The National Federation of Teachers Unions (NFTU) yesterday urged the government to thoroughly review its Bilingual 2030 policy, saying it has caused problems in elementary and high schools, and might affect the quality of education in other subjects.
The government on March 28 changed its original “Bilingual Nation 2030” plan to the “Bilingual 2030” plan, no longer aiming to turn Taiwan into a Mandarin-English bilingual nation by 2030, NFTU president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) told a news conference in Taipei.
Despite the change, the policy’s budget, resources and most of its content remain the same, causing unusual scenes on campuses, he said.
Cheng Chi-yi (鄭祺怡), a teacher at Gong Jheng Elementary School in Yilan County who has taught bilingual courses for two years, said the policy was adopted too quickly despite clearly insufficient preparation, including a lack of specific execution plans, evaluation criteria and clear teaching guidelines.
The policy does not consider difficulties in execution, such as many bilingual teachers finding it difficult to teach different subjects in English, Cheng said.
It also neglects the urban-rural education gap, as well as the negative effect on students who cannot understand courses presented in English and give up, she said.
In addition, the government’s Foreign English Teacher recruitment plan has deviated from its original purpose, Cheng said.
Teachers of bilingual courses who are most in need of assistance from foreign teachers lack such aid, while local English-language teachers who are capable of teaching English on their own are accompanied by foreign teachers, she said.
Taipei Municipal Ming Lun High School English teacher Chen Chian-chou (陳建州) said the policy has resulted in teachers of mathematics, music and physical education having to teach in a language they are not fluent in, sacrificing the quality of education.
Students’ English skills also fall in a bimodal distribution, meaning the policy affects the overall education of students who are not fluent in English, as they are required to learn unfamiliar subjects in an unfamiliar language, he said, adding that schools need more professional English-language teachers to offer better English education.
National Taiwan University Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Science Dean Liao Hsien-hao (廖咸浩) said people often link English skills with better competitive ability, but competitiveness should be based on having deep knowledge, decent thinking ability and creativity.
People need “native proficiency” to have the three abilities, so if Mandarin and English become equally important, students might not be proficient in either of the languages, which would impair their learning, he said.
Hou said the union urges the government to conduct a comprehensive review of the policy to solve the problems in classroom settings, and provide quality basic education and English learning.
Separately, the Ministry of Education yesterday said that it plans to recruit 77 US teaching assistants through the Foundation for Scholarly Exchanges next month to help with English-language education at elementary and junior-high schools.
The assistants are to facilitate spoken English instruction by helping create an environment that encourages English communication in the classroom and during extracurricular activities, the ministry said, adding that 70 US teachers were recruited last year through the foundation, also known as Fulbright Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS