In a letter to the Liberty Times published on Friday last week, the author expressed concern about challenges during a preliminary review in the Legislative Yuan against a draft act to establish a “bilingual national development center.” The author of the letter said that the criticisms raised by opponents of the proposed legislation was a sign of neglect and disrespect for bilingual teachers.
However, the letter’s author misunderstands the criticism.
From a legal standpoint, there is no precedent for the “bilingual nation” concept in any laws, regulations or executive orders in Taiwan. The draft law is the first to use the phrase. Moreover, the bill has 33 articles.
However, the articles — except for articles 1 and 3 — deal with the aspects of creating an executive entity. Other than that, there is nothing special about them.
The crux of the problem concerns the wording of Article 1 — which states that the bilingual development center would cultivate English-language proficiency, and elevate Taiwan’s competitiveness and make it a bilingual nation — and Article 3, which states that the center’s remit would include promoting and conducting business related to English-language proficiency testing in professional fields.
The two articles refer specifically and exclusively to the use of the English language. That being the case, the most controversial aspect of the draft law is that it seeks to provide a legislative basis for the idea that using English equals bilingualism.
English-language instruction in Taiwanese universities is chaotic. To comply with the government’s bilingual education policy, university departments are requiring that prospective faculty members have the ability to teach in English. This trend has indirectly created barriers for applicants who have doctorates from Taiwan or from study abroad in non-English-speaking countries.
These hiring demands are having a devastating effect on academic diversity in higher education.
There are many languages in the world, so it is a fallacy to equate English-language education with bilingual education. Narrowly Anglicized education is a crisis of contemporary education and not an avenue toward internationalization.
Hopefully political leaders will realize that creating a free and diverse environment to learn foreign languages, based on students’ interests and life experiences, is the right way to go.
Lo Cheng-chung is a professor and director of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Financial and Economic Law.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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