| Some 30 people in Beijing have passed
strict examination and become the first group of volunteer English
teachers to help local citizens to improve their oral English.
The 30 teachers were chosen from more than 200 local candidates,
including professional English teachers, students who have returned
from overseas universities, employees in joint-ventures, and college
students.
Beijing initiated a five-year training program in August last year,
which will enable people with middle-school education to communicate
in simple English.
The public English-learning wave is sweeping over the city and
Beijingers have become more enthusiastic than ever about learning
the language.
Foreigners to Beijing will no longer be astonished when greeted
cordially in English by Taxi drivers, police and even elderly people
on the street. From government employees to housewives, Beijingers
feel proud to be able to speak English, which they consider important
in building Beijing into an international city.
(People's Daily 02/22/01)
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