In today's China, exchanges between Chinese and English-speakers are increasingly frequent. English skills are important to Chinese if China wishes to play a stronger role on the world stage. However, the general English level of the Chinese people is on the decline. China's ranking in the 2015 EF English Proficiency Index dropped 10 drops. The Middle Kingdom was ranked 47th out of 70 countries rated, and is now _ several Latin American countries. The report triggered widespread discussion in China: in an increasingly international nation, why is the peoples' level of English getting worse? A decline in the English level of the Chinese people is no accident. With China's exam-based education system, worsening English is inevitable. English education in China is too focused on grammar and ignored oral practice. This results in students that are often too scared to speak, for fear of making a mistake. Exam-based courses make it so students merely learn for the test, not learn the language. In Latin America, nations do not have a rigorous exam system for English, but focus on promoting the language itself. Such programs that promote English include Chile's "English Opens Doors" program, Panama's "Panama Bilingual Education Program," and Mexico's "10 Million People Plan." Brazil, which also has a government program, is ranked first in the region for English. The Chinese government should first think about how to reduce the amount of pressure on students taking exams in order to promote change in the current system of rote English education. This is the most important step. Everyone has been recently focused on overseas returnees. The number of Chinese studying abroad has rapidly multiplied in past years. At the same time, the number of overseas returnees is increasing as well. The job market is also increasingly competitive for them and it is often more difficult for returnees to find a suitable job than it is for domestic graduates. Difficulties and pressure in the job market for overseas returnees deters a number of Chinese from studying abroad. As a result, the number of Chinese with high-level English, carefully perfected abroad, has been reduced. This could be a major reason for why English is getting worse overall in China. While China's overall level of English has declined, it has not affected China's huge emphasis on English education and training. China remains one of the nations that is most committed to the study of English. What measure can help improve English level of Chinese people?
Stopping testing English in the educational examination system. Reducing the amount of pressure on students studying English. Encouraging more students to study in Latin American countries. Focusing more on expressive abilities and less on grammatical exams.