中國高考英語分值將降低大綱

Beijing education authorities plan to de-emphasise English scores on standardised tests, a sign that China's obsession with the language may be waning.

The Beijing municipal commission of education plans to reduce the English section of the all-important college admissions test, the Gaokao, from 150 points to 100 points in major cities by 2016, China's official newswire Xinhua reported.

It will boost the value of the Chinese section from 150 to 180 points. Currently, the test weighs English, Chinese and maths equally.

Officials have spun the proposal as both a practical decision and a matter of national pride. "The change highlights the fundamental importance of mother tongue in the curriculum," a representative from the commission told Xinhua.

Education authorities are also considering scrapping mandatory English lessons before the third grade. They currently begin on the first day of primary school.

Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, as well as Shanghai, may remove English from the Gaokao entirely. Public consultation on the proposal began on Monday, Xinhua reported.

Wu Mengran, a 19-year-old recent high-school graduate in northern China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said the change would allow students to spend more time studying oral English rather than blindly copying grammar patterns in preparation for the test.

"In China, you can be really good at English tests but still not be able to use English to communicate," she said. "Very few people study English here just to study English."

Chinese schools currently mandate English classes until university, giving rise to a sprawling £3.1bn private English training industry. Even remote cities are full of test prep schools and tutoring agencies.

Xinhua called the proposals "no more than a minor tweak", emphasising that they would change the way that English is taught without diminishing its importance.北京教育當局計劃降低高考英語分值，中國的英語熱也許就此降溫。

據新華社報道，北京市教委將調整高考英語比重，由150分減爲100分，這一政策將在2016年底前在各大城市開始實施。

高考改革還將語文一科由原來的150分增至180分。現行的高考制度中，語文、數學、英語三門考試分數相同。

中國官員稱，此次高考改革方案既是一個切合實際的決定，也是關乎民族榮譽感的重大舉措。教委發言人對新華社記者說，“此次改革強調了母語學習課程的基礎性重要地位。”

北京市教委同時也在考慮取消小學三年級以前的英語課程。目前，從小學一年級起就已開設英語課。

山東、江蘇和上海或將取消高考英語。據新華社報道，週一將針對這一改革方案徵求公衆意見。

今年19歲的吳夢然（音譯）是一名來自中國內蒙古自治區的高中畢業生，她認爲這次高考改革讓學生有更多的時間來練習口語，而不是埋頭抄寫語法句型以應對考試。

她說，“在中國，即便在英語考試中名列前茅，也不代表可以用英語進行交流。這裏很少有人單純爲了學英語而學英語。”

目前，中國直到大學還設置英語必修課程。英語學習熱催生了高達31億英鎊（約合305.12億人民幣）規模的私立英語培訓產業。甚至在一些偏遠的城市裏各種英語考試輔導班和家教補習機構也隨處可見。

新華社稱此次高考改革方案“不過是個微調”，並強調英語教育方式改革不會削減英語本身的重要性。