An ambitious and controversial program to fill the nation's public schools with experienced foreign English teachers is dying a quiet death, as it has failed to attract anywhere near the number of required teachers, according to educators and government officials.
When the Ministry of Education (MOE) announced in January 2003 that it would hire 1,000 foreign English-language teachers a year to work in 3,300 schools across the nation, officials cited the need to improve the resources available to rural districts and improve the overall quality of foreign-language instruction programs.
"Though this program, we wish to build a bridge from Taiwan to the world and boost Taiwan's competitiveness as Taiwanese youngsters boost their English proficiency," then-deputy minister of education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) said when the program was announced.
Critics ridiculed such comments as rhetoric typical of ill-conceived educational reform plans.
"Both Japan and South Korea have reduced the number of foreign English teachers. The problem was that the foreign teachers usually had difficulty in coordinating with the domestic teachers, and were often treated as simply `living recorders' who did nothing but regurgitate native English pronunciation," professor Shih Yu-hwei (
Critics of the proposal were also concerned that the foreign workers would displace qualified local teachers, and expressed doubt about the plan's ability to noticeably improve the quality of English-language education in public schools.
The MOE's proposal was modeled on that of the National Experimental High School of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park, which brought in English teachers from the UK, Canada, Australia and the US, at salaries of between NT$60,000 to NT$90,000 a month.
But the voices questioning the plan quickly died out after it was implemented in 2004, as it became evident that the MOE faced a serious obstacle to implementing the arrangement: an almost total lack of interest in the program on the part of foreign teachers.
Despite the offer of competitive salaries, housing stipends, medical benefits and free tickets to and from Taiwan, few foreign teachers have leaped at the offer to teach in rural schools on one to three-year contracts. And few of those who have are willing to renew their contracts, while a number of teachers have left Taiwan before completing their period of service.
Although the ministry eventually scaled back the program's requirements from 1,000 teachers to 400 teachers, it still fell dismally short of its goal.
In the end, a mere 40 teachers were brought to Taiwan as a result of the policy, according to statistics provided by the MOE.
Of these, few teachers have decided to stay for longer than one year, and a handful have even canceled their contracts to leave early. They have decided to leave for many reasons, but several teachers interviewed by reporters said that a desire to move on with their careers and their lives played the major role in their decision.
Teacher Clayton Shawn Hull, who became a teacher at Taipei County's Chitan Primary School, established cordial relations with parents and school authorities, but decided not to renew his contract for career and pension reasons.
Diane Bolyard, a 59-year-old teacher from Indiana, said she had truly enjoyed her time in Taiwan, but could not renew her contract because of family commitments back home. Bolyard, who has a Master's degree in education, was popular at her school because of her energetic personality and teaching methods, which put the children at ease and quickly had the students trying out their English.
There were also problems in communication and differences over teaching styles.
An Australian male teacher, who declined to be identified, was sent to Jenai Primary School in Nantou. His arrival coincided with the dry season in the isolated locale, and even taking a daily bath become problematic. The relationship he had with school authorities was also problematic. The teacher therefore applied to terminate his contract, and the MOE accepted his request.
Authorities at the school said that they hoped the ministry would give teachers a better idea of the circumstances of their positions in the future.
How the foreign teacher program works
* Schools apply for the placement of a foreign teacher.
* Teachers sign contracts with the school authorities, usually through an overseas agent acting for the Taiwanese government.
* The teacher is given a monthly salary. They also receive free flights to and from Taiwan, and a monthly housing stipend.
* A task force formed by the school authorities and the local government deals with any difficulties the teacher may encounter.
* The Ministry of Education supervises the project, interviewing teachers and authorities about the program's results.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a