At least half of the English-taught courses provided by universities under the Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College do not fit the definition of “English as a medium of instruction” (EMI), the National Audit Office said.
The program was launched by the Ministry of Education to enhance college students’ English proficiency via EMI courses and has so far been funded with NT$3 billion (US$92.5 million).
The ministry has commissioned the British Council to be a program consultant and invited experts from the University of Oxford to visit 16 universities in the program, and the experts have verified in a report that 90 percent of the teachers were competent at explaining professional course content in English and 70 percent achieved proficiency in English at the C1 or C2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the agency said.
Photo courtesy of National Sun Yat-sen University
However, 41 of the 80 EMI courses visited by the experts only met the EMI standard partially or not at all, mainly because the teachers took up most of the time giving lectures, the report said.
Without bilingual interaction from both sides, the teacher could not evaluate students’ learning progress and proficiency in English, it said.
To improve the quality of EMI courses, the ministry would provide teachers with further training on teaching methods, said Chen Hao (陳浩), section chief of the Higher Education Department at the ministry.
They would also be encouraged to observe fellow EMI teachers’ classes to learn from each other, he said.
On the other hand, the ministry has subsidized two more EMI resource centers this year in addition to the existing four centers, he said.
The centers would organize lectures, workshops and off-site trainings, as well as develop teacher communities, materials and lesson plans, to consistently boost EMI teachers’ teaching skills and course quality, Chen said.
The Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College covers from 2021 to 2025, with subsidies to seven “beacon universities” and 45 “beacon schools” affiliated with 24 universities.
The seven beacon universities are National Sun Yat-sen University, National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Kung University, National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, National Taiwan Normal University and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST).
It is expected that by the end of this year, at least 25 percent of sophomores in beacon universities and schools could reach B2 or above proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading and writing, and that more than 30 percent of English classes are transformed into EMI courses.
Meanwhile, English-language teaching experts suggested that teachers take a communicative approach by encouraging students to speak in English without resorting to Chinese.
Providence University supervisor Michael Chen (陳振貴) said the spirit of EMI is using English only in lectures, teaching materials, teaching assessments, teacher-student interactions and demonstration of learning outcomes.
Chihlee University of Technology’s Applied English Department academic Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) said he had surveyed national university students who scored 15 in the General Scholastic Ability Test’s English subject and found that they hardly ever spoke English in EMI classes.
Learning tasks and activities must be developed to increase student talking time in classrooms, otherwise they would just let the teacher talk, he said, adding that teachers should change their thinking and deliver more student-centric lessons.
Teacher talking time should take about 30 percent of the time in a standard EMI course, while student talking time should take up about 70 percent, Chen added.
NTUST’s Graduate Institute of Biochemical Engineering associate professor Kao Chen-yu (高震宇), who is also a frontline EMI teacher, said that encouraging students to speak English (fluency and confidence) should come before correct grammar.
Additional reporting by Liu Wan-lin.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their