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The victory of the Communist Party in the Chinese civil war (1945-1949) led to the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1st

, 1949. After the founding of the new country, it was important for the Communist government to reconstruct the political, social, economic, educational and cultural systems.

In the first years, English teaching curriculum, materials and methods in the period of Nationalist government of China (led by the Kuomingtang Party) were adopted by the new government of the PRC. However, EFL education policy and Chinese people’s attitudes towards English learning quickly changed under the political and ideological influence which required that language education should serve the people and the proletariat. The government took over mission schools and all foreign-run schools and institutions, and mission schools were accused of serving “imperialist and colonialist ends” (Cleverley, 1985, p. 118). Religion was even considered by the new government as “the opiate of the people” (Cleverley, 1985, p. 118). Many foreign educators left

the PRC and most foreign companies moved out of Mainland China.

With the breakout of the Korea War in 1950 and the Cold War between the West and The East, the PRC was faced with Western attempts to isolate the new Communist country. The government of the PRC found it was equally important to find an ally in the international arena. The PRC built an intimate relationship with the Soviet Union

110 immediately after the founding of the country (Lam, 2005; Pletcher, 2011). This rapidly developed union between the PRC and the Soviet Union influenced the economic, political, cultural and educational systems in Mainland China from the early 1950s (Adamson & Morris, 1997; Chen, 1989).

The Communist government of the PRC and the Soviet Union signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance in 1950. This alliance with the Soviet Union strongly influenced the foreign language teaching in schools. Secondary schools and institutions began to provide Russian teaching from 1952 (Cortazzi & Jin, 1996b; Ross, 1992); Russian replaced English, becoming the most taught foreign language in secondary schools and institutions. Many teachers of English started to learn Russian in short term training or by self-learning; and they then taught Russian to students (Chen, 1981). English was removed from junior secondary curriculum in 1954 partly due to the lack of teachers (Tang & Gao, 2000).

This situation did not last long after the breakdown of the political relationship between the PRC and the Soviet Union. The worsening of political and ideological relations between the PRC and the Soviet Union resulted in the Sino-Soviet Split. The PRC then put an emphasis on self-reliance and independence. Rather than borrowing and learning from the Soviet Union, the PRC started to “learn from all the advanced experiences of the world” (Dzau, 1990, p. 19). In 1957, English was put back into the

111 towards a more academic orientation. Foreign language (usually English) became a compulsory subject in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination in 1962 (Ross, 1993).

The first years of 1960s saw a revival and expansion of English language education in the PRC. This is a period of innovation and experimentation in EFL education. In this period, a range of Western language teaching methodologies were consulted and experimented with in Mainland China, including the Direct method, the Audio-lingual method and the Grammar Translation method (Fu, 1986). People began to realise the importance of speaking and listening skills in English language learning. The aim of EFL education in secondary schools was changed accordingly to obtain basic knowledge and basic skills.

In 1966, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution which interrupted formal education in Mainland China. Mao believed that the best schooling took place outside the school. Participation in labour on the farm, or in the factory, was a practical part of education which made education closer to the needs of society. Secondary schools and universities were shut down for years. In the Down to the Countryside Movement, millions of urban young people were driven to remote rural areas to receive the “open door schooling” (Chen, 1981). They spent their youth in labour on the farm instead of

112 During the Cultural Revolution, Chinese people were forbidden to listen to foreign language broadcasts, see foreign language movies and read foreign language newspapers or books. By 1970, less than half of secondary schools taught any foreign languages in Mainland China (Ross, 1993). The whole country remained isolated from the outside world.

The Cultural Revolution came to the end with the death of Mao Zedong in 1976. In the first 30 years of the PRC, EFL education did not yield significant results with regard to students’ English proficiency levels due to the dominance of politics and

communist ideology. From 1978 to date, Chinese society has seen a series of political and economic reforms and EFL education has developed rapidly towards the new orientation of economic growth and national modernization.

The Open Up Policy announced in 1978 has become the turning point of economic development and the realization of the Four Modernizations policy in Mainland China. The government of PRC has emphasised the importance of learning advanced technologies and sciences from Western countries. Proficiency in foreign languages, especially in English, is believed to be the way to gain access to advanced technologies and sciences. For individuals, language ability in English is considered as the way to gain access to social mobility and career opportunities. The move towards proficiency in foreign languages (especially English) has become a nationwide driver. Figure 3 gives a snapshot overview of EFL education development

113 from 1949 to 1977, the three decades after the establishment of the PRC.

EFL education during the first three decades in the PRC (1949-1977)

The PRC was founded on October 1st 1949 EFL education

was required to serve the people

and the proletariat

The communist government took over mission schools and all foreign-run schools and

institutions

New political influence new ideological influence In the early 1950s, Mainland China experienced a period of Soviet influence Russian became

the most studied foreign language

from 1952 English was

removed from the junior secondary

school in 1954

English was put back into the junior secondary

curriculum in 1957

Sino-Soviet Split Foreign language (usually English) became a

compulsory subject in the National Higher Education Entrance Examination in 1962

In 1960s, Western language teaching methodologies were

consulted and experimented with in Mainland China _The Cultural Revolution

from 1966 to 1976 Formal schooling was interrupted

including EFL education

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