In 2023, among 500,000 international students in China, 440,000 study English (88% of the total), including 400,000 degree seekers and 40,000 short-term learners, making it a core skill for academic and daily communication.
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Learner Numbers
According to the Ministry of Education’s “Survey on English Learning of International Students in China”, among the global 500,000 international students coming to China, 440,000 take English as a compulsory or key learning content (accounting for 88% of the total), including 400,000 degree-seeking students (accounting for 90% of the total 445,000 degree-seeking students) and 40,000 non-degree students (accounting for 73% of the 55,000 non-degree students).
Total Scale
The total number of international students learning English consists of both degree-seeking and non-degree groups, reflecting dual instrumental and academic needs. 90% of degree-seeking students are required to take English courses (bold), covering undergraduate to doctoral levels. For example, among 20,000 degree-seeking international students at a 985 university in 2023, 18,000 were required to take academic English (including literature reading and thesis writing), and an African doctoral student wrote a thesis on high-speed rail materials in English;
73% of non-degree students take English as their learning goal (bold), concentrated in language training (6-12 months). A South Korean student improved their IELTS score from 5.5 to 7.0 within 6 months in China, stating that English courses accounted for 80% of their total courses.
Among the total 440,000 students, Asian students account for 75% (330,000, e.g., Thai students learning engineering English), African students account for 15% (66,000, e.g., Nigerian students learning IT English). Data shows a negative correlation between the scale and the popularity of English in students’ places of origin (only 8% of European and American students learn English). An American international student chose French instead due to native language advantages, reflecting the adaptability of the total distribution.
Hierarchical Distribution
Academic levels determine the depth and focus of English learning: undergraduates focus on fundamentals, postgraduates on application, and doctoral students on academia. 95% of undergraduates take English courses (bold) because College English is a public compulsory course (accounting for 10% of credits). An undergraduate majoring in engineering completed a mechanical drawing report in English, which scored 15% higher than the Chinese version;
70% of doctoral students take English courses (bold), focusing on professional literature (such as intensive reading of SCI papers). A doctoral student in biology reads 3 English literature papers every week and keeps experimental records in English. At a university, doctoral English courses include academic presentation drills (accounting for 40% of class hours).
Master’s students fall between the two (85% take English courses). Applied majors (such as international business) add case discussions (fully in English). A Southeast Asian master’s student simulated cross-border negotiations in English, increasing communication efficiency by 30%.
Non-Degree Supplementary
Non-degree students supplement their English proficiency through short-term flexible learning, combining language training with skill development. 80% of language training students take English as their primary language (bold), such as HSK and IELTS dual-track classes. A Vietnamese student had 240 hours of English class hours in 6 months (4 hours per day on average), with their listening score increasing from 50% to 85%;
60% of short-term training students participate in English learning (bold), including workplace English (such as foreign trade correspondence) and exam sprint (TOEFL/IELTS). After 3 months of learning business English, an African corporate employee reduced the error rate in cooperation emails with Chinese partners by 50%.
70% of non-degree students choose universities in first-tier cities (such as the training class of Beijing Foreign Studies University) because foreign teachers account for 50% of the teaching staff. A student stated that the immersive environment is more efficient than online learning.
Regional Share
2023 surveys by the Ministry of Education, namely “Survey on English Learning of International Students in China” and “Statistical Yearbook of International Students in China”, show that among the global 500,000 international students in China, 440,000 learn English, of which 72% are concentrated in 15 core cities: first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai account for 30%, regional centers like Wuhan and Xi’an account for 25%, and characteristic cities like Kunming and Harbin account for 17%.
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Concentration in First-tier Cities
About 70,500 international students in Beijing learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s total 80,000 international students. Among them, 71,200 degree-seeking students (89% of the total) have 90% taking English courses (about 64,100), and 8,800 non-degree students (11% of the total) have 73% learning English (about 6,400). An African international student studied artificial intelligence courses in English at Tsinghua University, stating that the full-English literature database accelerated their research by 30%;
About 61,700 international students in Shanghai learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s 70,000 international students. International courses at Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, etc. (40% fully in English) promote English application. A Southeast Asian student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s shipbuilding major participated in the design report of domestic cruise ships in English, with communication efficiency 25% higher than in Chinese.
Guangzhou and Shenzhen have a total of 50,000 international students, of which about 44,000 learn English. Shenzhen has set up English internship positions relying on enterprises like Huawei. An electronics student reduced the error rate in technical documents written in English by 50% during the internship, reflecting the strengthening of English’s instrumental role in first-tier cities.
Regional Diversion
About 26,400 international students in Wuhan learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s 30,000 international students. Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology attract attention with their optical engineering (ranked first in China) and mechanical engineering (national key laboratory). An Indian student read IEEE papers in English while studying optical fiber sensing technology, and the results were applied to local communication networks;
About 22,000 international students in Xi’an learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s 25,000 international students. Xi’an Jiaotong University and Northwestern Polytechnical University are renowned for aerospace (research on C919 components) and materials science (titanium alloy R&D). A Russian student joined the drone project at Northwestern Polytechnical University and wrote experimental reports in English, which were recognized by supervisors.
Chengdu and Nanjing each have 20,000 international students, of which about 17,600 learn English. West China Medical College of Sichuan University (top in stomatology) uses English to teach international students clinical probation. A Middle Eastern student stated that English ward round records are more efficient than translations, reflecting the deep integration of disciplines and English in regional cities.
Characteristic Supplementary
About 13,200 international students in Kunming learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s 15,000 international students. Close to Southeast Asia (3 hours by land from Vietnam and Laos), Yunnan University offers professional literature courses in English for Southeast Asian languages (Thai, Vietnamese) and tropical agriculture (rubber planting). A Laotian student read FAO reports in English while studying agricultural extension, helping villages increase production by 20% after returning to their country;
About 8,800 international students in Harbin learn English (bold), accounting for 88% of the city’s 10,000 international students. Adjacent to Russia (Harbin Institute of Technology’s cooperation with Russia), Russian-taught classes (accounting for 40% of students) and cold-region architecture (ice and snow venue design) offer international case courses in English. A Russian student wrote their graduation thesis using English data from Harbin Institute of Technology’s permafrost laboratory.
Study Goals
2023 “Survey on English Learning of International Students in China” by the Ministry of Education shows that among the 440,000 international students learning English, 60% focus on academic goals (264,000 people), 25% on daily communication (110,000 people), and 15% on career advancement (66,000 people). After achieving their goals, academic writing efficiency increased by 40%, daily communication error rate decreased by 50%, and internship conversion rate reached 25%.
- Academic integration goals, accounting for 60% (264,000 people), include literature reading (intensive reading of SCI papers), thesis writing (English abstracts and discussions), and classroom presentations (full-English PPT explanations). A doctoral student in biology kept experimental records in English, shortening the paper publication cycle by 2 months;
- Daily communication goals, accounting for 25% (110,000 people), covering shopping, medical treatment, and social scenarios. A Southeast Asian student asked for directions in English 3 times per day on average and mastered dialect loanwords in 3 months;
- Career advancement goals, accounting for 15% (66,000 people), include internship emails, project reports, and skill certificates (IELTS 7.0). An African student was retained by a Chinese enterprise based on their English internship evaluation;
- Exam certification goals are attached to the above three categories. 30% (132,000 people) prepare for IELTS/TOEFL. A South Korean student improved their IELTS score from 5.5 to 7.0 in 6 months.
Academic Integration
The proportion of academic goals is 60% (bold), corresponding to 264,000 people, covering all levels from undergraduate to doctoral. For example, among 20,000 degree-seeking international students at a 985 university in 2023, 12,000 took professional literature courses in English (accounting for 60%). A doctoral student in engineering intensively read 3 English papers every week, wrote the discussion part of experiments in English, and reduced the number of paper revisions from 4 to 2;
Academic writing ability improved by 40% (bold) among those who achieved their goals. After academic English training, an international student majoring in environmental science saw their English abstract logical clarity score rise from 65 (out of 100) to 91, and the results were included in an EI conference.
Goal achievement relies on courses (academic writing workshops account for 30% of class hours) and supervisor guidance (weekly English group meetings). An international student stated that English changed from an obstacle to a tool, helping them participate in data sharing of international research groups, reflecting the support of academic goals for research depth.
Daily Communication
The proportion of daily communication goals is 25% (bold), equivalent to 110,000 people, covering shopping (price inquiry, return and exchange), medical treatment (symptom description), and social interaction (event invitation). An African international student asked about prices in English 5 times per day on average in Beijing supermarkets and mastered 50 English terms for vegetables and fruits in 3 months;
Communication error rate decreased by 50% (bold) among those who practiced continuously. A Southeast Asian student experienced express delivery delays due to grammatical errors when first arriving in China. After 3 months of situational dialogue training (simulating medical treatment and renting houses), the error rate dropped from 40% to 20%.
Achievement paths include language partners (pairing Chinese and international students, communicating 2 times per week on average) and campus activities (English corner participation rate 65%).
Career Advancement
Career advancement goals link English with internships and employment to enhance workplace competitiveness. The proportion of career goals is 15% (bold), equivalent to 66,000 people, including internship email writing (English accounts for 80%), project reports (full-English PPT), and skill certificates (IELTS 7.0 pass rate 30%). An electronics student reduced the error rate in technical documents written in English by 15% compared to Chinese during an internship at a Chinese enterprise;
Internship conversion rate is 25% (bold) among students with excellent English skills. A Southeast Asian student was recommended by the department supervisor and converted to an international business assistant based on fluent English project reports.
Learning Methods
2023 “Survey on English Learning of International Students in China” by the Ministry of Education shows that among 440,000 international students learning English, 85% participate in classroom learning, 70% persist in independent practice, and 60% carry out peer interaction. The combination of methods increases learning efficiency by 35% and reduces expression error rate by 40%.
Systematic Classroom Learning
85% classroom participation rate (bold) corresponds to 374,000 international students. Courses include academic English (literature reading, thesis writing), daily conversation (scene simulation), and skill training (listening shorthand). Among 20,000 degree-seeking international students at a 985 university in 2023, 17,000 took academic English courses, practicing abstract writing with real SCI paper cases, and their literature reading speed increased by 50% (bold) compared to self-study;
Class hours account for 30% of the total credits for degree-seeking students. An engineering student practiced English project presentations (PPT + Q&A) in class, scoring 25% higher than pure self-study. Classroom interaction is mainly based on group discussions (accounting for 40% of class hours), such as simulating international conference debates. A student stated that teachers’ immediate error correction is more accurate than apps, reducing grammatical error rate from 30% to 10%, reflecting the shaping of standardized expression through systematic input.
Independent Scenario Practice
Independent practice focuses on real-scenario application to consolidate learning effects through high-frequency output. 1.5 hours of independent practice per day on average (bold) is a common rhythm, including vocabulary memorization (learning 50 words per day with apps), podcast listening (30 minutes of TED Ed per day on average), and diary writing (recording daily life in English). A Southeast Asian student increased their vocabulary from 2000 to 3500 in 3 months using Baicizhan (bold);
Scenario simulation includes writing internship emails and simulating interviews. An African student got an interview opportunity at a Chinese enterprise after practicing job-seeking English 10 times. Data shows that oral fluency scores increased by 40% after independent practice (a certain assessment tool). A student went from being afraid to speak to taking the initiative to speak in class, with listening comprehension accuracy increasing from 60% to 85%.
Peer Interaction and Application
3 times of peer interaction per week on average (bold) is seen in 60% of international students, with 70% being Chinese-foreign pairs (such as language partner programs). An international student teamed up with local students to conduct an English research on rural revitalization, increasing communication efficiency by 35% (bold);
Activities include English corners (participation rate 65%, topics including cultural comparison) and group assignments (50% fully in English). A student learned slang (such as “down-to-earth”) at the English corner, reducing social error rate by 20%.
Skill Outcomes
2023 follow-up research by the Ministry of Education’s “Survey on English Learning of International Students in China” on 440,000 international students learning English shows that after skill training, listening comprehension accuracy increased by an average of 25%, oral fluency scores rose by 30%, literature reading speed increased by 40%, and English writing error rate decreased by 35%. Among them, 80% of international students believe that reaching skill standards helps them complete academic tasks, and 65% said the results directly support cross-cultural communication.
Listening Breakthrough
Listening comprehension accuracy increased from 60% at enrollment to 85% after the course (bold) was seen in the assessment of 500 international students at a 211 university in 2023. For example, an African student only understood 30% of lectures mixed with Chinese and English when first arriving in China. After 3 months of intensive listening to TED Ed (30 minutes per day on average), they could remember 80% of key technical parameters;
70% of students who listen to podcasts for 30 minutes per day achieved an IELTS listening score of 6.5 (bold). A Southeast Asian student improved their score from 5.0 to 6.5 in 6 months using this method, stating that they could even distinguish English with dialect accents (such as Shanghai foreign teachers).
Training includes intensive listening (dictation sentence by sentence) and extensive listening (lecture background sounds). An engineering student intensively listened to mechanical engineering English courses, increasing professional terminology recognition rate from 50% to 95%, and classroom question participation rate rose by 40%.
Oral Fluency
Oral fluency scores increased by 40% (bold) among those who achieved their goals. An assessment tool shows that international students’ scores rose from 55 points (out of 100) at enrollment to 77 points after the course. For example, a Middle Eastern student paused 3 times per sentence when speaking English initially. After 3 times of weekly interaction at the English corner (topics including food and festivals), they can now talk about their hometown stories coherently for 5 minutes;
65% of students who interact with peers 3 times per week dare to take the initiative to speak in class (bold). An African student practiced renting house English with a local student partner, and after 3 months, took the initiative to give group reports in English, reducing grammatical error rate from 30% to 10%.
Reading and Writing Improvement
Literature reading speed increased by 50% compared to self-study (bold) among participants in academic English courses at a 985 university. For example, an engineering student used skimming skills taught in the course (grasping abstracts and charts) to reduce the time to read an SCI paper from 2 hours per paper to 1 hour per paper;
English abstract logic scores rose from 65 points to 91 points (bold) among participants in writing workshops. After training, a biology student adjusted the proportion of methods, results, and conclusions in the abstract from chaotic to 30%, 40%, and 30%, reducing the number of paper revisions from 4 to 2.