High School

An additional three years of secondary education (similar to the high school level in the U.S.) is made available to all Chinese students. After primary and middle school, a student can apply for admittance into a secondary school. There are two main types of high schools in China: Academic and vocational. Academic high schools prepare students for entrance into a college or university. Vocational high schools prepare students for careers in various skilled labor positions.

Entrance into high school is competitive, unlike in the United States. While there are enough openings in Chinese high schools to accommodate all students who want to attend high school, acceptance is based on a student’s test scores. Admittance into the better schools is highly competitive. When students apply for high schools and colleges, students may list several schools which they desire to attend in order of preference. The best students receive first choice of the schools they wish to attend, but education is made available to all students through the secondary level.

Subjects taught in academic high school include a variety of Sciences, Technology, English, History, Mathematics, Politics, Computer Science, Arts, and Physical Education. Subjects taught in vocational high schools vary depending on the actual vocations taught at the specific school. English is taught at all academic high schools and many vocational high schools.

If you are teaching in an academic high school, chances are that most of your students will be able to understand the majority of your English, though you may still have to speak slowly. When teaching at the high school level, you will be able to conduct the majority of the class in English, although it is still important for you to be able to speak and understand Chinese in order to answer questions that students may not be able to completely formulate in English.

In high school, students will learn more about grammar and work on increasing their English vocabulary. Students will learn to read and write English to a greater degree than they did in primary or middle school. Much of the instruction relates to how the student might use the English language in his or her future vocation. For example, many schools begin to focus on technical or business related terms at this time.

At this time, learning English becomes even more important for those desiring to attend college. With China’s expanding place in the global marketplace, fluency in English is a highly prized skill, a focus that is reflected on the annual entrance exams. It is worth noting that many Chinese students desire to study abroad for college. It is becoming increasingly common for many top Chinese students to attend university in Europe or the United States. Obviously, students who wish to study at top universities in the United States, England, or other English speaking countries will need to be fluent in English before leaving to study abroad.