English majors face uncertain future as AI replaces basic skills

Broader decline

There is a broader trend of English declining as a major said Wu Peng, dean of Jiangsu University's Overseas Education College.

Since 2022, he has found fewer students inquiring about enrolling in an English major, he said. There are also fewer students with high entrance scores choosing the major, while more English major students are choosing to later switch to engineering, he said.

However, Wu believes the decline is not limited to English as a major, or China alone. It exists in liberal arts majors in almost all countries as well as "less useful" engineering majors, he said.

Wu attributed the waning interest to policy shifts (like the "double reduction" policy reducing K-12 English tutoring jobs), technological disruption (AI handling 80 percent of basic translation), and the discipline's core weakness. Its biggest failing is producing over 100,000 graduates annually who are mainly focused on pure language skills, while market demand now centers on high-end interdisciplinary competence.

Dai Jiangwen, head of the English department at Beijing Jiaotong University, rejected claims that English majors are "declining", arguing that the discipline requires optimization aligned with national needs and the fourth industrial revolution.

She emphasized foreign languages' critical role in safeguarding information sovereignty, developing language technologies like machine translation, and preserving linguistic diversity. Dai stressed the "irreplaceable humanistic attributes" of the discipline in the AI era — fostering emotional intelligence, cultural sensitivity, and critical thinking that AI lacks.

Both professors agreed the core issue is structural. Dai pinpointed outdated curricula, faculty misalignment with industry needs, rigid disciplinary classifications, and obsolete training models. Wu said graduates face intense competition from students in other fields who also possess strong English skills plus specialized knowledge.

Dai strongly recommended English majors include language intelligence programs in their studies, calling it a "direct path" for humanities students to enter the AI industry. She pointed to one program that combines linguistics, AI, data science and cultural studies as an example.

Wu advised current students to urgently build "English plus" skills (for example international law and data science), master technical tools, and target high-growth niche areas like specialized translation services or cross-border e-commerce. He recommended the major only to students with clear interdisciplinary ambitions and international career plans, favoring dual-degree "English plus X" paths.

Wu said while national policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and reform and opening-up provide long-term demand for English talent, "pure English" ability is devalued.

He stressed the urgent need for "English plus minor languages" or "language plus professional" compound skills, noting there was a deficit of more than 500,000 students who are fluent in English plus languages like Russian or Arabic, adding that current faculty structures are ill-prepared.

Both professors agreed AI will reshape, not replace, language fields. Dai said machines cannot fully replicate human translators' creativity, especially in nuanced communication and cultural adaptation.

Wu predicted AI would automate low-end translation but create new roles like "AI trainers" or "cultural adapters", leading to human-AI collaboration. He emphasized that humanities disciplines, and exploring "what makes us human" fundamentally define the boundaries of AI and other technologies.

He said: "AI will force the humanities to upgrade, not disappear, and create experts who can use AI but understand humans better than AI."