Exam-oriented education is an educational model that originates from the influence of the ideas of "degrees decide everything", "scores assess ability" or "learning to serve the exam". This model appears in many East Asian countries, especially deeply in China.

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English education in China is focusing on exam scores, rather than practical skills.

Scholar Tuc Hieu Van in the Journal of Educational Theory and Practice defines “exam-oriented education as a method that deviates from the actual needs of personal and social development. This is a traditional method that violates the rules of education and teaching to meet the needs of higher education enrollment”.

Exam-oriented education emphasizes one-sidedly on scores, distorting students' learning goals and motivations, overemphasizing test-taking strategies while neglecting to foster learners' comprehensive abilities.

Teachers focus on grades in teaching. Parents also use grades as a yardstick and sign their children up for weekend tutoring indiscriminately.

Exam-oriented education is evident in the teaching and learning of English. The importance of vocabulary and grammar is much more important than the ability to communicate in English. Under the pressure of achieving high scores to enter university, English teaching tends to focus more on exam results than on cultivating students' language output.

Exam-oriented education goes against the original purpose of English education, producing a generation of students with high scores but poor practical abilities, according to a group of Chinese university scholars in the publication Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research .

According to the British Council's IELTS score data for 2019, Chinese candidates scored an average of 6.2 in Reading, 5.9 in Listening, 5.5 in Writing and 5.4 in Speaking. China was the only country in the survey to score lower in Speaking than the other three skills. Writing was typically the lowest.

The EF English Proficiency Index 2023 also ranked China 82nd out of 113 countries and territories worldwide, with a score of 464, lower than the global average of 502 and considered “low proficiency”. Within Asia, China ranked 14th out of 23 countries and territories.

This result partly reflects the limitations of exam-oriented education and partly shows that Chinese students lack the necessary English communication skills.

Nearly half a century of learning English

English education in China has come a long way in the past 50 years. In 1978, English was officially included as one of the subjects in China's national college entrance examinations and has grown in importance ever since.

In the late 1980s, college English exams at Level 4 and Level 6 were initiated. In the 1990s, a large number of Chinese students took international tests such as the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), according to the People's Daily .

English is a compulsory subject from grade 3 in China's standard national curriculum. Many students start learning English at a young age, some even starting in kindergarten.

An estimated 400 million Chinese are learning English, more than the entire population of the United States. In 2018, the number of Chinese taking the TOEFL was 300,000, the most in the world, according to China.org .

“China has the largest English education market in the world,” said Zou Yimin, a former Chinese Foreign Ministry official, founding editor of the English-language newspaper China Daily , who became involved in English education after retiring.

In the 2000s, the private foreign language education brand New Oriental became a giant in the industry, reflecting the growing popularity of English and the huge English education market in China.

Need to clarify the purpose of teaching English

With a population of over 1.4 billion people and about 200 million students, China has a huge demand for high-quality and comprehensive education, especially in second language learning.

However, the exam-oriented education system is deeply ingrained in society and widely accepted, making the shift to applied and communicative language education challenging, according to many observers.

To address the challenges posed by China's exam-oriented education system, experts are proposing a number of reforms.

First, clarify the purpose of English language teaching and express it in the curriculum. The main goal of English language education is to equip students with communication skills, including speaking and writing.

The curriculum should emphasize practical application rather than memorization of textbooks. Teachers should develop new teaching content that encourages students to use English in real-life situations.

Second, there is a need to move from score-based assessment to more holistic assessment. This approach will lead to a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of students' skills.

Third, reform English exams and reduce the reliance on test scores. Important exams such as university entrance exams should be restructured to emphasize communication skills rather than memorization.

Additionally, reducing the reliance on test scores in college admissions would help reduce the one-sided focus on exams and promote a more holistic educational experience.

Fourth, optimize teaching methods and support teachers. English teachers should focus on helping students find effective learning methods, enhance communication in the classroom, and shift the teaching goal from exam preparation to mastering skills for practical application.

Increasing teachers' income and reducing other teaching costs will encourage them to adopt innovative teaching methods that prioritize interaction and communication.

Fifth, improve teacher quality and professional development. Teachers play a vital role in students’ interest and success in learning English. A comprehensive system of professional development for teachers is essential to increase the number of qualified teachers.

Teachers should continuously improve their skills, provide engaging content and avoid “teacher-talk” teaching styles to maximize student learning and ensure English is taught as a real communication tool.

Making English a second language and lessons learned from Singapore and Malaysia Former Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Van Nhung said that Vietnam should learn from the successful experiences of Singapore and Malaysia when introducing English into schools and society.
Controversy over primary school students in China 'racing' to take English certification exams CHINA - The trend of 'younger' age for taking international English certification exams is taking place in China as many parents in this country have sent their children to review for exams from grade 1, even preparing their children with an English foundation from the age of 3.