The Shenzhen Foreign Languages School has added a new test for language learning abilities to its entrance examination for junior high school this year.

"The main purpose of the new test is to relieve primary school students of heavy burdens they have today in studying English and preparing for entrance examinations to key junior high schools in the city," said the school's vice president Tang Jiahong.

"In the languages ability, students are required to spend 30 minutes familiarizing themselves with some non-English materials such as French, German, Thai or Vietnamese, and then spend 30 minutes answering some well-designed questions," Tang said.

"The purpose of using such materials which are unfamiliar to the students is to test their abilities in memory, attention, judgment and reasoning."

Tang said that about 15 foreign language schools throughout the country had adopted the language learning ability test.

"If the trial proves successful this year, we're planning to use the foreign languages ability test only in the annual entrance examinations for our junior high school beginning from next year," he said.

The school plans to admit a total of 384 students to its junior high school this year. More than 1,300 primary students from all over the city sat for the school's entrance examination Saturday.

(Shenzhen Daily May 26, 2004)