English teachers face classroom reluctance

Shortage of teachers

There is widespread agreement that the biggest obstacle in rural areas of the country is the lack of professional English-language teachers.

Huang said, "The most telling contrast is that high school teachers in rural areas speak far worse English than preschool children in cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen."

In general, primary schools in China introduce English classes in the third grade, but a number of schools in rural areas delay this to as late as the fifth grade due to the lack of specialized English-language teachers, Huang said.

Zhao Liang, director of the English Language Education Center at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China in Zhejiang, described those she helped to train as "silent language teachers".

Since 2017, the center has offered free training to more than 250 English-language teachers from poverty-stricken counties across the country. The training usually lasts one week during the summer vacation, and provides an immersive environment for participants not only to use the language in class, but also at activities such as parties and dances.

Zhao said some of the teachers not only lack the backgrounds or qualifications in English-language teaching, but used to be art or science teachers before being re-assigned by their employers as English became a mandatory subject.

"Although the teachers selected are experienced and the most outstanding ones from their own schools, our program is the first time they have spoken English in a real and practical context, and with native speakers," she said.