SHANGHAI–Marina Wang used English every day when she worked at a British company in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. But her use of the language dropped to virtually zero when she quit to work for a Chinese bank in her home province of Hubei.

Though she majored in English in college, she doesn’t miss speaking it. “My new job offers greater economic stability and allows me to live near my parents,” she said. “English is not required because I communicate mainly with Chinese customers.”

Her story is one example of a broader debate taking place over China’s longtime emphasis on teaching English that experts say could prompt a rethink about why and how Chinese learn the language.

Estimates vary, but state media China Daily said there were many as 400 million English-language learners in China at the beginning of this decade. In 2011, the market for English-language training was worth 46.3 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) according to market data provider Beijing Zhongzhilin Information Technology Ltd.

Yet as China’s economy matures, creating a domestic consumer class and homegrown companies to serve it, many Chinese such as Ms. Wang see new job opportunities that don’t require English. Meanwhile, some critics blame an overemphasis on English in schools for contributing to an erosion of Chinese skills in young people.

“We may be on the brink of a change of status in relation to English in China,” said David Graddol, an education consultant based in Hong Kong and author of a recent book on English in China.

“In the past, the main driver of English has been the need to pass national exams. In the future this may decline—but the need to be able to communicate in English may increase,” he said.

Earlier this year, a group of top Chinese universities, including Beijing Institute of Technology, dropped the English test requirement from their independent entrance examinations for study in some fields such as engineering.

Last month, education authorities in the city of Beijing announced proposals to reduce the weight given to English test scores in critical public examinations, including the college admissions tests, or gaokao.
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