Direct competition between private English schools and public universities does not exist, said Yao Yazhi, a lecturer of English at Beijing Jiaotong University.

On the contrary, they can complement each other by providing different types of courses, Yao added.

Students need more than just high scores on standardized tests, such as the TOEFL or GRE, to gain admission to colleges abroad, she said.

The exam-oriented English teaching approach only generates students geared toward test-taking, Yao said. "Public schools that focus on long-term education cannot be replaced by private schools, which often aim at short-term goals," said Yao, 37, who has written several English books for collegians.

METRO asked Yao about the growing use of private schools to gain an edge in overseas university admissions.

Q: What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of private schools?

A: Many private schools place much attention on courses for teachers. For example, they regularly send teachers abroad for instruction. Public universities can follow that example.

Their shortcomings are the limitations in offering students a comprehensive English education including aspects beyond test-taking skills.

Q: What about public universities?

A: Public universities provide students with four years to gain a thorough understanding of both the language and the culture. The teachers have more responsibility not only to teach students a language skill, but also to follow a methodology for creativity and independent thinking.

Q: Is there competition between private schools and public universities in terms of English training?

A: I don't think so. They are two systems with different objectives. I admit that some powerful private schools can give intense training and help students achieve a short-term goal, which is relatively hard for public universities to do.

This is not a bad thing because students have alternatives to pursue overseas education.

In fact, these two types of education complete each other.

Q: Some college students claim that they sleep during English classes on campus but find study in New Oriental more useful. Some even skip their classes to attend private English courses. Do you have any suggestions for those students?

A: Some students have excellent skills of interpretation after certain training; some have gotten almost a full score on the TOEFL or GRE. But it is more important for young people to learn how to be a human with thoughts rather than a translation or interpretation machine.