英语教育的劳动市场回报及英语教育政策调整——基于2016年问卷调查数据

On the Returns of English Education in the Labor Market and Its Policy Adjustment——Based on the data of the Questionnaire Survey in 2016

中国的英语教育近年来受到越来越多的重视。无论是国家还是个人都投入了大量资源用于英语教育,如此巨额的投入所带来的劳动市场回报值得关注。英语教育的劳动市场回报可以分为人力资本投入回报和信号作用回报。研究发现,英语在实际工作中使用越多,工资收入越高,是为英语教育作为人力资本投入回报的证据。但在工作中很少用到英语的人,通过英语四六级考试对其工资也有显著影响,反映了英语教育具有信号作用的功能。调查显示,英语教育的信号作用是英语教育劳动市场回报的主要方面。因此,中国的英语教育有过度教育从而导致资源配置低效率之嫌,建议及时调整国家的英语教育政策。

In recent years, the attention has increasingly been paid to English education in China, which can be seen from the large amount of resources invested by both the state and individuals alike. Thus, the labor market returns brought about by such a large amount of investment are also worthy of attention. The labor market returns of English education can be divided into human capital investment return and signal effect return. The studies suggest that the more English is used in practical work, the higher the salary income is. This is evidence for English education as a return on human capital investment. However, for those who seldom use English in their work, passing CET-4 and CET-6 also have a significant impact on their salaries, reflecting the signaling function of English education. The survey shows that the signal function of English education is the main aspect of the labor market return of English education. Therefore, China’s English education is over-educated, which leads to inefficient allocation of resources. It suggests that the national English education policy be adjusted in a timely manner.