Should we shake the status of the main subject of English in primary and secondary schools?
This year’s National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference made a proposal to reform the status of the main subject of English (foreign language) in compulsory education. English and other foreign language courses will no longer be set as the same main subject as Chinese and mathematics, and English (foreign language) will no longer be set. It is a compulsory subject for the college entrance examination.
As soon as this suggestion came out, it caused heated discussions in the community.
Proponents believe that English as the main subject is too test-taking and deviates from the original intention of learning. Opponents believe that this move lacks foresight and is not conducive to future national development.
So, should we abolish the status of the main subject of English in primary and secondary schools?
stand by
Not all students are suitable for learning foreign languages
Ms. Wang, the parent of elementary school students
I am a "post-80s". When I was in elementary school, the school did not teach English. I started to have English classes in junior high school. Later, I followed up step by step in high school and university, and my grades were not bad.
From my personal experience, I don’t feel that I learned English late, and I think that if parents don’t want their children to go abroad or do not engage in work directly related to English when they grow up, then English learning is enough. The energy saved is devoted to major subjects such as language and mathematics.
In fact, not all students are suitable for learning English. When I was in school, some of my classmates had been dragged down by English performance because of their poor language skills.
The current English study is too test-oriented
Mr. Yang, Parent of Middle School Students
I particularly support the proposal to abolish the status of English (foreign language) as the main subject in primary and secondary schools.
It is true that English should be studied, but there is no need to have the same treatment as language and mathematics. Physics, geography, and biology can all achieve a full score of 80. Why can't English work?
I don't understand how much more important it is than these disciplines.
In fact, subjects such as physics, geography, and biology are closely related to our daily lives, and children can gain a lot of knowledge from them.
In contrast, many children learn English too much for exams. Parents even enroll their children in English tutoring classes from kindergarten. After entering middle school, children still have to participate in out-of-school training after school and on rest days for fear of losing at the starting line. .
I think it is enough for most people to reach the level of English proficiency, and there is no need to be so professional.
With the development of science and technology, problems such as data translation can be solved with professional software.
Not the main subject, maybe the child is more interested
Ms. Zhang, an English major
Interest is the best teacher. One of the drawbacks of exam-oriented education is to stifle children's enthusiasm and interest in learning.
When foreign language is the main subject and the highlight of the college entrance examination, teachers and parents force children to learn it, causing many children to resent or even hate foreign languages.
I had this kind of rebellious psychology when I was in middle school. The more teachers and parents made me value English, the less I wanted to study hard and my grades were not satisfactory.
It wasn't until later that I traveled abroad and felt that I couldn't communicate without learning English, that I really became interested in English.
Therefore, instead of forcing the child to learn, the child may get the motivation to learn from life.
Nowadays, the popular Chinese studies, programming, and physical training are all like this. Everyone will naturally learn good and useful things.
Scratching exams and deviating from the original intention of language learning
English teacher in a middle school
The disadvantage of learning English as a major subject is that it is difficult for English teaching and English learning to return to the scientific path of language learning due to academic pressure.
The main test scores account for a large proportion. In order to get a high score, we have to adopt a large number of methods in daily teaching.
But as we all know, to learn English well, you need to treat it as a language rather than a subject. The ultimate goal of learning English is to achieve communication, not to do all the questions right, and not only choose ABCD.
Although there have been waves of English teaching reforms in recent years, in order to achieve good results in the high school and college entrance examinations, most public schools within the system still use the method of brushing questions. Many schools even start to brush questions from the beginning grade. , Both teachers and students deviated from the original intention of language learning.
To make matters worse, many students feel that English learning is simply writing questions and reciting, which severely stifles the fun of language learning and violates the laws of language learning.
Of course, if the status of the main subject of English is abolished, many students will encounter certain obstacles when reading foreign documents in the future, but this problem is not difficult to solve.
Because even though they have withdrawn from the status of the main subject, the students still learn English in elementary and middle schools. With this foundation, in the future, some short-term on-the-job training can be carried out, or they can be continuously strengthened in daily work.
To a certain extent, demand-based learning is the most efficient learning. Learners have inherent learning needs and learning motivation, so there is no need for a long and inefficient learning process.
Oppose
Disciplinary structure cannot be changed rashly
Hu Yifeng
Asking questions is meaningful in itself, prompting us to think about how to coordinate the adjustment of the subject layout of primary and secondary education, and reform the teaching content and methods of each subject, but it should not be directed to simply reduce the length of a course.
Specifically, whether to abolish the status of a major foreign language subject, at least three levels should be considered: First, from the educational level, how should we design a discipline pattern that is more in line with the trend of the times in accordance with the changes of the times?
Because education is essentially a "future project", that is, a project that shapes the future, it must have a long-term perspective, forward-looking and foreseeable.
And deeper and wider global exchanges are the general trend of world development.
Today’s education should build a foundation that conforms to this trend for the future, not the other way around.
Second, from the perspective of civilization, language is not only a tool of communication, but also a carrier of civilization.
In today's world, I am afraid that no one will deny the importance of civilization exchange, and cultural confidence must also be based on a full and objective understanding of other civilizations.
The development of translation software has eased the barriers caused by different languages to a certain extent. However, at least the current translation software cannot accurately convey the inherent cultural charm of the language.
Third, from the social level, education must serve social development and should be closely integrated with social needs.
If there is no sufficient research and pre-judgment, the long-standing disciplinary structure is changed rashly, the most likely is that the society’s demand for English literacy cannot be met, and it must be "compensated" by off-campus education, which will increase the burden on students. It is not conducive to the healthy growth of students.
Learn English well to match the international metropolis
Junior high school students
I started learning English when I was two or three years old, and my English scores have always been very good. It can be said that English is my strong subject.
Especially when I go to middle school, I have more subjects. I can get high scores without reviewing the English test. I can save time to learn mathematics and memorize Chinese.
I don't want to abolish the status of English as a major subject, because in that case, I would have no advantage.
Besides, if the status of the main subject of English is abolished, many students will not attach importance to this subject, and even give up English learning early.
Beijing is an international metropolis, and there will be more and more international exchanges and cooperation in the future. If we do not learn English well, we will definitely encounter difficulties when participating in national construction in the future, which will affect the development of the country.
Learning costs may be passed on to the family
Lou Shuhua, teacher at the Foreign Language School Affiliated to Beijing Foreign Studies University
I think it is inappropriate to abolish the status of foreign language majors.
First make an assumption and change the foreign language to the elective subject.
As a result, the school has reduced the allocation of class hours, but how to ensure the quality of students' foreign language learning and how to improve it?
Withdrawing from the status of the main subject, the learning task authority will be decentralized invisibly. Instead, students may participate in various social foreign language tuition classes, improvement classes, intensive classes, and sprint classes, thus increasing the time and cost of foreign language learning in a disguised form. This burden and cost are essentially passed on to students and parents.
Language learning requires long-term accumulation, not a single day's work.
Psychology generally believes that the age of 3 to 7 is the sensitive and critical period of language learning.
I started learning English from junior high school, and finally learned "dumb English" until I graduated from university.
Compared with other students who started to learn English since childhood, the gap is obvious, and the learning is also very difficult.
In the long run, the usefulness of foreign languages cannot be underestimated.
Today is an international society and an era of globalization. Foreign languages, especially English, are important tools for international communication and must be learned.
Many world famous books, documents, papers, etc. are also in English. As students and academic researchers, you need a certain level of English foundation and ability.
Therefore, we need to further explore and study the English "teaching in accordance with their aptitude" program suitable for the new era and new situation, not just the issue of foreign language withdrawal from the main subject.
expert's point
Primary and secondary schools should reduce the difficulty of English learning
Former Spokesperson of the Ministry of Education Wang Xuming
According to the reality of current education reform and development, especially the practice of talent training, I believe that English should not be one of the three compulsory subjects for the college entrance examination. According to the students' majors, they can determine whether they must test English and determine the difficulty of the test.
At the same time, primary and secondary schools should reduce the difficulty of learning English. At least the lower part of the primary school should not make English a compulsory course.
The reasons are as follows:
First, there are too many things "added" to school education today, and they are increasing day by day.
People are always adding to education, that is, what should be added to education, what should be strengthened, and what should be added. The result of this "addition" is to make education that is too heavy to be heavy.
From this perspective, the reflection on the requirements of English teaching is of positive significance.
Second, if education is overwhelming, examinations are the best.
Exams were originally only a means of education, but under the baton of the high school and college entrance examinations, they have become the educational goals of many schools. Some education administrators even believe that all things that are important must be reflected in the examination.
To dissimilate education into examinations is to say that it is ignorant and shallow about education; it is also to do bad things with good intentions, and it cannot solve the problem fundamentally.
Third, considering the history of the college entrance examination, English is not consistent and unshakable.
In the first few years of the resumption of the college entrance examination, foreign languages were not included in the total scores in many provinces and cities, but were used as an important reference for admission.
The college entrance examination is made by provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
Both arts and sciences only test politics, Chinese, and mathematics. The arts add history and geography, and science add physics and chemistry.
Since foreign language as a compulsory subject for the college entrance examination was gradually strengthened later, why can't it gradually weaken and die?
Fourth, from the perspective of actual needs, the world has undergone tremendous changes in the 40 years since the resumption of the college entrance examination.
Compared with the situation at that time, the reform and opening up are in need of a large number of foreign language talents, which is quite different.
In particular, with the development of robotics and artificial intelligence technology, foreign languages are used as general tools, and there is no need to use large areas and large numbers as common requirements to cover everyone.
Fifth, the college entrance examination reform plan has been various for many years. The three compulsory examinations of Chinese, English, and mathematics seem to be a foregone conclusion, but think about it, two-thirds of the basic content assessment of all candidates is a language-based assessment. Whether this is reasonable is worth questioning.
It must be emphasized that what we have made great efforts to change over the years is mainly the reform of education.
Taking the college entrance examination as an example, there are always changes in what and how to take the entrance examination. The negative impact of the college entrance examination on education and the whole society has not diminished.
This reminds people that the education reform must coordinate with the whole society, both inside and outside of education, to change the system and mechanism of the whole society in employing, selecting and judging people, not just the intensive cultivation of the education department.
The controversy over the reform of foreign language examinations clearly illustrates this point.
Is it right or wrong to cancel or weaken English education?
Can't make general conclusions.
It is recommended that relevant departments organize in-depth investigations and design specific plans based on your opinions and suggestions.
For example, combining Chinese and foreign languages into language assessments, or changing foreign languages from the 3 compulsory exams to selective exams, and changing the foreign languages of the 3 compulsory exams to comprehensive questions to meet the current thirst for top-notch innovative talents, etc. Wait.
In short, reducing the weight of English learning in education is related to the quality and direction of talent training, and it is too worthy of research and demonstration.
English learning needs improvement instead of "turning biscuits"
Chu Zhaohui, Researcher of Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences
Now to discuss whether or not to use foreign languages as the main subject of primary and secondary schools, we may first review two related matters: First, the establishment of the new school system in 1922 and the arrangement of comprehensive science courses (physics, chemistry), which was the previous few years. Educational experts in China found that the main problem was “untrue” and proposed an improvement plan. At that time, they encountered a lot of objections such as “useless” and “insufficient conditions”. Later facts proved that they had studied physics and chemistry. Most students did not use it directly, but it played an irreplaceable role in improving the scientific literacy of the entire nation and changing the way of thinking.
The second is to compare the "Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (Experimental Draft)" issued by the Ministry of Education more than 20 years ago with foreign language as the main subject and the social and educational development background that some people propose to abolish its main subject status. It is China’s great achievements in reform and opening up, and it needs to further realize the choices made to face the world, face the future, and face modernization. Although there are some problems in the implementation of teaching, this decision is important for building a strong education country and establishing a high-quality education system. There is still nothing wrong with realizing the modernization of education, and further improvement measures are still needed to implement it, rather than retreating or "turning over the cake."
Fundamentally speaking, the status of foreign language teaching in compulsory education is determined by the growth needs of students of this age.
On the one hand, this need comes from the development of each individual’s language ability, cultural awareness, quality of thinking, and humanistic vision; on the other hand, it comes from the development of society’s awareness of individual human interaction, cross-cultural understanding, participation in global competition and improvement of development capabilities. It is the linguistic foundation of national competitiveness and voice.
If the world’s most frequently used foreign language is not opened in the compulsory education stage, it may leave a generation in a language island and unable to participate in global competition.
Those views that oppose foreign language and quality are untenable. In addition to direct language communication tools, foreign languages, just like science courses, are themselves an important component of quality and literacy, and they are also indispensable for people in the era of globalization and information technology. Lack of competence; it is also a misunderstanding to equate foreign language courses in compulsory education courses with those offered by training institutions. The former meets basic literacy needs, while the latter becomes a tool for promotion; it is narrow to limit the use of foreign languages to direct use or examinations. , The understanding, understanding, and learning of different cultures are also necessary and important uses; it is even less difficult to withstand scrutiny if the burden of academic burden is attributed to foreign languages.
Is the opening of foreign languages in compulsory education an obligation of the government itself? If the main subject setting of foreign languages in compulsory education is to be cancelled, some people will stand up and ask the government not to neglect their obligations and how should they respond?
When there is sufficient evidence at some point in the future to prove that the cancellation will have serious consequences for the entire nation's rejuvenation, who should bear the responsibility?
This is an extremely broad decision that requires rationality and prudence.
In short, the goal of foreign language teaching is correct. The necessity of setting up the main subject of compulsory education is more sufficient than it was more than 20 years ago. However, there are big problems in the evaluation and use of functions, that is, the teaching effectiveness is too low. From the perspective of the long-term goal of establishing a community with a shared future for mankind, and the comparison of the basic foreign language abilities between China and other countries in the world, foreign language teaching needs to be strengthened and improved, not cancelled or retreated.