China saw English learning as key to progress. Not anymore

For over four decades, the English language served as the primary linguistic bridge connecting China to the global order. It was the critical catalyst for the reform and opening-up era initiated in 1978. English functioned as the ultimate vehicle for upward social mobility, global integration, and national modernisation. It attained an unparalleled status in the Chinese education system. (Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.) English stood shoulder to shoulder with Chinese literature and mathematics as a core subject on the Gaokao. This notoriously competitive national college entrance examination dictated the futures of millions. The resulting English fever…