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Updated Monday, June 20, 2011 11:38 pm TWN, By Kathy Chu, The China Post |
 Education Minister Wu Ching-chi explains English language learning policies and the ministry's future plans during an interview with The China Post on June 7. In order to increase ... Enlarge Photo
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Traditional approaches to English education should be changed: ministerDespite the vast amounts of money spent by the government on English education, the ubiquitous presence of English cram schools and President Ma Ying-jou's pledge to increase the nation's international competitiveness, many college graduates in Taiwan still have difficulty having basic conversations in English despite over a decade of learning English. English Language Education Can Begin in the First Grade Currently all third grade elementary school students and above have regular English classes on a weekly basis. According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), elementary schools can start teaching English from the first grade. However, most schools in Taiwan outside of Taipei and New Taipei have not introduced these programs due to limited resources. According to the MOE's white paper on international education at local junior high and elementary schools, the ministry hopes to extend English language education to all elementary school students in Taiwan over the next decade. Wu said the ministry has commissioned the National Academy for Educational Research to study the appropriateness of this proposal, although currently there is no specific timeline for the implementation. Different Student Levels Pose a Great Challenge English language teaching quality is a common issue facing elementary schools islandwide. In order to help children get a head start, many parents send their kids to cram schools for extracurricular English courses. However, this phenomenon has made it increasingly difficult for public school teachers to teach the subject as they are very likely to face students with vastly different levels of English. In other words, a class of 30 students may have some students who do not know the alphabet and others who may be capable of basic conversations in English. Comments June 20, 2011 young4teen@ Reply Yes it is true that English is now the global language. It should be implemented in schools from the first grade itself. It will support the child in future. June 21, 2011 eco.danner@ The "test culture" is the root of the problem. Taiwanese kids want to be taught how to do well on the English exam not conversational skills. June 22, 2011 CURTISAKBAR@ Agreed, the test culture is to blame, I know umpteen number of people that write on facebook etc. in English but they can't string two sentences together when talking to them. Learn a language to communicate not for a test. June 22, 2011 paui_stuff@ How about making sure that the teachers who attempt to teach English can actually use the language in a sufficient way? Surely the problem starts at teachers who can't even pronounce the ABC properly, yet they somehow are given classes to teach. June 23, 2011 ericroth@ As an English teacher working in the United States at an elite university, I've seen many brilliant Taiwanese graduate students struggle to hold a solid, satisfying conversation in English. Personally, I blame an education system that focuses more on teaching passive skills (reading, listening) more than active skills (speaking, writing). "What gets tests, gets taught" is a common education cliche. In many countries, including the United States, standardized exams fail to accurately and authentically measure student skills. I'd like to a videotaped interview added to the student exams that would allow teachers, testers, and students to literally see and hear students demonstrate their speaking skills in English. While no single change will magically improve conversation skills, practice does make progress - and adding a speaking skills section to the standardized exams would be a positive reform. Or so it seems to me. June 23, 2011 CURTISAKBAR@ THAT’S A GOOD POINT PAUL. I KNOW A FEW ENGLISH TEACHERS THAT CANT EVEN SPEAK UNDERSTANDABLE ENGLISH. I ALWAYS HAVE TO SAY 'HUH' 'COME AGAIN' 'WHAT DID U SAY'. IT’S NOT JUST THE ORAL ASPECT OF ENGLISH, THERE IS ALSO THE GRAMMAR WHICH MOST CHINESE ENGLISH TEACHERS FAIL AT BIG TIME. June 24, 2011 mtsai16@ @CURTIS"CHINESE ENGLISH TEACHERS" Confusing, isn't it? What did you say about grammar? | |||||||||||||
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