University English curriculums will be changed after students taking trial courses performed better on examinations, said Zhang Yaoxue, a senior official with the Ministry of Education.

　　In recent years, more and more employers have begun to use exams as a way to evaluate potential employees. The exams showed university students lacked oral English skills. Officials began to call for "a new English curriculum that aims to integrate skills."

　　According to Ministry of Education statistics, university students spend more than 3,000 hours studying English during their four years in college. Yet most students listen silently to their English instructors rather than actively speaking.

　　Universities launched an English study reform in 2002 with three new measures, Zhang said.

　　First, the original English teaching curriculum was revised. Second, computer-based teaching materials and software systems were introduced. Third, the evaluation and testing system for English proficiency was adjusted to focus more on listening and speaking, rather than writing.

　　The more engaging teaching style has generated more interest among students.

　　Li Yuan, a student of the Beijing Institute of Technology, said the English learning software interested him because there was a story about professional soccer scandals.

　　The story was divided into three parts for different tests.

　　The ministry invested 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million) in February 2004. The money was divided among 180 universities, affecting 200,000 students.

　　(Xinhua)