Professor Qiao Xiaochun commented in an interview that it is difficult for China to build a world-class university because our domestic textbooks are not in English. Many people agree with Professor Qiao's view that English is the international lingua franca and Chinese textbooks are relatively closed. On closer examination, the theory that "the textbook is not in English" is untenable and unconvincing.
The choice of language has little to do with the quality of teaching. The selection of teaching materials should be based on the teaching effectiveness and the needs of students. China is a country with Chinese as the main body, and Chinese based on Chinese characters is the mainstream knowledge system, which is a natural choice. Whether English textbooks can truly meet the learning habits and psychological needs of domestic students remains to be discussed.
The quality of teaching materials should not be judged solely by linguistic criteria. The quality of content and the level of instructional design are the key factors that affect the learning effect. We cannot ignore the real achievements of Chinese universities in teaching and research. Chinese-based universities have made fruitful achievements in natural sciences, engineering technology and other fields, and have produced many international top quality papers.
At the same time, a number of famous universities in the mainland are also in the forefront of the world in terms of international academic exchanges and student training strength. If the "fundamental reason" of Chinese education lies in the choice of language in teaching materials, it is obviously too one-sided and subjective to ignore and deny the significant contribution of China's higher education. The language of the textbook itself does not determine the advanced nature of a country's education system.
Countries such as Israel use Hebrew textbooks, Portugal uses Portuguese, and South Korea uses Korean, but they also demonstrate world-class teaching and research capabilities. Other countries in the United Kingdom and the United States have used their mother tongue for education in the past, but this has not affected their determination and achievements in building world-class universities. On the contrary, the glory of prestigious schools such as Oxbridge in the United Kingdom is based on Latin and the native Chinese.
Professor Qiao's argument may have overlooked the diversity and interoperability of knowledge systems in the context of globalization. In the digital age, national borders and language barriers are becoming increasingly blurred. The Internet has made it easy to disseminate and exchange the best achievements of various countries. Prestigious Chinese and foreign universities are also promoting overseas cooperation and exchanges. Knowledge output should not be limited to language, but more importantly, innovation in content and methodology.
Confining a country or people to a single linguistic isolation is itself a certain cultural bias. Simply judging the merits of an education system by language standards is theoretically untenable and difficult to establish. The key to whether China's education can build a world-class university lies not in the language of teaching materials, but in how it leads the future and cultivates innovative talents.
Only by getting rid of the limitations of prejudices and reforming and innovating in an open and enterprising manner can China's education move to a new level. The argument that "the textbook is not in English" is hardly a credible basis. We need to revisit this issue with a broader, more honest lens.
In short, the quality of a country's or nation's education system should not be judged simply by linguistic criteria. The difficulty in building a world-class university in China's education lies not in whether the teaching materials are in English, but whether we have an open and enterprising spirit, whether we can lead the direction of the future, and whether we can cultivate innovative talents.
In the new historical stage, China's education is facing new challenges and opportunities. The trend of economic globalization and the development of science and technology has put forward higher requirements for the quality of education. China is also gradually gaining more traction, and can explore teaching models that are more in line with China's speed according to its own national conditions.
For Chinese education, the important thing is not to judge the advantages and disadvantages of oneself and other countries, but to actively summarize the experience of education reform, and solve the pain points and difficulties faced by education development with a solid theoretical foundation and an open and enterprising attitude. Only through practical exploration and improvement can we cultivate a large number of innovative talents who can meet the needs of society, and it is possible to promote China's education to a new height.
It is hoped that all walks of life can abandon their preconceptions and work together for the future, so that China's education level can be truly improved, and finally become a world-class level in the true sense.
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