More than a few English teachers needed to realize (Taiwan's) bilingual ambitions [Taiwan News]

Another gem:

So here’s how good this guy’s English, and reporting skills, are:

Oh wow, we all work at only one of the cram schools. Who works at the others?

So, none of them work legally? Just illegally? Gotcha.

Also, levels can’t be tiny. They are, ya’know, levels. They can be high and low, but not big and small. And what is this based on? And what system? The illegal state school teacher system in that paragraph, or also the one (apparently) cram school awash in foreigners? So where do the English speakers come from? Private schools?

This one I’m not sure about. Can ability be averaged? Level can be, maybe ability can, but it sounds weird. Also, generations is pushing it. How many generations have been through cram schools? Maybe 2. I taught my first class here 17 years ago. My first class probably just finished college, so that’s one generation through the system.

Traditional Mandarin Chinese is not a thing. There’s Traditional Chinese characters and Mandarin Chinese. Small point, but worth making.

Your participles are dangling.

The entire thesis of this opinion piece is laughable and looks like he’s trying to kill a few hours until pay day, as he accuses cram school teachers of doing. He begins by mentioning plans to attract more English teachers to make Taiwan bilingual by 2030, then starts bemoaning the how cram school system, which is completely unconnected to those plans, only cares about a teacher’s western appearance and the students there don’t learn. He even references an article by K-man which clearly states that the MOE is planning to hire QUALIFIED teachers from abroad and, unclearly, states that local qualified teachers will be trained to teaching classes in English. If K-man’s own co-workers can’t be asked to read his articles, I don’t see why we should.
He goes on to make a surprising good point that everyone already knows about how the method of teaching is out date, and concludes with praise for the DPP for having the courage to be unpopular for the long term good.

Is this plan unpopular? And is it brave and for the long term good to make yourself unpopular just before elections so you can never see it through.

Wow, that was a waste of time. I obviously don’t want to work today.

3 Likes

An ideal long-term aim of Taiwan’s education system should be to remove the need for cram schools altogether

There already is little educational need for cram schools. There is massive demand, though. Much of this demand is not primarily for educational reasons, but for childcare due to both parents working insane working hours.
.
Until the work culture changes after-school services of some sort will remain necessary. The author overlooks this issue and IMO it’s the key issue. Parents don’t have time to help their children with homework so anxinban is necessary. They both don’t get back from work until 8pm, so buxiban is needed.

This issue is only partly about education.

2 Likes

This one of the stupidest articles I’ve read in a while. Taiwan’s public schools already hire large numbers of qualified (teacher diplomas/degrees) and fully legal foreign English teachers for junior high achool positions for many years.

And yes the MOE has already started recruiting large numbers of qualified teachers for elementary school positions. There aren’t just a few more, they are going into thousands of elementary schools for the first time !

It’s already being implemented!

Why is he insinuating these teachers in public schools are illegal ?

As mentioned , cram schools are as much about childcare as anything else.

1 Like

I think the key issue should be about the bilingual thing, which is what the piece is meant to be about, but you’re right about your point. The author either misunderstands the policy or just feels like bashing on cram schools without knowing much about them and chose a poor starting point.

1 Like

It’s an opinion piece in that the author has a clear and strong opinion. Unfortunately, he has a weak grasp of the facts of the matter.

I could see his point if ‘qualified’ teachers were coming to Taiwan for employment and they were being denied those jobs in favour of ‘rent paying, beer chuggers’. Otherwise, trying to get a leg over people, who come here to seek employment and meeting their employer’s expectations, is rather shallow.

1 Like

He should do himself a favour and ask them to remove it, it’s rubbish.

2 Likes

Y’know cram schools and especially anxinbans are going to be the ones who profit the most from this. You’re going to have many kids going to classes in a language they don’t understand. Of course, the anxinbans will have to change also. What happens when the kids show up with a biology book in English? The anxinbans will be sending their teachers to buxibans.

Buxiban-type teacher’s can only be hired to teach English, not history homework. I wonder if the laws will change to accommodate that? Oooo, I hope not. I’ll have an APRC soon. We’ll be in demand!

No surprises there, the opinion pieces by said author lead me to suspect that he is not your sharpest knife in the drawer, and frequently doesn’t know what he is writing about.

I have a feeling he and K-man have click quotas. Nothing gets the numbers like a terrible excuse for a story that includes disparaging comments about the ‘foreign English teacher’ menace.

Maybe he’s referring to schools that “hire” foreign teachers through buxibans that know perfectly well that it’s illegal to send foreign teachers to other educational institutions without applying for separate work permits but have persuaded someone in the local education department to pretend the law makes an exception for them.

Just speculating. :whistle:

1 Like

Used to it by now :innocent: :joy: He he , I am only joking… oh green one :joy:

They can teach culinary arts, as long as they’re working for a “famous” chain.

Also, I thought the Gold Card was supposed to allow foreigners to teach non-language classes in buxibans, but I can’t find the relevant post and feel too lazy to look up the law right now.

“Traditional Mandarin Chinese”

I lost it there, haha.

He must have heard something about traditional and simplified Chinese characters and blended it with Mandarin.

Yeah, the poor guy. Though I’d say it’s only bad because of his jarring exhibition of confidence in his own critique…

Flood Taiwan with cheap English teachers from the Philippines. They already fill many roles in Taiwan and around the world.

If there were demand for this then it would have already happened.

I guess there is modern Mandarin Chinese. Or he may insist Mandarin Chinese is more traditional than Taiwanese Chinese.

“Rent paying beer chuggers” help local convenience stores, land lords, and help reduce the falling birth rate.

3 Likes