CRI听力:Study Abroad

Since 2011, the number of candidates registering for the International English Language Testing System or IELTS has been growing rapidly. Some insiders say this trend is likely to continue in the following year. Ms. Li, a teacher from an IELTS training school in Guangxi province explains why more students have been registering for IELTS in recent years.

"Nowadays more parents have realized that it's better to have their children access education abroad from an early age, so that their children can be suitably equipped to meet the requirements of the current labour market. Among those students who want to go abroad for further education, half of them have just graduated from high school."

Statistics reveal that in the city of Nanning alone, about 3200 students participated in the 17 IELTS tests carried out in 2010, while 4300 students participated in the 22 tests carried out this year. And it's estimated that about 5000 students will attend the 25 tests scheduled to take place in 2012.

With China's rapid economic growth and the increasing number of students who want to pursue further education abroad, many western countries have gone to great lengths in the hope of attracting Chinese students, for example, by continuously lowering requirements and loosening the restrictions on prospective students. Here is Ms. Li again,

"Many countries have started to adjust their international student recruitment policies, for example, Australia has lowered its requirements for prospective students in terms of guarantee deposit."

It's said some countries will continue to lower their requirements for prospective international students in 2012, including Australia, the U.S., and Canada.

Aside from applying for bachelor's and master's degree programs, the number of Chinese students who want to attend doctorate programs broad is steadily increasing. In a recent international doctorate education exhibition in Beijing, more than 2000 prospective students booked time to hold talks with universities from ten countries including America, Canada, Germany, France and the UK. And more than 80 percent of these universities promise to provide various scholarships in order to attract more Chinese students.

A number of universities and research institutions say they have come to China to communicate with candidates because they want to select more top Chinese students, rather than just make a profit out of international students. Here is John Tulin, professor from Canada's University of Manitoba,

"A number of the candidates have impressed me extremely, very high GPA, very articulate, they know exactly what they want to do. I've suggested to them if they apply to the University of Manitoba, they will most likely be accepted, because of their exceptional skills."

Among the 80 top universities present at the exhibition, 25 are from Germany. The marketing director of a research institution from Germany says providing scholarships to Chinese students is equivalent to investing in Germany, regardless of whether these students stay in Germany for work after graduation or not. Even if these students choose to go back to China to seek employment, they are likely build a bridge between China and Germany in their chosen professions.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.