A study of foreign language subjects in China's new educational curriculum standards for high schools

Abstract

This paper surveys the development of China’s foreign language curriculum standards for elementary and high schools since the founding of the People's Republic of China. By analyzing the curriculum standards enacted in four different periods, it is noted that the newly enacted high school foreign language curriculum standards have the following characteristics: Firstly, the concept of “core competencies”, as a common framework for all disciplines, is adopted. Secondly, the discipline of foreign languages has been expanded by adding German, French, and Spanish to the existing languages of English, Russian, and Japanese, which were previously the only languages taught. The paper also discusses the changes and issues arising from the trend towards multilingual foreign language education, moving away from an “English-only” focus in China.