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Radio Opens Program to Help Beijingers Speak English
Beijing People's Radio Station opened its second English-speaking program Monday, helping more Beijing people learn to speak this language and enhance the city's competitive edge in its bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The Three Hundred English Sentences for Beijingers is the second program after the radio opened its first such program the One Hundred English Sentences for Beijingers last December.
The program was jointly made by the radio and the Beijing International Studies University (BISU). "We hope Beijing people who have an educational level of above junior middle school will be able to speak simple English," Jiang Gongmin, the radio's chief editor, said.
Now more and more Beijing people, including government officials, old ladies and taxi drivers, are keen to learn to speak English, hoping to help the capital's Olympic bid against other cities including Paris and Osaka.
"The program aims to make people able to speak English within a short time, and it really works," Chen Lin, a BISU Professor, said.
Currently about 15 percent of the Beijing population can speak English, and the municipal government wishes to raise the rate by a large margin through various promotions like this program.
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