English-language teachers yesterday called on the Ministry of Education to shield domestic teachers from the influx of foreign English teachers in primary schools from September.
At a forum held by DPP lawmaker Lin Tai-hua (
Huang Ya-wen (黃雅文), a professor from National Taipei Teachers College, said, "Two years ago, the employment rate for graduates of teachers colleges was 100 percent, but in the last year it has slumped to a mere 50 percent, and I believe the figure will go down further once the foreign English teachers come to Taiwan."
"There are so many students out there who can't find jobs," she added, "but the government is trying to open up more teachers' training courses for local teachers, and introduce foreigners to teach English in Taiwan. What has gone wrong with our job placement system?"
Wu Hsin-fong (吳信鳳), chair of the department of foreign languages and applied linguistics at National Taipei University, said that, "Taiwan has been caught in a collective English-language hysteria, and English-language education is a hot topic everywhere."
She said that the MOE's policy was well-intentioned, but that the government needed to be clear about supply and demand in the market for English-language teachers.
Wong Jung-tung (翁榮銅) an official in the MOE's elementary school department, sought to reassure local teachers by reminding them that foreign English teachers are not expected to engage in classroom language training but instead to serve as teacher trainers or researchers on teaching methodology.
But academics and parents defended the MOE's policy, insisting it is necessary to create an environment for learning English when Taiwan is building connections with the wider global community.
Lin Yao-fu (林耀福), dean of the college of foreign languages at Tamkang University, said, "If we reject the policy simply because it would reduce job opportunities for local teachers, we may run the risk of Taiwan closing its doors to globalization.
Chang Yu-huei (
"Amazingly enough, I've found in Taipei that usually only five or seven primary school students per class do not attend English-language bushiban [cram schools] after school," Chang said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
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Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
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