some people say that english teaching at college in china has proved to be successful take college english test as an example, more than four million students have taken it and the number is still increasing year by year. this means that increasing numbers of people are aware of the necessity and importance of english learning. what is more, large numbers of students who are competent in english are making their contributions to the county in all walks of life. others, on the other hand, suggest that english teaching at college in china is a complete failure. they suggest that, on the whole, most graduates still can`t communicate with native speakers properly in spoken english. besides, they are incompetent in both translation and writing.
i think great progress has been made in english teaching at college in china over the past 15 years. yet, there are still some problems. on the one hand, english teaching at college in china is still teacher centered, although the student centered approach has been advocated for years. the teacher dominates the class, leaving students little time to practice. on the other hand, english teaching at college in china is still test oriented. passing college english test has been regarded as a prerequisite for graduates to get jobs on the job market. so great emphasis is given on how to pass the tests rather than on how to develop the students` language skills. as a result, students do not have the language competence though most of them have passed college english test.
therefore, it is my strong feeling therefore that english teaching at colleges in china should go through some radical reform. priority should be given to the development of the four language skills rather than to develop the skills in passing the examination.