Page1English Learning: for Exams' Sake“It‟s more difficult to apply for the TOEFL or GRE than it is to actually take the exam,” complained one of my friends , who failed to apply for TOEFL. It really surprises me that the biggest headache these days with taking English examinations is not the examinations themselves but the number of people wanting to take them. What kind of force motivates so many people to learn English and take English exams? What on earth is the value of learning English for Chinese? Is the china's entry into the world trade organization , or the encouragement of the Olympic games in 2008 , or the desire to study abroad? Personally ,in china ,the value of learning English is only for various exams' sake. My student career can provides powerful evidence.Here a few background explanations will be made to understand the examination culture in China. Since ancient China, examinations have been regarded as crucial in measuring whether a person is doing well in his studies. A written examination, the imperial exam, was held for about 1,300 years as the sole method for selecting the “best” government officials. Though the imperial exam was abolished at the beginning of the 20th century, the examination culture is deep-rooted and examinations have always been taken seriously by authorities, teachers, students and parents in China (Lee, 1996).English has always been taught as a subject of study rather than a means ofPage2 communication. That's true. When I stepped into my middle school, I began to learnenglish, just like other subjects like chemistry, maths and so on. to meet the need for China‟s reform and its open-door policy , English has been listed as a compulsatory text subject from basic education to tertiary education.Anyway, it is just a new subject for me. At that time, I didn't realize that English is the very subject that I use to communicate with a foreigner. All in my ind is that I can pass the new subject called English. Looking back to this, I feel ashamed of my ignorance and stupidity. Now,I still hate my my first teacher because she infected me with her chinglish.In my high school, the teachers instilled the idea that the national collage entrance examination( the Gao Kao) is the prelude to university. Though the exam was reformed in recent years, it has remained controversial .Listening is excluded from the testing system, not mention to speaking. Our students are forced to accept almost exclusively on examination techniques, leaving to the side the development of communicative abilities. Not only students like me in Shanxi province ,but the students in Gansu have the same tragedy story. According to Chris Tribble , who made a investment in the country's poor western provinces about learning English,he said that "calls for reform are going unheeded and teachers in Gansu faced a major reversal when the provincial authorities this year suspended the listening component of the Gao Kao in the province, claiming that it was too complex and expensive to administer."Naturally enough, the grammar became the real protagonist. Hence the absencePage3 of a speaking test or the impracticality of carrying out large scale speaking tests inChina contribute d to the consequence that “while Chinese students tend to be very good at grammar-based written examinations, they are by no means good speakers, and they are often …reticent learners‟ who lack the willingness to communicate verbally” (Wen and Clement, 2003, p. 18).To some extent, English learning is most about a command of English grammar, which serves the exam heart and soul.With the help of Gao Kao , I entered the university,the CET4( the College English Test Band 4) exam became the central theme. All university students ( non-english major) across china are required to attend the test after completing the English foundation course in the secondary school years. Those who do not pass it are not entitled to the first degree( Shao, 2006). Frankly speaking, CET4 is the biggest enemy for undergraduates. Every time the exam is around the corner, there will be a Fashion of Study English across the campus . Besides, the books about English vocabulary for CET4 will be the best seller. Before the exam, the books is the students' closest friends. However, after the exam, the books are sold on the second -hand markets.Where there is English learning, there is the exam. The exams gradually ruin my enthusiasm in English learning.Only when our Chinese students are free from the restriction of the unscientific exam system, free from the current practice of "put exams first" can we have the time and energy to purse other value that English can produce. At present, what we all do is for exams ' sake.Page4Work CitedChris Tribble ."China's drive to teach English stalls in the west"Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 2 August 2011 13.59 BSTArticle history.</education/2011/aug/02/china-teach-english-drive-stalls> Lee, W.O., 1996. The cultural context for Chinese learners: conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In: Watkins, D.A., Biggs, J.B.</Periodical_dyx-jyjxk200804002.aspx >Shao, H., 2006. An empirical study of wash back from CET-4 on college English teaching and learning. CELEA Journal 29 (1), 54e65.</Article_en/CJFDTotal-TEIC200601007.htm>Wen, W.P., Clement, R., 2003. A Chinese conceptualization of willingness to communicate in ESL. Language, Culture and Curriculum 16 (1), 18. </NSTLQK_10.1080-07908310308666654.aspx>。