Li Yang is lecturing on his "Crazy English," a teaching technique involving students shouting English phrases at the top of their voices. (File Photo)

liutuo1234: China is probably one of the few countries in the world where learning English has almost become a national obsession. However, most people cost much but gain little. Our teaching and test systems have deviated from the initial purpose of English learning in that it teaches and encourages elite English instead of practical one. Beneficiaries are limited to those who intend to study overseas. Yet, to the millions who have little use of the language, it is a great waste of time, energy and resources.

What's more outrageous is that the importance of English skills has been exaggerated to the extent that it overweighs almost everything in assessing a person's competency. Learning a language is, in a sense, a study of the culture on which the language is based. In that light, we should put more emphasis on learning Chinese than on English..

Xianqijing: The problem is English is now used as a tool for various tests rather than a tool for communication. In Hong Kong, children in the kindergartens are speaking English. They are learning the language in the simplest way, by listening and speaking. Look at us in the mainland, even a graduate student cannot speak the language properly or read English newspapers after some 20 years' efforts. Why? It's because we pay too much attention on grammars.

long1: Make a comparison of soft environment between China and India, it's not difficult to see that China is at a disadvantage in that less people speak English. This has become a constraint to China's long-term development. Those in favor of abandoning English learning really have no great vision. They don't set sight on China's future, let alone the future of the world.

Nanyangjun: Strongly advocating studying English while playing down thei importance of learning the mother tongue¡­ are we going to have our education colonized? Educational authorities need to think over the issue. English is merely a tool after all¡­

txh: It's undisputable that China has a lot to learn from industrialized countries, in fields of science, technology, communication and so on and so forth. Can we do it without mastering the English language?

huohua3930: English is important. It seems some people are trying not to face up with competitions. Suppose you are recruiting staff and you have two candidates at hand, both are excellent in their majored subjects. However, one can speak and write English while the other can't. Which one would you like to pick up?

barry2000: It's time to reform English educational system. Under the current system, various tests are set for students to be qualified for entering a prestigious university or for college graduates to land a good job. And some people have to pass exams just for diplomas which lead to promotions, or decisions of whether they can keep their jobs. That's unfair to those talented people who are not good at English. Frankly, English is of little use in our daily life. Therefore, we need to establish a reasonable English educational system to avoid wasting government fund. Just think lots of kids in poor regions are still not able to go to school!.

anwei: What's the criteria we should adopt to measure one's English skills ? In fact, to learn or not to learn, that's not a question we need to discuss. China has so many practical problems to solve, including how to enable poor children to get proper education. Why waste time on such an issue?

Whjlizhi: I absolutely oppose the practice of placing as much emphasis on learning English as on Chinese. It's a shame for a country with such a splendid culture to do so. It's not proper to require every Chinese to bent on learning English, especially when the learning is initiated and sponsored by government.

llong3: So many people are not willingly learning English, including me! I've learned the language for more than 10 years, yet I've made little progress. What a pity that I've wasted the best years of my life in such a way! Sometimes, I really feel like slapping myself in the face, as I'm such a failure. But think twice, I feel I should be grateful for sticking with English. Isn't that it provided me with academic credentials I need? Isn't it a good stepping-stone?

SDJHJ: We Chinese seem to easily fall into the pitfall of doing things in a big way, or carrying thing to the extremes. In fact, everyone has the right to decide whether he or she needs to study English. It's not compulsory. The reason why so many people take up English is that it carries weight in matters like promotion and government recruitment.

xiedongsw: It will be better for one to learn English for fun., not for getting a pssport to good jobs. Just like some people get a kick playing Mahjong, I'm taken to memorizing vocabularies and watching English movies. It makes me happy to learn English, though I'm still not skillful at the language. However, I'm sure I wouldn't be as happy if I was forced to learn ¡­.

ylz01: I'm not very enthusiastic at English study. English is not my mother tongue. To me It's just a skill rather than knowledge. My mother tongue is Chinese. It's one of the most excellent and beautiful languages in the world. I love it!

Leweje: The harsh and hard reality is you would be considered a dummy if you can't speak English, and you would be further downgraded if you can't write English. If you know neither English nor computer? Well, you are a flat-out idiot !

Primasuper: Why Japanese are studying English? In the website of Japan's Ministry of Education there is an action plan for English study, called "English Forum 2004", whose purpose is "to Cultivate Japanese with English Abilities ---- Upgrading English Education in Japan". If all Japanese people want to learn English so eagerly, can we Chinese afford not to learn?