Taipei City will increase the number of English classes at public elementary schools to three a week starting in September in an effort to raise the English speaking ability of students, the city’s Department of Education said yesterday.
Elementary-school students nationwide begin English classes in third grade, taking two classes a week. In Taipei and Hsinchu, students begin the classes as early as first grade.
Beginning in September, -elementary-school students from third grade to sixth grade will have three classes a week, the department said.
According to Hsieh Li-hua (謝麗華), a division chief at the department, the English curriculum for the city includes 320 vocabulary words, 69 conversations and 30 basic sentences, as well as reading, speaking and listening.
The increase in the number of English classes for elementary-school students sparked concern from some parents’ associations, which said the classes would overburden students and affect their performance in other subjects.
Hsieh dismissed the concern, and said that many teachers and parents agreed that one more English class a week is necessary to completely teach the curriculum and allow students to digest the contents.
“Three English classes a week is proper for learning a foreign language and the department has already revised the English curriculum and offered course schedules to teachers for reference,” she said.
Increasing the number of English classes was also part of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) campaign platform to enhance the English comprehension of elementary school kids.
As an experiment, the department allowed Wenhua Elementary School to have five English classes a week since last year.
Hsieh said the education department will recruit 80 to 100 new English teachers to meet the needs for the revised curriculum.
Public elementary schools are also encouraged to utilize after-school hours to offer English courses or sports activities to raise students’ interest in the two areas.
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