability to listen, speak, read and write in English. Those who pass BETS-3 are expected to be at the level of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CEF) B2, and also the 5.0 - 6.5 IELTS level.

Those who pass the test may obtain certificates, one of the criteria for choosing Olympics volunteers. The certificates can be used as a verifying reference for government departments and businesses as they recruit employees, and certify English proficiency for persons bound for study overseas. Those employees with BETS certificates will be designated by their work units as a “Bilingual Service Person.” At work they will wear badges reading “I Can Speak English,” and they will receive a special monthly allowance in return for their foreign language service.

During the Games, various Beijing health agencies will operate medical stations and administrative units at Olympic venues, offering medical service, supervising food hygiene, testing for microbes and toxic materials, and monitoring water quality, infectious disease, and stimulants. Accordingly, the Beijing Health Bureau has strengthened its work on promoting BETS among its employees, and most of the employees with the bureau have undertaken language training. Those obtaining certificates will be rewarded at levels corresponding to the level of the BETS test they pass, and they get more opportunities in foreign-related work and activities, and some exhibiting particularly promising aptitude and strong self-discipline may receive training abroad.

Participatory opportunities include foreign language festivals, foreign language weeks, foreign language TV contests, foreign song TV contests for Chinese singers, and non-profit foreign language lectures sponsored by the local government.

It’s all paying off. At a press conference jointly held by Beijing Olympic Media Centre and the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government on April 11, 2007, spokespersons revealed that currently there are already nearly five million Beijing residents able to speak at least one foreign language.

Standardizing the use of English in Beijing’s public places began in early 2006. That included improving the text of road signs and informational services at popular tourist spots and at businesses. More than 6,500 street nameplates and English signs in the city’s major eight districts were standardized and corrected. By the end of 2007, the proper standardization of English usage in public places is expected to be complete.