Pragmatic English education
A survey released by the Mandarin Daily News showed that almost 90 percent of Taiwanese parents believed that international competitiveness was crucial for the future of their children and language proficiency was the most important skill in this cosmopolitan society.
In Taiwan, English is the most popular second language. Endeavoring to improve English communication skills and enhancing the effectiveness of English teaching are always important issues for policymakers.
English is now a universal language. It is being used in areas such as academic research, international business, modern technology, pop culture, political and diplomatic activities and increasingly to empower the individual, as Newsweek said in its cover story in March 2006.
However, by reviewing the English proficiency of Taiwanese as reflected in TOEFL, IELTS and TOEIC assessments, we find that English communication skills are declining. This is caused by learners’ attitudes and teachers’ instructional strategies.
Many Taiwanese consider English a school subject and focus on earning high scores in English proficiency tests instead of applying it to efficient communication in a diverse context.
Moreover, many learners only endeavor to improve their reading and writing skills; few use the skills of speaking and listening for desirable interaction.
Academic research supports this argument. Shih Hsin University professor Li Chen-ching (李振清) said Taiwanese scores were falling behind in the TOEFL iBT test in the global setting, with the speaking score ranked in last place when compared with those of countries with which Taiwan competes.
English education is a long-term national policy that has a definite and crucial impact on future generations. We should seriously undertake reforms on the nation’s English teaching strategy.
All linguists agree that applying English to daily life should be an efficient way to advance practical English language skills. Encouraging our learners to practice speaking and listening in English, in conjunction with reading and writing, and designing informative and entertaining activities in English classes will improve English learners’ abilities in the long run.
CLAIRE WU
Yonghe City
Taiwan’s sad state of affairs
The Taipei Times on Wednesday reported the very sad — and extremely paradoxical — plight of Tsai Chung-li (蔡忠理) (“Passport holders call for citizenship, labor rights,” Dec. 2, page 2).
Because he possesses a Republic of China (ROC) passport, Tsai is considered an ROC national by the government.
However, because he lacks a national identification card and legal residency, he is not considered a citizen of the ROC. In Taiwan, there is a world of difference between being an ROC national and being an ROC citizen.
One would think that the word national was tantamount to the word citizen, that both words designate the same thing: ie, an ROC national is an ROC citizen.
Not in Taiwan, however. While an ROC passport shows the holder is an ROC national, it is not conclusive evidence that the holder is an ROC citizen because, according to the Nationality Law (國籍法) of the ROC, there is no implication of citizenship.
The Nationality Law defines and regulates nationality, but makes no provisions regarding citizenship.
It was first promulgated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government on Feb. 5, 1929, when Taiwan was still a colony under Japanese rule.
To this day, it remains unclear when, and by what method, this law came to include Taiwanese within its scope of application.
The Legislative Yuan revised the Nationality Law in 2000, 2001 and 2006, but there was no mention of any naturalization en masse of Taiwanese people after World War II. (The San Francisco Peace Treaty of April 1952 never awarded sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC, nor was there ever any law regarding mass naturalization procedures after the peace treaty came into effect. There is no way for Taiwanese to become bona fide ROC citizens.]
Neither the ROC Nationality Law nor the ROC Constitution has any provision regarding citizenship.
Citizen rights in the ROC are currently restricted to people with household registration in the “Taiwan Area.” The Nationality Law seeks to define people in terms of nationality, terming them as nationals, rather than citizens.
Most citizenship benefits — eg, suffrage and labor rights — requires possession of an ROC national identification card, which is issued only to people with household registration in the “Taiwan Area,” ages 14 and older.
ROC nationals, even those with an ROC passport, who do not hold household registration in Taiwan, have no automatic right to stay in Taiwan, nor do they have voting rights.
Tsai Chung-li is a victim several times over. His case highlights the fact that Taiwan is burdened with — even crippled by — inane, xenophobic and chauvinist laws. Too many of Taiwan’s laws are utterly irrelevant and useless.
As is the case with the Nationality Law and the Parade and Assembly Law, the entire Taiwanese Constitution is in desperate need of a major overhaul.
The thinking of late 19th century China is neither operable nor feasible for 21st century Taiwan.
MICHAEL SCANLON
East Hartford, Connecticut
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