Shanghai officials polish English skills

SHANGHAI - Senior officials in Shanghai will use their spare time to learn English, a move designed to help them adapt to the strides(大踏步) the city has made toward becoming a cosmopolitan [?k?zm??p?lit?n](國際化) city.

An eight-year English training program for government officials who are deputy bureau chiefs(副局長) or above began over the weekend for the first batch [b?t?](一批) of 30 trainees.

The program was initiated(實施) by the organization department of the local Party committee(地方黨委), with the aim of enhancing local officials' ability to communicate internationally.

With the city's economy rapidly [?r?p?dl?](快速地) developing, the government recognized the importance of English as a vehicle [?vi:?kl](動力) for communication and the parallel [?p?r?lel](平行線) need for its officials to be bilingual [ba??l??gw?l](兩種語言的), the department said.

According to the program, each trainee will have a flexible, personalized(個性化的) study plan based on their level of ability and native speakers will provide one-to-one tuition(一對一輔導(dǎo)).

"Interactive multi-media English courses(互動式多媒體課程), social clubs and an English corner will also be included in the study plans, which enable officials to take time from their busy work schedules to make systematic progress(系統(tǒng)的進步)," said Clare Zhang, a staff member of Wall Street English, the training body providing the program.

Zhang said the length of the program depends on trainees' ability and foundation [faun?dei??n，fa?n?de??n](基礎(chǔ)) level. "For those who know very little English, the program will last six years," she said.

The Shanghai Municipal Party Committee(上海市委) launched its first English training campaign(培訓(xùn)活動) in 2002. Since then, more than 240 senior officials have participated in the training courses.

Han Xiaoyu, 58, secretary(書記) of the Jiading district commission for discipline inspection(紀(jì)檢), began to study English five years ago and is now fluent.

"It was a long course of study. For me, it was not only about learning the language, but also about broadening(開闊) my horizons(視野) and changing my thought processes(思維過程). I now have a deeper understanding of the West," she said.

Xi'an, the capital of Northwest Shaanxi province, revealed(透露) last week that it also plans to transform [tr?ns?f?:m，tr?ns?f??rm](改變) itself into a cosmopolitan city within the next decade by boosting(提高) English language learning.

"English is becoming the second language in China. It's good to have more people who speak English in themetropolis [m??tr?p?l?s](大都市) for their ability to communicate internationally, but it is impractical [?m?pr?kt?k?l](不現(xiàn)實) for the government to expect everyone to learn it," said local resident Wang Ninguang.

"A real metropolis depends on its openness [???pnn?s](開放度) and inclusiveness(包容度), rather than what language its residents speak."