English majors face uncertain future as AI replaces basic skills

Golden era over

Language majors enjoyed a golden era from 1999 to 2010, fueled by China's World Trade Organization accession in December 2001.

During this period, universities offering foreign language programs surged from 200 to over 600, representing a 200 percent increase, according to education news portal EOL.

By 2010, the total number of English majors in colleges nationwide reached 850,000, with employment rates consistently exceeding 90 percent. In 2005, English graduates commanded starting salaries 15 percent above the national undergraduate average.

This trajectory, however, has reversed dramatically in recent years. AI translation tools now achieve over 95 percent accuracy at 1 percent the cost of human services, and have seized 40 percent of the general translation market. The shift has eliminated demand for basic "human translation machines "while creating niches for "translation managers" proficient in AI collaboration, EOL said.

Employment statistics reflect the crisis. The 2023 employment rate for language majors fell to 76.8 percent, 5.6 percentage points below the national undergraduate average, according to a report by Beijing-based education consultancy MyCOS. Only 52 percent of language majors secured jobs related to their major, forcing nearly half to switch fields. Satisfaction with such majors plummeted from 78 percent in 2010 to 67 percent in 2023, the report said.

Traditional employment sectors contracted sharply. International trade and business hires declined from 28 percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2023, while translation and localization roles halved from 15 percent to 8 percent during the period. Education and tutoring dropped from 25 percent to 22 percent, with K12 English training experiencing particularly severe contraction, MyCOS said.

A new graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University, who asked to be identified by her surname Zeng, said she has witnessed the decline of English majors at one of the country's best foreign language higher-learning institutions as the minimum entry scores for its flagship English program have dropped over the years.

For Zeng, the trade-off between pragmatism and the nuances and beauty of the English language is a daily concern. She said: "When I tell people I studied English, their first question is always about AI — 'why bother learning English when AI can do translation' they ask?"

"What we study is the aesthetic beauty of language, without which, even with ChatGPT, people cannot tell whether the English written by the AI tool is good or not."

Moreover, when learning English, students also understand the political system of English-speaking countries, critical thinking, and the philosophy of the Western world, which are all useful knowledge to have, she said.

Through intensive reading in English, students are exposed to independent thinking, and concepts such as equality and caring for others, she said.

However, Zeng acknowledge the difficulties English major graduates face in landing jobs in the face of economic headwinds. After experimenting with cross-border e-commerce livestreams and corporate training, she now tutors wealthy Beijing students — work that pays very well but offers no stability.

"I am afraid the difficulty for English graduates to find jobs is that they have not learned the language well enough, and they are not capable of even writing a simple e-mail," she said. "It is something I cannot understand, but it is part of the harsh truth."

She said she still recommends high school graduates learn English at BFSU, which has a great environment and caring and highly capable teachers.

Zhao Xincheng's post-graduation odyssey illustrates the decline of English as a major.

A graduate of Wuhan University in Hubei province, Zhao secured a tutoring position last autumn, only to receive a termination notice in April — two months before his graduation. "No explanation, just 'position eliminated'," he said.

Subsequent multiple interviews yielded nothing. Zhao said he is not inferior to his classmates in terms of language skills, appearance, personality and communication skills. He believes he has been terminated for no good reason and feels frustrated.

Zhao is now preparing to take the civil service exams next year. He said he does not recommend English as a career choice for students. If they like to study languages, they should have skills in other fields to increase their employment competitiveness, he said.