I have noticed in my two years teaching in Taiwan that the students, especially in public schools, seem reluctant to answer questions and participate in classroom activities. Does anyone have a theory why this is? I understand that the notions of face and shame are very important in Taiwanese culture but it does seem a bit extreme to not be involved in class because you are too afraid of embarrassment. I have also been witness to students that chastising other students for their actions and disrespectful nature. Perhaps this is more prevalent than I realize? Lastly, do you think that this hinders their education or is it just an alternative method of learning?
Survival. The nail that sticks out is hammered and hammered hard. Creativity is quenched, older generations enforce the follow the leader even when he tells you to jump off the bridge -see how easy it is to scare them into giving you their money if they think it is a person of authority. Younger generations have been stripped of their voice and have just begun to find it.
It started, along with rote learning, when the teachers were selected to impose policy, the instructors did not know their field and were wary of anyone questioning anything for fear of the whole house of cards falling down. Remember they were imposing everything, from a new language, meaning Mandarin, up to forbiding Taiwanese and any local thinking. That was priority to content.
Things have not changed as the people who taught the people now teaching may be gone, but their impositions in terms of regulations are not. And it trickles down to those attitudes you have seen.
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Theyâre also never given a chance to speak up in class and share their opinions. I donât teach regularly, but when I do Iâll include some activities where they can share their opinions on a topic; this is at the junior high and high school age. Most of them say this is the first time theyâve ever been allowed to express themselves like that in school.
I can understand that. Its more important to be unrecognized than recognized. I do find that my girlfriend is easily âplayedâ by individuals that command authority. The schools are very much a socializing device teaching the students how they should act. As clear as this is in America it is âin your faceâ in Taiwan. It starts young and anyone with a proclivity toward boisterousness will be humiliated until they can control themselves. YesâŚ
And, I know he has his many flaws and history, but sometimes Winston Wu spoke some truth:
"Taiwanese are completely driven by fear and guilt. Itâs in their vibes and face to the nth degree, and will rub off on you if you are around them long. They are conditioned to be weak and insecure. Inside they are empty and miserable. These are the traits that drive them to be conformists and workaholics. Living in fear, weakness and having no identity, they badly need something to conform to and a structure in their lives for security and safety.
This is why so many of them are workaholics and often work 7 days a week. Itâs not just because they like to make money. That is just their excuse, for even wealthy retired Taiwanese are still workaholics. Itâs because working all the time gives their fearful empty selves some structure to conform to, which brings them a sense of safety and security. Thatâs what makes them such willing slaves, and those who run the country love it. Thatâs what drives Taiwanese to seek fixed structures and routines, as well as bondage and servitude. Their minds are not free at all, and neither are their lives. They donât want to be free. Freedom brings insecurity and loss of identity to the Taiwanese."
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Heavy manâŚ
I know, itâs depressing.
Winston WuâŚalways brightens ones day.
Seriously itâs something I do worry about.
I guess my biggest problem with Taiwan (and Iâm talking myself ANd my kids being whittled down) is thereâs usually only âone right answerâ in that multiple choice test.
âOne way of conformingâ.
âOne test a weekâ
âOne quarterly testâ
âOne final testâ.
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There is another angle. Plain laziness.
I have taught people that just show up, plop down, and refuse to participate in any part of the discussion. It doesnât matter the topic. And it is usually just a few students that even attempt to try.
Recently I asked a question, and everyone just put their heads down either hoping someone else would answer or that the pregnant pause would make me embarrassed and id answer my own question. I just sat down and said, OK Ill wait and finally one of the regulars who tries hard came up with something, AFTER 5 MINUTES. I just stopped answering my own questions, and yes the pause made me uncomfortable.
A large number of people have nothing going on in their lives that they want to talk about and no interests, and just covering the material is dry and boring but thatâs what most expect of me so⌠ok, then I go home at night feeling guilty that I didnât give them the best value for their dollar.
I think the main problem is driven from the fact that some people think they want to learn English but really have no interest or motivation in it. The ones that like learning wonât shut up 
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it is deep but I agree here. I am probably projecting here but it feels like something is missing in the soul of Taiwan, like some sort of a purpose or driving goal.
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Thereâs something really weird about people paying for English classes and then putting in absolutely no effort in the classes.
And yes I used to teach adults English too and have had exact same experiences as Dan. Used to drive me crazy and sometimes I honestly despised the students.
Not all classes had this issue but a fair amount did.
Adults behaving like children I think!! If you push them to answer they would just dig in sometimes and say even less.
At the same time youâd get people complaining to management that your class was boring. As if it was your job to entertain them even though THEY were boring as fuck.
Tough job only made bearable by the odd student who showed real appreciation.
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Yup, if you force them to speak they wonât show up to your class again.
If you do all the speaking they complain to management the class is boring.
You tell a joke but in fairness it doesnât translate well and nobody laughs. Its a tough slog, but made better by the students that try hard. We end up chatting on a personal basis afterwards.
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I was one of those students who hated being asked questions during these classes lmao. I guess itâs ingrained in me lol.
It got better by time though, and Idk why but in the French classes I took, people are a lot more engaging.
I hear ya.
When I took Chinese classes at Zhongshan University you had no choice, the students were sat in a long row and she would give a sample sentence, and then go down the row, no excuses. I used to hate it too but I improved quickly.
I think itâs really embarrassing when you answer wrong. Thatâs what put many students off, at least it is (was) for me.
I kind of get what you mean but what are people doing in other countries that is so different? For example, I have always been a hard worker and living in the USA, I saw so many people, younger people who just sat around everyday smoking weed and collecting welfare or disabity, saying many times they had depression problems and couldnât work a normal job.sure there are hard workers, college grads that get great jobs and people who can start their own business and be successful at it, but many people just slave away all week and get trashed on the weekend, you can see regret in their eyes about all the poor choices they made and many people will just stick it out at the same job forever, even if they arenât even provided health or dental.for their family. When I think of this compared to Taiwan, idk⌠I donât see other places as being full of freedom and happiness. Do you know how many Americans are eating depression meds like candy nowadays? Way too many⌠Taiwan doesnât seem to have any problems that other countries donât have. I think the main difference is the culture, music and movies basically. You have to remember, Taiwanese didnât get to experience the 60âs with all the protests and groovy drug music, they didnât really have a disco era, maybe they mocked whatever they heard from Japan but not the same, and they didnât get a grungy 90âs full of MTV and great music and movies. They simply missed all of these things that create the American attitude, it didnât exist here. Anyways, this is my theory as to why Taiwanese seem so different to some people. Too much old ways, no purple Haze!
The whole world is not America and Taiwan.
Lots of countries are far more liberal than the US.
Opening your mouth and having a conversation is not an American attitude itâs just normal behavior (at least some older people in Taiwan arenât afraid of talking).
Granted Americans do tend to talk about themselves a lot.
(Classic conversation in the American restaurant I used to workâŚhow are ya doingâŚnow let me tell you about meâŚ)
Just saying. 
Opening your mouth and having a conversation may be a normal thing in your native language â when you feel you can easily express anything you want and thereâs no risk of making a fool of yourself. For a Taiwanese student, who typically has memorized Engrish to pass tests only, that ability is absent in most cases. It doesnât matter what they have been taught or what they âshould knowâ â knowing about a language doesnât mean it comes out of your mouth when you need it.
Teachers who donât acknowledge that language has to be acquired and requires input, not memorization are usually the same ones who are in the faculty room complaining about how the kids are lazy, passive, or disinterested. Theyâre not necessarily lazy. Silence tells you they are not ready to output. It doesnât matter how many years of English theyâve already had. You canât fill up a bucket by pouring stuff out of it, and you donât acquire language by speaking it. If you want to get water out of a bucket while still keeping it full, you need to fill it up so full that it slops over naturally. Thatâs what comprehensible input does in a language classroom. When there has been enough input, the language will âfall out of their mouthsâ. Taiwanese students get hardly any input other than written stuff, assuming they can understand that â and the readings they get have to be decoded for the most part. They are hardly ever encouraged to read at or below their level, which is where the greatest gains take place. Everything has to be to see another 40 vocabulary words in context once, then memorize them. Thatâs not acquisition.
There are also some cultural/societal things going on â such as the fact that most Taiwanese students donât do anything unique. Asking about activities or hobbies can often come up with nothing simply because most students at university level or below spend their time studying or playing basketball â no part-time jobs or unique pastimes for the most part. Way back when, I used to teach at a vocational school where they lived six to a dorm room. You could not design an information-gap activity about the students where they didnât already know every answer without asking.
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Iâm talking about opening mouths to have a conversation in Chinese let alone English. You know the way neighbors donât talk to each other in elevators or even when waiting for the elevator. That kind of stuff. A lot of people here find it REALLY hard to talk with strangers or in front of others. Under 30âŚdisaster zone. Give em a smartphone and theyâll be stuck into that though! (Iâm bad with smartphones tooâŚ)
I could be a bit harsh but Iâve noticed this since the first month I arrived on the island.
Older people are just so much more chilled not worrying what others are thinking. Or maybe they are more desperate to have contact with peopleâŚI donât know.
I could ask why are American students so hyper and crazy