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Proficiency regulations questioned

Starting this year, there will be no more written language tests for English, Japanese, German, French and Spanish in the government's overseas scholarship programs. The tests will be replaced by language proficiency certificates from language learning institutions designated by the Ministry of Education (MOE, 教育部). The MOE officially informed colleges and universities across Taiwan of the new regulations on May 19. All major newspapers also made public announcement of the new rule on June 20.

On the surface, it seems to be a good change. However, a few questions concerning the regulations are worthy of a more in-depth look.

The institutions designated by the MOE include: The Language Training and Testing Center, British Trade and Cultural Office, German Culture Center Taipei, and the Representation Generale de l'Alliance Francaise ? Taipei.

But the questions are:

1. Why did the MOE designate these institutions? Wouldn't it have been good if the MOE had made public its review standards, procedure and personnel and welcomed applications from institutions willing to be part of the program? We never saw the MOE make public these regulations. Even the training of teaching professionals is no longer monopolized by the public teachers' colleges, as private colleges and universities are now also allowed to train teachers. The MOE should not limited the designated language institutions to those six institutions.

2. Why did the MOE favor foreign countries' representative offices in Taiwan? Why are they the only ones qualified to issue proficiency certificates for the five languages?

3. Another regulation of the MOE stipulates those who passed the recent tests for elementary-level English teachers can use a copy of their test results to bypass the requirement for language proficiency certificates. This means that they will be spared from taking proficiency tests again. Can people qualified for, or who have been teaching English at junior and senior high schools, bypass the requirement as well? If not, why not?

4. Why can't the MOE accept, as a substitute for language proficiency certificates, school transcripts from students who have majored or double-majored in languages of the foreign countries in which they intend to pursue their studies on the condition that they received good grades in school (for example, having grades above 80 percent)?

The new regulations seem to be saying that the MOE has little faith in the ability of colleges and universities to train students and conduct language tests. The ministry seems to presume passing the task over to foreign representative offices will solve all the problem!

Lin Shui-Fu is dean of the College of Foreign Languages at Fu Jen Catholic University.
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