"The function of English is being magnified in China," said Wang, the former Education Ministryspokesman.

Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute in Beijing,agreed and added that Chinese people have an irrational favor of foreigners as Englishteachers.

"Foreign teachers are the best advertisement that many English training schools use to attractstudents," Xiong said.

Lee Clarke, from Canada, works as a foreign teacher in a university in Changchun, capital ofJilin province, and part-time as the director of a private English training school. One of hismissions is to recruit foreign teachers for the private school.

"Their only requirement is good-looking young people, especially those who are white-skinned,"said the 60-year-old, who has been teaching in China for eight years.

"Some of these young people just come for sightseeing. They are hired just because they canspeak English, and they have foreign faces," he added.

Xia said the preference for foreign faces makes it very difficult for many ethnic Asians who arealso native speakers to find a job as an English teacher.

Some intermediate agencies have seen a business opportunity, and look to capitalize on thedemand by sending foreigners who do not have any teaching qualifications to schools thatneed foreign teachers.

In response, Xiong Deyi said his department is not authorized to supervise intermediateagencies.

【中国加强外国专家管理】相关文章：

★ 奥运前夕中国加紧空气治理

★ 米塔尔与法国政府举行紧急磋商

★ 国家开发银行日益商业化

★ 中国将加大可再生能源发展

★ 中国GDP增速三年来首“破八”

★ 中国制造业初现起色

★ 英国应向加拿大学什么？

★ 奥巴马对手言论未在中国引发强烈反响

★ 中兴准备发力美国智能手机市场

★ 中国开发商的债务包袱将转嫁给谁？