Like it or not, in this fast globalising world, English has become an important language of international communication in almost all vital fields of knowledge and human activities.

However, in many parts of Asia, there are still obstacles such as cultural pride, ethno-nationalism, individual or social psychological blockages, lack of facilities and conducive environment as well as inadequate understanding of teaching methods standing in the way for Asian youths to master the language.

How do we overcome these obstacles? What is to be done?

Malaysiakini recently talked to the director of Megatrends Asia, Foong Wai Fong on these issues. Megatrends Asia is a global private research organisation co-founded by Foong and American futurist Dr John Naisbitt who authored the international best-sellers in the 1990s, 'Global Paradox' (London, Nicolas Brealey, 1994) and 'Megatrends Asia' (London, Nicolas Brealey, 1995).

Foong, a Malaysian and an economics graduate of Universiti Malaya, directs Megatrends Asia's research programmes from Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai and also serves now as a member of the Netherlands' Economic Development Board of the Port of Rotterdam as well as the executive director for the Global EduTech Management Group, a private education venture dedicated to developing a 3G University in China's Suzhou, with Hong Kong University and Warwick University.

Malaysiakini: Reportedly, many youths in China now are eager to learn English. Is this true? If yes, then what are the reasons?

Foong: The answer is both Yes and No. It is true that many young people (in China) are learning English, some with official urging (using WTO, the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo 2010 as incentives or encouragement).

English is promoted as a key competitive tool. The Chinese government requires younger officials to achieve a certain level of English proficiency before they can be promoted.

I know personally of a couple of middle-level government leaders who are inconvenienced by poor command of English as their jobs now bring them into contact with many foreigners. I have on many occasions sat in meetings with high-ranking officials, and their translators are just not proficient enough to explain Chinese situations and culture to foreigners; the governor or mayor look to me to translate.

The Chinese realise the usefulness of the English language and are making efforts to learn it. There is an interesting fact though: in many of the big cities, for example in Shanghai, the vast majority of the learners are female. This probably has to do with the fact that women are keener learners today (evident in so many other fields of studies). Also, many bosses and leaders in China now rely on their secretaries to be the go-between.

However, the interest is only confined to a pocket of people in urban areas as compared to China's vast population. The predominance of a single culture and single language condition in the smaller cities and communities make the overall environment to master a foreign language not as good as in Malaysia.

In the past, we saw interest in the English Language rising in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It is now in China. We also know teaching English is big business in Japan and Taiwan. In the last five years I've witnessed a significant improvement in English in Taiwan. I still don't see big improvements in Japan despite decades of effort. In Taiwan, this has to do with a lot of foreign-trained students returning home.

From watching the TV programmes on Central China Television (CCTV), the impression given by its young news readers is that China's youth seem to speak English more fluently than many Americans, Britons, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders and Singaporeans. What is the reality on the ground?

This is a very, very small minority. The actual situation is that the command of the language needs a lot of basic polishing up. For example, we sent a company document to a key official in one of China's leading universities and the translation that came back totally distorted the original meaning in the letter. The translated content became the source of misunderstanding. That translator has Level 8 English by Chinese standard.

Many of those CCTV anchors have studied or worked abroad before. They could also be some who have not gone out at all but who are nevertheless gifted. We have to remember Chinese broadcasting stations set very high standards when they select their broadcasters, and they have thousands to choose from. This is a paradox: those who are good are very good - for example the young lady from the Nanjing University who won the global elocution competition in the UK is better than a native speaker. Many TV anchors also speak flawless English. Some of the interpreters who work for the Chinese leadership (in the North) are also very good. The standard declines as you go further south.

In your observation, what difficulties do youth in China face in their efforts to learn English?

These young people have to have very strong motivation and determination because it is much harder to excel in another language when you live in a Chinese-dominant culture. You can go about your life not knowing a word in English and you can survive and even prosper. You need to be genuinely interested in another culture to work on the mastery of the language.

English is not that difficult to speak, and it is easy to attain a certain level of proficiency. You can also speak it in the broken Hokkien-style like in the Singapore television sitcom Phua Chu Kang . Young people are corrupted by this (type of English). I once overheard a young man asking his girl friend, instead of "what would you like to have for dinner?" he said, "tonight dinner, eat what-ah?"

If you really want to be good, you must make an effort - on your spelling, pronunciation and sentence construction (the Chinese tend to construct sentences in English in the Chinese manner - for example, they would say, 'The China government is promoting the Hope Project to help poor children to get an education'. Whereas the Americans may say, 'The government of China is promoting education among poor children via Project Hope').

It is also important to pay attention to the nuances. Young people need exposure to the international media including TV where they actually can hear how native speakers use the language. When I was growing up, I read a lot and watched the television and movies. In China, exposure to international media is still limited.

What facilities are there in China for its young citizens to learn English?

First the government is working hard to modernise the English curriculum in schools and re-train teachers but then this can only be the tip of the iceberg. The government is introducing the "blended learning approach", a dynamic combination of classroom teacher-student interaction and group learning as well as self-study using multi-media online tools.

There are also many English learning centres operated by a range of investors from all over the world. Apart from official effort and emphasis, the environment to use the language is not as good as Malaysia or Hong Kong. There are very few signboards in China that are in English or proper English, and spelling errors are common.

One academic actually did a survey and found the frequency of spelling errors to be unbelievable. The Chinese people need an open mind (to learn English). Sometimes, they are very sensitive and take it personally or even get "nationalistic". It is already given that English is a second language, we need not be shy. We are not expected to do it as well as the native users. However if we can, it only reflects well on the individuals.

Is there fear or anxiety in China about losing its national and ethno-cultural identity as the results of its youth learning English?

Not that I know of. China today is very enthusiastic about joining the world and hopeful about its future. Personally, I am more afraid of the English language being 'Sino-fied' (if there is such a word) than the Chinese losing its cultural identity. If I stay in China for a long stretch of time without reading my English newspapers or watching foreign English news, my command of the language could be influenced by them. I once corrected the English of a city official, and no one below his rank dared to follow my correction. And my staff in China did not dare use my version because the government was using the wrong version. Some days later, the official himself found out the error (not sure whether anyone told him) and made the change. Then my staff followed.

The Chinese culture is embedded in its society. The concern is of a different kind in China. What people are saying is about China's young people embracing Western popular culture (if you switch on the MTV channel in China, you know what I mean). That is a different debate about traditional (culture) vs popular (culture). I think we should be relaxed about it: let the young people explore and some day they will internalise all these and make their final choice. The true test of strength of one's culture is whether it could stand up to competition and mixing with others and yet come out to be the popular choice.

Note: Part 2 will be posted on Friday

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia. He is a former DAP member of Parliament for Kampar (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily (now Sin Chew Daily ). He read political science and economics at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.