Many universities will soon introduce English proficiency tests to be taken before graduation in a bid to improve students' English ability, but English professors are opposed to the plan, saying that the two do not necessarily go together.
"Passing a proficiency test is not the same as having good English language abilities," said Sue Chou (周樹華), an English professor at National Taiwan University (NTU).
"Unlike English learning in high schools -- where students learn the language just to pass examinations -- in college English should be considered the key to a world of knowledge. When students are required to pass language proficiency tests, they become exam-taking machines again just like in their high school days."
Chou's remarks were made to show her opposition to the NTU's proposal that students should reach the upper-intermediate level of the General English Proficiency Test administered by the school's Language Training and Testing Center.
The fact that the English language skills of the country's college students has been worsening is nothing new. Although English is a compulsory subject for six years at high school, college students are only required to study English for one year. Apart from students majoring in English, it is common for college students to neglect the language.
Schools have therefore come up with various proposals to improve students' English skills.
Students at the National University of Kaohsiung (
While NTU is considering its measures, it must re-evaluate the feasibility of the proposal because it has encountered strong opposition from its English professors.
"Students will only succeed in learning English well if they are self-motivated. What the school can do is provide students with various learning facilities to stimulate their interest for learning the language," said Chou. "If the English proficiency test is compulsory, it would only dampen students' enthusiasm to learn."
Meanwhile, the English educator pointed out an ingrained misconception about English learning in Taiwan; that is, learners tend to consider good English to be spoken with an American accent.
She said it was this mistaken notion that discouraged most people, including many government officials, from speaking English in public.
"Speaking good English should not equate to speaking English with a standard American accent," Chou noted, citing President Chen Shui-bian (
"I don't think President Chen -- an NTU graduate -- is unable to pronounce a single word of English. But he is never heard speaking English in public. I guess it is because he is embarrassed because he may speak English with a strong Taiwanese accent. But why should people feel embarrassed about speaking English with the accents of their native languages?" she said.
"Many people speak elegant English with all sorts of accents. The American accent is absolutely not a standard."
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