‍The United Nations celebrates English day on April 23 - William Shakespeare’s birthday - every year. The goal for the ‍celebration‍ is to entertain, inform and more importantly increase awareness and respect for the history, culture and achievements of the language. In China, the ability to speak English fluently has never been more important. 

Shakespeare is often regarded as the greatest writer in English literature. His writing often used elaborate metaphors, and he is known for his wit.

“Shakespeare broke the rules and that's what made him really great,” managing editor of English literary magazine Spittoon Simon Shieh said.

Shieh reminds people that good literature does not mean perfect grammar. He sees many Chinese people for whom English is their second language writing poetry and fiction in English, and says it is really inspiring. English has its beauty and it is a very romantic language, Shieh says, adding that good literature is about the sounds, rhythm and the meaning and emotion expressed through words.

“It is really cool to see these new pockets of English emerging, not just in China but all around Asia. We have contributors who are not English native speakers but writing really good poetry. Yes with some ESL mistakes, but at the same time really amazing and beautiful poetry. They're fearless, they write in English even though their English may not be perfect.”

Although English literature has found a wide and appreciative audience in China, the majority of Chinese youngsters studying English do so for practical reasons. A teacher at New Oriental school believes English is not only studied to pass examinations, but students also enjoy the process and study it as a hobby and a practical communication tool.

In the last two decades, nearly 20 million students have attended the New Oriental schools across China to take additional English lessons, whether it is for English examination prep or for their own interest. These students are among the 1.8 billion people worldwide who speak English as their first or second language. And in China the overall English literacy rate in China is growing day by day, especially among the youth.