With the Chinese economy and its society increasingly moving into line with the outside world, proficiency in foreign languages -- especially English -- has become essential for many careers.

A recent survey conducted by a Beijing-based human resource website, which interviewed thousands of company clerks and government employees in the country's major cities, showed that there was a significant gap between the salaries of people with different proficiencies in English.

People with an average yearly income of more than 53,400 yuan (US$6,450) usually claim they have a good command of English.

Those with an average yearly income standing around 31,200 yuan (US$3,770) say they maintain only an intermediate level of English or even lower.

It partly explains why many Chinese people are learning English and other foreign languages in such unprecedented numbers, as was shown on Sunday at the Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace where the Beijing Foreign Languages Festival was held.

The event promoted English as over 50,000 people, including renowned English language professors, primary school students, taxi drivers and policemen came together for the same reason, of how to learn English well.

The participants talked, sang songs and watched movies in English.

According to Du Zihua, deputy president of the New Oriental Education Group, career advancement and change are not the only practical reasons behind people's zeal for learning English.

The country's entry to the World Trade Organization and Beijing's winning bid to host 2008 Olympic Games have fired people up.

"We Chinese are a diligent people," Du said. "We just love learning everything we regard important."

The New Oriental School is the biggest private language training school in China.

Du was popular at the festival, as many people surrounded him after he finished his lecture.

A retired worker in his 70s asked him how to translate an English sentence, a middle-aged man presented him with a self-created method of learning phonetic symbols and a university student consulted on taking the GRE test in English, which is a must for applying for pursuing graduate programmes in the United States and many other English-speaking countries.

"English is for everyone," said Marijane Elliott, who has worked in China for more than a year with Studio Classroom, a worldwide English teaching programme.

"It is not for students only."

Multi-purposes

"I want to be a volunteer at the Olympics," said Song Sijia, a grade-five primary school student.

The 10-year-old has already won numerous awards in several kinds of English-language competitions. Song said she could read publications, such as China Daily, without consulting dictionaries.

She said she wants to teach English at a primary school when she grows up.

"It is very important to have a good teacher when you start to learn English as a child," Song said.

Liu Wenjun, a taxi driver, speaks fluent English. He has no problem talking with English-speaking travelers and is quite popular.

Liu said when he became a taxi driver six years ago; he did not realize the importance of English.

He started learning English in his spare time, out of personal interest. But when the number of English-speaking travelers started to increase, he realized he had to speak English well.

"I felt the urge to learn more English," Liu said.

And he soon benefited from all of the hard work.

Since he speaks fluent English, many English-speaking expats who stay in Beijing book Liu's taxi.

It has allowed him to make friends with many foreigners and become a star, with his life and work being portrayed in a TV documentary.

According to Liu, his company now requires all taxi drivers to learn basic English.

For many young university students in China, English is regarded as a passport to further education abroad.

At least that is what Jing Hua plans for her future.

The 18-year-old student is fluent in both English and French and was invited to host the festival.

In a professional suit, Jing looked more mature than most of her peers.

She said she began learning English on her own at the age of seven.

"That was a move out of interest but such an early start did give me much of an advantage over other classmates," Jing recalled.

She frequently worked as a translator for meetings and negotiations when she was still a high school student at Beijing No 4 Middle School.

Such experiences have provided her with opportunities that most others of her age do not have.

Besides career opportunities, she also increased her confidence.

After graduating from middle school, Jing chose a way for herself which was completely different from other students.

She did not take the national college entrance examination. Instead, she signed up two months ago for a course jointly run by the Beijing Foreign Studies University and a French university.

Jing said she was considering going to France or the United States after a year of study.

Most others have chosen a more conventional way -- first get a university diploma, then apply for a graduate programme at a US university.

Language Schools Boom

Since more and more people are learning foreign languages, the language schools and language programmes on TV and radio are booming.

At the Foreign Language Festival, hundreds of schools set up stalls to demonstrate their training language courses, most in English.

Among them, New Oriental School seems to be the business leader. The school, founded in 1993, offers a range of English-language courses to provide students with help on TOEFL, an English test required for applying for undergraduate studies in the United States and many other English-speaking countries, and GRE, and many other tests.

Every year more than 150,000 students enrol in courses lasting from 12 days to three months.

More than 70 per cent of the Chinese mainland students studying in the United States have taken some courses at the New Oriental School.

Native Speakers

Almost all schools and broadcast programmes at the festival advertised the fact that they have native speakers or even professional English teachers from English-speaking countries to conduct the classes.

The involvement of the native speakers and professionals obviously is a plus in attracting potential students.

But Marijane Elliott said there is much that China should do to improve the teaching of English and other foreign languages.

Elliott said she has worked mostly with primary and middle school teachers.

"Whether in big or small cities, the people I've met are all searching for ways to learn English," she said.

However, the material for English learning is still limited, especially in smaller cities, where the schools only have a single set of textbooks.

"Every classroom is different and there should be different materials to serve the different needs of the students," Elliott said.

"Learning English should be something that people enjoy and have fun and that should motivate people to improve their communication skills."

(China Daily October 9, 2002)