中國兩會政協委員質疑高考英語
Removing English from the gaokao, China's college entrance exam, might lower the English-learning fever in China but it helps build a fair and targeted college admission system, said a national political adviser.
一位國家政治顧問指出，高考取消英語可能會降低中國學習英語的熱情，但這麼做對於建立一個公平和有針對性的大學錄取系統很有好處。To earn a good enough score in the national examination to qualify for an elite university, even students applying for non-English majors such as traditional Chinese literature have to earn high marks in the English test to achieve the comprehensive total score level.
爲了在高考中取得好成績從而進入名牌大學，那些選擇諸如傳統中國文學等非英語專業的學生也不得不在高考英語中取得高分，從而使得自己的總分變得更高。Yu Minhong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and founder of New Oriental Education and Technology Group, said using the same criteria to recruit students for different majors doesn't make sense.
新東方的創立者俞敏洪是政協委員之一。他指出，不同專業招收學生卻用相同的標準，這根本說不通。
"The English test score shouldn't be counted into the total points of gaokao but should be considered as just a reference," Yu said after a panel discussion on Monday. "Each university should set score requirements for respective specialties and recruit students depending on the subject's needs."
在週一的小組討論會後，俞敏洪表示，英語考試的分數不應該計入高考的總分當中而應該僅僅作爲一個參考。他還表示，每個大學應該爲不同的特長設立不同的分數要求，按照專業的具體要求來錄取學生。Due to the large share of English scores in the gaokao (150 points), Chinese students have paid great attention to learning English grammar, vocabulary and essay-writing, more than any other country's students spend on learning a second language, and the exam-oriented English education in secondary schools does little to improve student's practical skills of speaking and listening, Yu said.
俞敏洪指出，由於英語的分數在高考中佔的比例很高（150分），因此中國的學生在學習英語語法、詞彙和寫作方面花了大量的精力，中國也成爲世界上學習第二語言時間最多的國家。他還評論說，中學裏以應試教育爲目的的英語教育對於提高學生英語聽說的實際技能卻幫助不大。The Ministry of Education released a draft reform plan for the gaokao for public review in December, urging local education authorities to diversify their evaluation of English skills and lower the emphasis on English in the exam.
在去年12月，教育部向公衆發佈了高考改革草案，敦促地方教育部門豐富英語技能評估的多樣化，降低對英語考試的重視。Using Beijing as a reference, the full score for the English test will be reduced to 100 points from 150. Students will take the tests twice each year and their highest score will count for the gaokao.
以北京爲例，高考英語考試的分數將從150分降低到100分。學生每年考兩次，取最好成績計入高考總分。The new method is expected to begin in 2016 but Yu said it's more of a superficial change than an actual reform.
新方案預計於2016年開始實行。但是俞敏洪指出，這只是表面的變化而非實際的改革。"No matter how many points it counts toward, 20 or less, it's still part of the final gaokao result. Students will continue spending time and effort working on English because each point counts for college admission with the same standards," Yu said. "Plus, multi-time tests will add an extra burden on students."
他同時表示，不管英語在高考中是多少分，不管是20分或者更低，它仍然是高考總分的一部分。學生們仍然會花費時間和精力在英語上，因爲錄取的標準相同，每一分對於最終的錄取都至關重要。而且，一年多考會進一步加重學生的壓力。”Only by excluding English from the gaokao can students decide how much and how hard they work on learning English based on the specialty that interests them, Yu said.
俞敏洪表示，只有高考取消英語才能讓學生基於興趣決定在英語上花多少時間，投入多少的精力。Sun Huiling, a CPPCC member and an official with the Tianjin Hexi district education bureau, agreed with Yu that the English assessment should be diversified but was cautious about removing English from the gaokao.
天津河西區教育部官員孫慧玲（音）是政協委員之一。她同意俞敏洪關於英語評價應多樣化的觀點，但是她認爲對於高考取消英語要謹慎。"The existence of the English test in the gaokao has played a significant role of promoting the language among Chinese children, no matter whether in test-taking skills or practical communication," said Sun, who was formerly a senior English teacher at Tianjin Experimental High School.
孫慧玲曾經是天津實驗高中的一位高級英語教師，她同時認爲不論是應試技巧還是實際交流，高考英語對於在中國孩子中推廣這門語言起了重要的作用。"If we take it out of the gaokao, I am afraid the enthusiasm for learning English would decline as any change in the gaokao will largely affect teaching plans and curriculum setting in secondary schools."
她同時指出，如果高考取消英語，那麼學習英語的熱情也將隨之降低，這是因爲高考中的任何變化改革都會對中學的教學計劃和課程設置產生很大的影響。
