English majors at Chinese universities face uncertain future as AI replaces basic skills
BEIJING - Once boasting abundant opportunities to land promising careers, foreign language majors are now confronting profound change as artificial intelligence ( AI ) disrupts traditional career paths and universities implement sweeping reforms.
In 2023, the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, Anhui province, was among the first top-tier universities in China to discontinue its English major. In 2024, the University of International Business and Economics and Beijing Language and Culture University announced the suspension of enrolment for several master's programmes in less commonly taught languages, including Japanese translation and Italian interpretation.
In May 2024, the University of Jinan in Shandong province announced it had halted enrolment in nine undergraduate majors, including Korean and German. That same month, Shenyang Aerospace University in Liaoning province listed 10 majors paused for enrolment, including English.
According to the university undergraduate major approval catalog covering 2018-2022 released by the Chinese Ministry of Education, a total of 28 foreign language-related majors were discontinued by 109 universities. Among these, 26 universities discontinued Japanese, 21 discontinued English, and 10 discontinued Korean.
Golden era over
Language majors enjoyed a golden era from 1999 to 2010, fuelled by China's World Trade Organisation accession in December 2001.
During this period, universities offering foreign language programmes surged from 200 to over 600, representing a 200 per cent increase, according to education news portal EOL.
By 2010, the total number of English majors in colleges nationwide reached 850,000, with employment rates consistently exceeding 90 per cent . In 2005, English graduates commanded starting salaries 15 per cent above the national undergraduate average.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore July BTO launch to have over 4,600 balance flats, 2 BTO projects with under than 3-year wait
Singapore Acute psychiatry services to be expanded across all healthcare clusters: MOH
Singapore 'Kpods broke our marriage, shattered our children': Woman on husband's vape addiction
Business US tariffs may last well after Trump; crucial for countries to deepen trade ties: SM Lee
Multimedia Telling the Singapore story for 180 years
Asia Indonesia police detain 12 suspects over baby trafficking ring linked to Singapore
Life Walking for exercise? Here are tips on how to do it properly
Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years
This trajectory, however, has reversed dramatically in recent years. AI translation tools now achieve over 95 per cent accuracy at 1 per cent the cost of human services, and have seized 40 per cent of the general translation market. The shift has eliminated demand for basic 'human translation machines 'while creating niches for 'translation managers' proficient in AI collaboration, EOL said.
Employment statistics reflect the crisis. The 2023 employment rate for language majors fell to 76.8 per cent , 5.6 percentage points below the national undergraduate average, according to a report by Beijing-based education consultancy MyCOS.
Only 52 per cent of language majors secured jobs related to their major, forcing nearly half to switch fields. Satisfaction with such majors plummeted from 78 per cent in 2010 to 67 per cen t in 2023, the report said.
Traditional employment sectors contracted sharply. International trade and business hires declined from 28 per cent in 2010 to 18 per cent in 2023, while translation and localization roles halved from 15 per cent to 8 per cent during the period.
Education and tutoring dropped from 25 per cent to 22 per cent , with K12 English training experiencing particularly severe contraction, MyCOS said.
A new graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) , who asked to be identified by her surname Zeng, said she has witnessed the decline of English majors at one of the country's best foreign language higher-learning institutions as the minimum entry scores for its flagship English programme have dropped over the years.
For Ms Zeng, the trade-off between pragmatism and the nuances and beauty of the English language is a daily concern. She said: 'When I tell people I studied English, their first question is always about AI – 'why bother learning English when AI can do translation?' they ask.'
She added: 'What we study is the aesthetic beauty of language, without which, even with ChatGPT, people cannot tell whether the English written by the AI tool is good or not.'
Moreover, when learning English, students also understand the political system of English-speaking countries, critical thinking, and the philosophy of the Western world, which are all useful knowledge to have, she said.
Through intensive reading in English, students are exposed to independent thinking, and concepts such as equality and caring for others, she said.
However, Ms Zeng acknowledged the difficulties English major graduates face in landing jobs in the face of economic headwinds. After experimenting with cross-border e-commerce livestreams and corporate training, she now tutors wealthy Beijing students – work that pays very well but offers no stability.
'I am afraid the difficulty for English graduates to find jobs is that they have not learned the language well enough, and they are not capable of even writing a simple e-mail,' she said. 'It is something I cannot understand, but it is part of the harsh truth.'
She said she still recommends high school graduates to learn English at BFSU, which has a great environment and caring and highly capable teachers.
Mr Zhao Xincheng's post-graduation odyssey illustrates the decline of English as a major.
A graduate of Wuhan University in Hubei province, Mr Zhao secured a tutoring position last autumn, only to receive a termination notice in April – two months before his graduation. 'No explanation, just 'position eliminated',' he said.
Multiple subsequent interviews yielded nothing. Mr Zhao said he is not inferior to his classmates in terms of language skills, appearance, personality and communication skills. He believes he has been terminated for no good reason and feels frustrated.
Mr Zhao is now preparing to take the civil service exams in 2025 . He said he does not recommend English as a career choice for students. If they like to study languages, they should have skills in other fields to increase their employment competitiveness, he said.
Broader decline
There is a broader trend of English declining as a major said Professor Wu Peng, dean of Jiangsu University's Overseas Education College.
Since 2022, he has found fewer students inquiring about enrolling in an English major, he said. There are also fewer students with high entrance scores choosing the major, while more English major students are choosing to later switch to engineering, he said.
However, Prof Wu believes the decline is not limited to English as a major, or China alone. It exists in liberal arts majors in almost all countries as well as 'less useful' engineering majors, he said.
Prof Wu attributed the waning interest to policy shifts (like the 'double reduction' policy reducing K-12 English tutoring jobs), technological disruption (AI handling 80 per cent of basic translation), and the discipline's core weakness. Its biggest failing is producing over 100,000 graduates annually who are mainly focused on pure language skills, while market demand now centers on high-end interdisciplinary competence.
Associate Professor Dai Jiangwen, head of the English department at Beijing Jiaotong University, rejected claims that English majors are 'declining', arguing that the discipline requires optimisation aligned with national needs and the fourth industrial revolution.
She emphasised foreign languages' critical role in safeguarding information sovereignty, developing language technologies like machine translation, and preserving linguistic diversity. Prof Dai stressed the 'irreplaceable humanistic attributes' of the discipline in the AI era – fostering emotional intelligence, cultural sensitivity, and critical thinking that AI lacks.
Both professors agreed the core issue is structural. Prof Dai pinpointed outdated curricula, faculty misalignment with industry needs, rigid disciplinary classifications, and obsolete training models. Prof Wu said graduates face intense competition from students in other fields who also possess strong English skills plus specialised knowledge.
Prof Dai strongly recommended English majors include language intelligence programmes in their studies, calling it a 'direct path' for humanities students to enter the AI industry. She pointed to one programme that combines linguistics, AI, data science and cultural studies as an example.
Prof Wu advised current students to urgently build 'English plus' skills (for example international law and data science), master technical tools, and target high-growth niche areas like specialised translation services or cross-border e-commerce. He recommended the major only to students with clear interdisciplinary ambitions and international career plans, favoring dual-degree 'English plus X' paths.
Prof Wu said while national policies such as the Belt and Road Initiative and reform and opening-up provide long-term demand for English talent, 'pure English' ability is devalued.
He stressed the urgent need for 'English plus minor languages' or 'language plus professional' compound skills, noting there was a deficit of more than 500,000 students who are fluent in English plus languages like Russian or Arabic, adding that current faculty structures are ill-prepared.
Both professors agreed AI will reshape, not replace, language fields. Prof Dai said machines cannot fully replicate human translators' creativity, especially in nuanced communication and cultural adaptation.
Prof Wu predicted AI would automate low-end translation but create new roles like 'AI trainers' or 'cultural adapters', leading to human-AI collaboration. He emphasised that humanities disciplines, and exploring 'what makes us human' fundamentally define the boundaries of AI and other technologies.
He said, 'AI will force the humanities to upgrade, not disappear, and create experts who can use AI but understand humans better than AI.' CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks as EU trade deal nears
[EDINBURGH/LONDON] US President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday (Jul 25) for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European Union. Trump told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a 'highly respected woman'. As hundreds of onlookers cheered his arrival, Trump repeated his earlier comment about a 50-50 chance of securing a deal with the EU, adding it would be his administration's biggest trade agreement thus far, if it came together. However, he said there were still 'sticking points' with Brussels on 'maybe 20 different things'. Trump said his meeting with Starmer would be more of a celebration of the trade deal already reached than continued work on it, adding: 'It's a great deal for both.' Before he left Washington, Trump said his administration was working hard on a possible trade deal with the EU, and Brussels was keen to make a deal. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on Sunday. EU diplomats say a deal could result in a 15 per cent tariff on EU goods, mirroring a framework accord with Japan reached this week and half of the 30 per cent Trump is threatening to impose by Aug 1. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Trump has sought to reorder the global economy after imposing a 10 per cent tariff on nearly all trading partners in April and threatening sharply higher rates for many countries to kick in a week from now. Trump says the moves will reduce the US trade deficit and bring in extra revenue, but economists warn the new trade policies could drive up inflation. 'Don't talk about Trump' Trump, facing the biggest domestic political crisis of his second term, expressed frustration about ongoing questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and his 2019 death in prison. 'You make it a very big thing over something that's not a big thing,' Trump told reporters in Scotland, urging them to focus on other prominent Americans with ties to Epstein, including former president Bill Clinton. 'Talk about Clinton. Talk about the former president of Harvard. Talk about all of his friends. Talk about the hedge fund guys that were with him all the time. Don't talk about Trump,' he said. 'What you should be talking about is the fact that we have the greatest six months in the history of a presidency.' The Epstein issue has caused a rare breach with some of Trump's most loyal Make America Great Again supporters, and majorities of Americans and Trump's Republicans say they believe the government is hiding details on the case, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. White House officials are hoping the controversy dies down while Trump is abroad, two sources familiar with the matter said. Deepen ties Trump will stay at his Turnberry property on Scotland's west coast this weekend, before travelling on Monday to a golf property in Aberdeen, where he will open a second 18-hole course named in honour of his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod. MacLeod was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the US. As he left the White House, Trump said he looked forward to meeting both Starmer and Scottish leader John Swinney, who had publicly backed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election. The trip gives Trump and Starmer a chance to deepen their already warm ties, with key issues on the agenda to include ending Russia's war in Ukraine, British and US sources said. The deteriorating situation in Gaza is also likely to come up. Starmer on Thursday said he would hold an emergency call with France and Germany over what he called the 'unspeakable and indefensible' suffering and starvation being reported there, and called on Israel to allow aid to enter the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health authorities say more than 100 people have died from starvation, most in recent weeks. Human rights groups have said mass starvation is spreading even as tons of food and other supplies sit untouched just outside the territory. Since being elected last year, Starmer has prioritised good relations with Trump, stressing the importance of Britain's defence and security alliance with the US, while working to clinch the first tariff-reduction deal with the US in May. The framework agreement reaffirmed quotas and tariff rates on British automobiles and eliminated tariffs on the UK's aerospace sector, but left steel tariffs in place. Starmer is expected to press for lower steel tariffs, but sources close to the matter said it was unclear if any breakthrough was possible during Trump's visit. Trump has described Scotland as a 'very special place' and made a similar trip there in 2016 during his earlier run for the presidency, but he will not necessarily get a warm welcome. About 70 per cent of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18 per cent have a favourable opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found. Scottish police are girding for protests on Saturday in both Aberdeen and in Edinburgh, the country's capital. Trump will return to Britain from Sep 17 to 19 for a state visit hosted by King Charles. It will make Trump the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. The late Queen Elizabeth hosted him at Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019. REUTERS


AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Trump administration to release over $6.4b school funding that it withheld, World News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration will release more than US$5 billion (S$6.4 billion) in previously approved funding for K-12 school programs that it froze over three weeks ago under a review, which had led to bipartisan condemnation. Key quotes "[The White House Office of Management and Budget] has completed its review ... and has directed the Department to release all formula funds," Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the US Education Department, said in a statement, adding funds will be dispersed to states next week. Further details on the review and what it found were not shared. A senior administration official said "guardrails" would be in place for the amount being released, without giving details. Why it's important Early in July, the Trump administration said it would not release funding previously appropriated by Congress for schools and that an initial review found signs the money was misused to subsidize what it alleged was "a radical leftwing agenda". States say US$6.8 billion in total was affected by the freeze. Last week, US$1.3 billion was released. Context After the freeze, a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states sued to challenge the move, and 10 Republican US senators wrote to the Republican Trump administration to reverse its decision. The frozen money covered funding for education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment and after-school and summer programs. The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Reaction Republican US lawmakers welcomed the move on Friday (July 25), while Democratic lawmakers said there was no need to disrupt funding in the first place. Education Secretary Linda McMahon separately said she was satisfied with what was found in the review and released the money, adding she did not think there would be future freezes. ALSO READ: Harvard battles Trump administration in court over cancelled funding
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
HSBC cuts equities team in Germany as CEO Georges Elhedery continues revamp
[LONDON] HSBC Holdings is planning to let go of several staff in its Germany-based equities team as it continues to pare the investment banking division outside Asia and the Middle East. The London-headquartered lender is preparing to cut equities sales and trading jobs in the Dusseldorf office, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move is part of chief executive officer Georges Elhedery's effort to revamp the investment bank, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Europe's largest financial institution has already culled dozens of analysts in its investment bank in the last couple of months and it has shut down its US, UK and European equity capital markets and M&A units. 'Equities sales and trading supports the growth of our Prime and Wealth businesses, facilitates equities distribution to the market and supports our global clients investing in equities in both developed markets and emerging markets,' an HSBC spokesperson said in response to questions about the cuts at the German unit. Since taking over as CEO last September, Elhedery has instituted a widespread overhaul of the bank that has involved creating four new divisions under what he has called his 'simplification' plan. He has also combined HSBC's commercial and investment banking units, while making operations in the UK and Hong Kong standalone businesses. BLOOMBERG