The School of Foreign Languages at Peking University has signed an agreement with EF Education First on jointly exploring ways to make English teaching more effective for millions of people learning the language in China.

EF Education First is an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs and cultural exchanges.

It is the first time the university's foreign languages school has conducted a joint research program with a private international education group.

The program will focus on obstacles Chinese people face in learning English, as well as research into difficulties and challenges encountered by Chinese students.

Following the agreement, EF has joint research projects with three universities worldwide, the other two being the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and Moscow State University in Russia.

"We are proud to have the opportunity to work with Peking University," said Bill Fisher, CEO of EF China. "This year marks the 20th anniversary of EF in China, and our collaboration will help us contribute to further our understanding of the most effective ways for Chinese students to learn English."

Dean of Peking University School of Foreign Languages, Professor Cheng Zhaoxiang, said it is important to know about social teaching and learning trends from educational groups like EF.

"We are teaching the best students in the country, and they are all adults," Chen said. "It is important for us to make progress in teaching methods by working with social education groups like EF."