With fierce competition
here in China, summer has become
a busy time for children who
aim high. Students continue learning
by attending summer schools with
various programs that offer fun, but
academically focused activities.
CCTV
reporter Su Yuting visits an English
summer school here in Beijing to
take a closer look.
In
the searing summer heat, students can
still be found in the classrooms,
armed with high hopes and steely
resolve. They’ve come here to
learn English.
For some
children who missed a lot of
school or are far behind their
peers, a few weeks of intensive
tutoring may give them a
boost.
But for others, joining
these summer classes are for more
than just catching up, they’re
for jumping ahead.
A student
said, "I want to go to America
to study in the future. So I
want to learn more English and
American history."
Another student
said, "My mother wishes me can
have good English, and I can go
all round the world and travel
to many other places."
There
is an ever-growing demand for a
high level of English language
competency for students who want to
communicate effectively. One expensive
solution is sending children to
English-speaking countries. An economical
alternative to that is creating an
English-speaking environment.
Ashley
Hankins, English teacher, said, "I
know a lot of my students here
are going to the States or go
to Western countries either for camps
or to travel or for university.
So they came here to our school
to learn English and to learn
from Western teachers. So they can
go to the States and they can
speak a lot more fluently and
be able to get into the school
as well."
Chinese students
are hardly slackers. In addition to
the hours of studying they do
during the school year, they keep
up the pace, learning and trying
to get ahead in the
summertime.
Many consider summer
schools an opportunity to broaden
children’s horizons, and help them
get ahead academically. The ultimate
goal is to secure a brighter
future in a competitive and
fast-changing world.
