As the table shows, the vast majority of the graduate students in China use English to receive information rather than to express their own ideas. In most cases, English is useful only in that it keeps them well informed of their specialized fields of study. Among those surveyed, 90% claim that they use English to read textbooks and journals, and 10% say that they use it to attend lectures.
Those who claim that they use English to write reports, letters, papers account for but 5% of the total and only 6% says that they use English to talk to native speakers. Two reasons might account for this strange phenomenon. Firstly, a survey of Chinese instructional methodology and testing system reveals that too much emphasis is put on the training of reading comprehension skills. Most of the learning materials are reading materials and examinations are basically reading types. Little use of English for normal communication is required. By the time when they enter the graduate school, therefore, some of the students can read very well but find it difficult either to speak or to write in English. Secondly, as most graduate schools neither provide English seminars nor encourage their students to write the academic papers in English, students have little chance to use their writing or speaking skills.
Graduate students are the future of China’s academic pursuits and English is the bridge that links them with the international academic world. To contribute to the development of the world, graduate students in China must learn to speak and write in English. This is probably the only way by which their voice can be heard by the whole world.