What they say on foreign languages teaching

Zhang Yuyun, principal of Chongqing Foreign Language School

Compared with top international universities, which lead frontier research, some Chinese universities are still "feeding" students decade-old knowledge.

For students in foreign language schools, language is their strength. We are aiming to nurture students with Chinese spirit and international vision, that's how we connect to the trend of globalization.

At Chongqing Foreign Language School, students are encouraged to use the second language, mostly English, as a tool to gain the most up-to-date information instead of studying to gain more points in an exam.

The top goal of the school is not to send as many as graduates to top universities, but to nurture young citizens who can think independently and critically.

The school provides many extra-curricula activities, accounting for one third of classroom time, such as the International Festival and Reading Season.

I believe students will develop their overall skills, not only grades, from these activities, which will eventually benefit their growth.

In Chongqing Foreign Language School, 210 senior students went to universities abroad from the Class of 2013, nearly one third of the total senior student population from that year.

In 2008, the number of students who went to overseas colleges was only 70.

To cater to this trend, the school has provided programs to students who are interested in attending colleges abroad, such as the Green Path program in cooperation with the University of Toronto.

Students are eligible to apply for the partner university without a TOEFL test score. Toronto U will send out an admission team to Chongqing Foreign Language School and recruit students directly among seniors.

About 20 students have benefited from the program in 2013.

The school also set up an AP class for students in 2011. The AP class has 180 enrolled students, 60 in each grade.