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A native English speaker studying in China came last in the exam. His father’s words, “You can speak English,” aroused public opinion and prompted the outside world to re-discuss the contradiction between English education and the admission system.
A girl who grew up in the United States and spoke English as her native language went to China to study. She stood last in the class in the English exam. When her father found out about it, he was shocked and asked, “You can speak English!” This video has recently caused heated discussion and once again put China’s English education into the spotlight: If you can communicate fluently in daily life, why can’t you get high scores on test papers?
As soon as this blogger posted the video, it immediately received nearly 640,000 views and nearly 700 comments. The message shifted from ridicule to educational debate. Some people thought that there was too much focus on exams in English teaching and advocated turning it into an optional one and no longer counting it.further education Some people argue that the difficulty of Chinese teaching materials is not low, and the current system cannot be rejected on the basis of individual cases.
Supporters of reform say that English tests often focus on grammar, fixed conjunctions, reading comprehension and question-answering skills, which are not the same as everyday communication. Even if native speakers may speak English fluently, they may lose points if they are not familiar with specific question types; Conversely, students who are good at remembering rules and answering questions may not be able to speak naturally in real situations. The distinction between “speaking ability” and “test taking ability” is the crux of this discussion.
The debate over whether English should be listed as a major subject for further studies has been ongoing for many years. In 2021, Xu Jin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, suggested that English should no longer be listedCollege entrance examination Essential subjects; The Education Ministry made it clear in 2022 that Chinese, Mathematics and Foreign Language subjects and marks will remain unchanged. In 2026, the famous postgraduate entrance examination teacher Tang Jiafeng proposed to lower the status of English courses and reduce the score from 150 points to 100 points; Hong Mingjie, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also proposed lowering the scores, taking the test twice a year, and taking the highest score.
The debate mainly involves three issues: whether English usurps other subjects, pragmatic differences that make it difficult to speak after learning it for many years, and unequal educational resources between urban and rural areas. One survey reported that the average English college entrance examination score of rural students may be about 20 points lower than that of urban students. Proponents believe that English can widen the gap in education; Opponents worry that if it were restricted to non-core subjects, schools could reduce class hours and weaken teachers, and students with better family situations could still benefit through tuition.
This phenomenon cannot determine the success or failure of English education based on a single test, but it highlights that language ability and test performance are not exactly the same. The question may not be whether English should be learned, but rather how to teach it and test it. If the exam focuses too much on problem-solving skills, students will naturally spend their time studying questions instead of training in listening and speaking. How to make English a tool for expanding capabilities rather than a one-size-fits-all range is the real direction of this debate that deserves further study.
Summary FAQ
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A girl who grew up in the United States and whose mother tongue is English went to China to study, but came last in the class on an English test. Her father was shocked and asked her questions and the video became popular. The incident immediately sparked discussion as it highlighted the clear difference between “being able to speak” and “being able to take the test”.
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Those supporting the reform believe that the English test places too much emphasis on grammar, reading and answering skills, and becomes disconnected from daily communication, and the proportion of admissions to higher education should be reduced; Opponents believe that the teaching materials are not simple, the system cannot be discarded based on individual cases, and English still has value in learning.
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The report notes that the issue is not just whether English should be learned, but how to teach it and test it. If exams focus too much on test questions and skills, students will ignore listening and speaking training; It is more important to make English a tool for improving abilities rather than merely a limitation for further study.
