Chinese Students should pay more attention to using English, and not just consider it as an exam subject, amid changes to the National College English Test in 2013.

Undergraduates may face tougher exams before obtaining certificates from the National College English Test, a prerequisite for those entering the job market or applying for higher education.

The tests will ask students to translate a passage with 140 to 200 Chinese characters into English within 30 minutes. The texts will deal with Chinese history, culture, economy, and social development, it said.

Meanwhile, changes for the dictation and reading tests will place more emphasis on vocabulary and comprehensive ability.

The National College English Test, which began in the 1980s, is a biannual test that determines the English proficiency of undergraduate students.

A total of 9.38 million students sat the tests in December 2012, according to the Ministry of Education.

Some universities will not allow students to graduate without obtaining the certificate, and it is a prerequisite for those entering the job market.

Meanwhile, a number of students have been blocked from post-graduate studies because of poor English test results.