为什么中国人的英语口语很难提高？问题究竟在哪？

中国虽然不是一个以英语为母语的国家，但是英语在中国教育系统中的分量却不小。然而，不可否认的是，如今我们很多人依旧停留在哑巴英语的水平，听说能力严重不足；小到在街上为游客指路，大到去跨国企业进行口语面试，都常常感到吃力。很多老外也很纳闷，中国学生在很多考试里的成绩都属于世界前列，为什么英语的交流能力却往往上不去？

关于这一点，曾经在Google实习的李同学给出了回答：

This is an interesting question. I will answer from my experience. Hope this helps.

这是一个很有趣的问题。我来用自己的亲身经历回答吧。希望能帮到大家。

I grew up in China and have received English education since I was 6 years old. Not only was I taught English in school for 12 years but also I was taking English classes even on weekends since I was 8 years old. I consider myself as a very good English speaker.

我是在中国长大的，从6岁开始就接受英语教育。我不光在学校学了12年英语，而且从8岁开始还要在周末上英语课。我觉得我的英语还是讲得不错的。

The problem with English education in China is that almost everything taught in school is so exam-oriented.

中国英语教育的问题就是：学校里教的一切几乎都是应试的。

The textbook is very out-dated. Teachers are more focused on what will be tested in the exam instead of what will actually be used in real life.

教材非常过时。老师们更关心考试会考什么，而不是真实生活中会用什么。

Speaking is definitely not included as part of the curriculum. The speaking test is optional in Gaokao at least in my province, which is pretty much a joke （You literally read a random English passage while being judged by someone who probably speaks worse English than you）.

口语能力显然并不是教学大纲的一部分。高考里的口语考试也不是必须项，至少在我的省份不是。而且这个考试就跟闹着玩一样（你完全就是随便读一个英文段落，而考官的英语口语可能还不如你）。

I have had native English teachers in primary school and high school but they only give 1 lesson per week and the content turned out to be mostly playing with the students, watching movies.

我的小学和高中时期都有外教上课，但是他们每周只上一节课，而且教学内容基本就是和学生一起玩，比如看电影。

My foreign English teacher in high school turned out to be a very professional educator who actually had a degree in English literature in the US. I am extremely thankful that I have met my teacher and we also became friends.

我高中时期的外教倒是挺专业，他在美国是拿了英语文学学位的。我非常庆幸能碰到这样一个老师并和他成为了朋友。

I happened to start getting interested in American TV shows starting from Friends etc.

那时候我也恰好喜欢上了看美剧，一开始看的是《老友记》这些。

I literally repeated every sentence after the actors finished their lines. So yes, I have watched Friends for twice just for learning English.

当时剧里的角色每说完一句话我都要跟着重复一遍。所以，没错，我为了学英语把《老友记》刷了两遍。

Being friends with a native speaker, the practice I got from TV shows turned out to be long-term beneficial. I am frequently mistaken as someone from the US when I travel abroad.

后来我慢慢意识到：和以英语为母语的人交朋友，以及跟着美剧练习英语都是有长远的好处的。我现在出国旅游的时候经常被误认成美国人。

To conclude, the school system was extremely ineffective in terms of actual communication.

总结来说，国内的学校体系在培养实际交流能力这方面是极其低效的。

Most students end up being good at writing and reading but not listening and speaking, which is more essential to communications.

很多学生的读写能力都不错，但听说能力却很差，而后两者对于交流来说才更重要。

Also to note that, lack of English speaking environment also played a factor.

还有一点要指出的就是，缺乏讲英语的环境也是个问题。

However, I do appreciate the fact that I was taught with strong grammatical fundamentals that some native English speakers are weak at, which helped so much in my later English studies.

不过，我还是很庆幸这个系统让我打下了扎实的语法基础（很多英语母语者的语法并不算好），这样的语法基础为我日后的英语学习帮了不少忙。