The English-speaking population in Beijing will reach 6 million by the end of this year, an increase of 35 percent over the past five years, said a senior official with the foreign affairs office of the Beijing government.

"Citizens in Beijing have a high passion for learning English. Knowing the ABCs is common here. As a citizen of such a big international city, many people feel that speaking English is a basic skill," said Zhao Huimin, director general of the foreign affairs office, yesterday.

More than 700 community foreign language training centers are in Beijing. Beijing also has 433 community foreign language corners, which are informal groups whose members meet to speak English together. Also, the city has thousands of volunteers to promote English learning, Zhao told METRO.

The city government organized a Beijing Foreign Language Festival on Saturday to promote English.

Mary Kirley, an editor from Toronto who was at the festival Saturday, served as a volunteer in the Tuanjiehu community for two and a half years. She is impressed by Beijingers' enthusiasm to learn English.

"It's amazing that so many people here, young and old, can speak English so well. And they are so active and energetic in English learning," she said.

Kirley is a volunteer English teacher for a community group with 30 Chinese, who, in turn, taught her Mandarin. They meet at the Chaoyang district library every weekend where they gather with other English-learning groups.

Some college students in Beijing also serve as English teachers in some communities for free, helping residents write and speak English.

Huang Fang, a sophomore at the University of International Business and Economics, has worked in Huixinbeili community for one year. Most of her students are elderly who sometimes even take their grandchildren with them to the lessons.

One of the people in her class is a college teacher who retired several years ago, she said. Also, a 74-year-old student who comes to the class gave himself the English name "Wake" because he felt that learning English at his age was just like waking up to new life.
 
Huang is a member of a volunteer group in her school that provides free English classes to 30 communities in Beijing. Ten to 30 residents attend the classes in different communities, and classes are held for both beginners and more experienced students. Also government officials in Beijing are required to learn English.

"We are planning to require our governmental officials in foreign affairs to pass English examinations. And the final decision will be made by the end of this year," said Zhao.

"China is now playing an important role in international society and English has become a basic skill," Zhao said.

Learning the ABCs is popular in Beijing, but at the same time, many English-speakers are trying to learn Mandarin. According to Zhao, 20 schools and training centers teach Mandarin in Beijing.

Some schools also provide culture courses to foreigners. The municipal government will continue to give financial support to many of those foreign centers, as well as favorable policies.

"Many expats like me are living in China and trying to get along with people here. How can we only speak the language of our country since Mandarin is such a beautiful language?" Kirley said.