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Push to increase English proficiency poses challenge

The nation's education system is facing enormous challenges in improving the English proficiency of local students, and it will take a lot more for the government, schools, teachers and students themselves to achieve the goal, panelists said in a symposium yesterday.

While the craze to learn English is still growing, improving overall proficiency must be approached from a wide range of angles and at all levels, from university to preschool, said Vincent Chang (張武昌), a professor at National Taiwan Normal University.

The practice of getting an early start in English learning has caused a great deal of anxiety for Taiwanese parents and has set high expectations, Chang said.

However, an insufficient supply of qualified English teachers, the "one nation, different practices" phenomenon and a bewildering variety of textbooks have all hindered efforts to improve English proficiency, he said.

An even more alarming trend is apparent, Chang said, as the results of the Basic Competence Test (BCT) shows two distinct groups of students: One group is performing exceedingly well while the other shows little or no English ability at all.

This phenomenon reflects the gap between urban and remote areas in terms of the availability of resources and English teaching staff, Chang said.

Taiwan is not alone in its efforts as the South Korean government is also working to improve overall English proficiency and has introduced reforms in recent years, said Park Jun-eon, a professor at Soongsil University.

These reforms include intensive re-training of in-service English teachers, upgrading the standards for recruiting and strengthening communicative English education, Park said, adding that the South Korean government has established "English experience areas," as well as television channels and Web sites dedicated to English-learning.

"Language is a process. It's not something you learn instantly," said Doris Brougham, CEO and founder of Overseas Radio and Television, whose English-teaching career spans 55 years in Taiwan.

Brougham's organization is also the publisher of several popular English-learning magazines in Taiwan.

It takes motivation for anyone to learn and improve their English skills, and the best motivation is need, Brougham said.

The symposium, which focused on the theme of globalization, was organized by the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission.
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