Progress made

According to the index, English proficiency in West China, including rural and urban regions, has made major strides over the past decade.

For example, Sichuan province, with 83 million people and the sixth-largest GDP of all the provincial-level regions, for the first time had a moderate English proficiency level, close to the rankings of Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.

"English learning opens up windows for rural youth to access the latest information and knowledge across the globe, especially in the internet age," Magowan said, adding that almost all academic research papers are in English.

The urban-rural divide in English proficiency is being narrowed by rural teachers' improved skills, a greater enthusiasm for learning and teaching, an increase in learning resources, and opportunities provided by the internet and new technologies, he said.

Magowan said English language education in China has become more focused on communicating in English about China's own culture.

"So English is not about the West influencing China," he said. "It's about China influencing the West with an increasing number of people going abroad and its massive power, technologically and economically."

Magowan said over the past five years, many expats had applied for a job at EF because their interest in the country had been piqued by a friend from China.

He said increasing exposure to English throughout China resulted in more mutual understanding between the East and the West.

In the past, English teaching materials focused on Western culture, which were of little interest to Chinese children, especially those in rural regions.

English educators and policymakers should make greater efforts to help rural youth find practical reasons to learn and speak the language. In cities, parents can see the value of learning English if their children want to study abroad or obtain a job with a foreign company, but those reasons make little sense to parents in rural areas.