The Issues of English Education in China and Messages from CEFR

China is going through an English mania: large number of time, money, and effort has been put into English education. However, the results are not satisfying. China has been ranked as a low proficiency country by EF reports in 3 consecutive years. The low proficiency has also been noted by Chinese governmental officials and scholars. The lack of consistency in course syllabi, varying priorities at different education levels and partial understanding of course nature contribute to the low proficiency of Chinese English education. While a close look at CEFR, especially its typical features may shed some light on the problems.