簡(jiǎn)介：[Photo/IC]English-teaching insiders in China said the COVID-19 pandemic could be one of the reasons for the decline in China's ranking in English proficiency, though such proficiency is still important in telling China's story to the world.According to Swedish company EF Education First, China's ranking in English proficiency continued to decline last year, with the country coming in 62nd among 111 non-English speaking countries and regions.In the company's 2022 English Proficiency Index, China scored 498 points out of 800, dropping from 49th place last year with a score of 513, and 38th in 2020 with a score of 520.The country's English proficiency has slipped from moderate to low, according to the company.EF Education First defines a moderate level as having an ability to participate in professional meetings in one's area of expertise, understand song lyrics and write emails on familiar subjects. A low level refers to an ability to navigate as a tourist in an English-speaking country, engage in small talk with colleagues and understand simple emails from colleagues.Wu Peng, an English professor at Jiangsu University's School of Foreign Languages, said he is skeptical about China's continued decline in the proficiency ranking, as there has been no change in the country's English education system and he has seen no apparent decline in his students' English levels in recent years.However, he acknowledged that the country's English level remains still relatively low compared with other countries, which he said is mainly due to its exam-oriented English education system and English teachers in the country failing to adapt to the latest global English teaching methods.Moreover, Wu said, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on people's English proficiency, as there have been fewer international conferences and competitions held in the country, offering fewer opportunities for people to communicate in English.EF Education First has produced the report for 12 consecutive years. This year's report analyzed data from 2.1 million nonnative English speakers, who were tested on their ability to understand written and spoken English.The median age of participants was 25, while 97 percent were under 60 and 55 percent were women.Adults from the Netherlands were ranked as the best non-native English speakers, with a score of 661, followed by those from Singapore (642), Austria (628) and Norway (627). Laos had the lowest score, with 360 points.Within China, Hong Kong was ranked first at 561 points, followed by Shanghai and Beijing, both at 549, Tianjin at 528 and Zhejiang at 509.Zhu Shenhai, an associate English professor at Guangxi Normal University, said the atmosphere for English learning has been declining in China in recent years and that some people have called for reducing the importance of English in education and important exams. "Such shortsighted views and misunderstandings have influenced students' English levels," he said.Learning English well has helped China to achieve rapid development in science and technology, and it has also made more people receptive to foreign cultures, he said, adding that telling China's story well to foreign audiences requires English proficiency.Wu said, "Chinese people have always been inclusive regarding foreign cultures and languages, and we absorb what's best in them," he said. "Learning English well can also help us appreciate the beauty of Chinese." Here is shan dong 編輯： 宋基金 閱讀量：2041
Potential homebuyers look at a property model in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. [WEI LIANG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE]Home sales in China are likely to recover as some cities are being allowed to relax mortgage rate minimums for first-time homebuyers, adding fuel to the country's unfolding economic rebound, analysts said on Friday.They made the remarks after viewing the new mechanism that allows cities to adjust regulatory minimums for mortgage rates based on changes in local housing prices, according to the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, on Thursday.Under the mechanism, cities whose new home prices fall for three months in a row on both a monthly and yearly basis are allowed to temporarily maintain, lower or remove the local lower limits on mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers, the PBOC and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a joint statement.Also pointing to regulators' increasing support for reasonable home buying demand, Ni Hong, minister of housing and urban-rural development, told Xinhua News Agency on Thursday that down payments and mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers should be reduced wherever appropriate.Thanks to the new mechanism, analysts said about half of the country's 70 major cities are eligible to relax local first-time home mortgage rate minimums in the near future.Cheng Qiang, chief macroeconomic analyst at CITIC Securities, said 38 out of the 70 big and medium-sized cities are eligible for adjustable mortgage rate minimums.Reducing mortgage rates will help stabilize home sales and improve real estate development, Cheng said, adding that they play an "indispensable" role in expanding domestic demand by boosting investment along the real estate industry chain and unleashing consumer demand for appliances, furniture and decor.Once local new home prices rise three months in a row, cities should restore local mortgage rates to the national minimum, which stands at 4.1 percent at present, according to the new mechanism.Yan Yuejin, director of the E-house China Research and Development Institution, said the mechanism has extended a short-term measure launched in September into a long-term policy, giving local governments the flexibility to adjust mortgage rates to fit local market conditions.In September, the PBOC allowed cities with sustained home price declines to relax first-time home mortgage rate minimums until the end of last year."Based on the central government's strong resolution to stabilize home prices, we believe this round of home price adjustments has bottomed out," said Xu Xiaole, chief analyst with Beike Research Institute. He added the transaction volume of preowned homes in the 50 cities Beike monitors saw 4 percent growth in December from a month earlier.Zhuge Real Estate Data Research Center said in Dongguan, Guangdong province, property sales surged after local home purchase restrictions were lifted on Dec 26. A total of 933 housing units were traded across the city during the week through Monday, soaring 950 percent from the previous week.
