The results of the General Scholastic Ability Test that determine university admissions were released last month. More than 12,500 senior-high school students scored “zero” on the English composition component of the test, while only one student received a perfect score, showing that performance was just as poor as it was last year. As English-language courses are elective at many Taiwanese universities, the English proficiency of most students actually declines during their university years.
According to a survey released by the Educational Testing Service, 95.9 percent of Taiwan’s top 1,000 companies said that employees need to use English in their jobs, but only 2.4 percent of them are satisfied with their employees’ English communication skills. The Wowprime Group once even revealed that, despite its plan to open restaurants in the US, it would be extremely difficult, because less than 1 percent of its employees can communicate in English. That is certainly unfavorable to its goal of transforming into an international corporation.
In order to resolve Taiwan’s “zero” crisis, schools should increase class hours devoted to English-language education and adopt practical materials and flexible teaching methods.
In the face of the polarization of students’ English ability — an “M-shaped” curve has appeared among students in terms of proficiency — this subject often gives them and their parents headaches. According to my 20 years of teaching experience over the past, perhaps the best ways to learn English are to create an English environment, combine language learning with one’s personal interests and keep practicing actively and constantly.
How can learners achieve these three goals? First, they can try to immerse themselves in an English environment. For example, reading English newspapers, articles and magazines, listening to radio programs and watching TV shows, or communicating in English with their friends on the Internet.
They can also try to connect language learning with their personal interests. Those who like to listen to music can listen to more English-language songs and try to understand the lyrics or even imitate singers’ pronunciation and intonation. By doing so, their passion for music would motivate them to keep learning.
Finally, active and constant practice are key to language acquisition. For instance, learners can regularly maintain diaries and weekly journals in English to sharpen their writing skills and independent thinking, gradually turning the learning process into a fun habit.
Some people might doubt the value of writing diaries or weekly journals in English, thinking that this might be ineffective, since there is no teacher to correct their mistakes. Still, many studies point out that diary or journal writing is a useful tool for “autonomous learning.”
It can not only stimulate interest, but also increase practice and reduce anxiety. Besides, it can encourage learners to keep trying and even think in the target language. Since teachers are unable to correct all students’ mistakes due to the large size of classes at most Taiwanese schools, English diary and journal writing is definitely valuable to students, who can do it with the help of related self-evaluation sheets, exchange journals with their schoolmates and friends, or post such entries on their blogs or on Facebook to boost motivation.
It might be possible to avoid the embarrassment of students scoring “zero” in English composition again, if students would be willing to try such techniques. If they do, they might realize that learning English is not as difficult as they thought, and that it can be interesting. Let us try out these techniques, starting today.
Chang Sheng-en is an assistant professor of English at National Taipei University of Business.
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