“A lot of what went on was edutainment — fun, interactive short lessons with native speakers, and it was great cross-cultural communication,” he told AFP.
The reforms appear to be part of broader measures to control what is learnt in the classroom, coming after China last year banned foreign teaching materials and ordered the president’s political ideology, Xi Jinping Thought, to be taught in all schools.
“(Chinese leaders) are paying attention to several factors such as socialist values, patriotism and educational sovereignty,” said Claudia Wang, education partner at consultancy Oliver Wyman.
“Perhaps it is difficult to count on a US or European teacher to teach a Chinese kid history or patriotism.”