In Beijing, whether you're in a coffee shop, on the subway, in a bookstore, it seems everywhere you look, there are Chinese people trying to get to grips with the international language. In order to shorten the distance between "basic English" and actually "speaking English", and in an effort to improve the overall level of English, the Chinese Ministry of Education has launched a campaign in 180 colleges to reform obsolete English teaching methods and strengthen new approaches.

The new reform aims to teach students comprehensive "listening and speaking" skills rather than just "reading", as was customary in the past.

In the initial stages, a new Internet and computer-based English teaching system has been introduced. At the request of the Ministry of Education, the Tsinghua University Publishing House has produced a series of English teaching materials specially designed for computer network users.

The new standards set by the Ministry of Education require that all listening and speaking training be followed online or on a computer. By accessing campus networks, students can find good quality English classes, anytime, anywhere.

The reform is being extended to band-4 and band-6 English examinations, tests used by almost all colleges to assess students' English levels. The new exams will attach importance to the comprehensive understanding of English, and will be taken by computer, instead of on paper.
 
(CCTV.com February 24, 2004)