This letter writer from Singapore explains clearly what’s at stake in seeking to become a “bilingual nation”—and why the current plans in Taiwan (such as they are) are not (yet?) coherent:
Guy
6 Likes
English is a valuable asset to any individual in an economic sense.
Do workers in Taiwan believe this? The salaries are so low by international standards and from what I’ve heard, those who speak really good English aren’t rewarded for it in a huge way.
If you’re a Taiwanese who speaks really good English and wants to use that to your financial advantage, don’t you just leave Taiwan?
Multilingual, to a degree. English as an official language, hahahaha!! 3030, maybe. Otherwise, would need to replace the ~95% of public officials that speak no English whatsoever, or force them to take intensive English courses focused on their specific job description.
Multilingual instruction is optimal. My university courses are approximately 90% English, 5% Mandarin, 4.9% Daigi, and 0.1% other. Elementary school classes are 40% English, 45% Mandarin, 15% Daigi. All students “get it” and appreciate it. I strongly promote 臺語 in and outside of class. I reward students who use it.
This should not be anybody’s business, but I voted no on the poll
because I worked in a public school bilingual program last year,
and based on my experience and from what I see here in Taiwan,
and after having discussions with netizens about this, only EFL will
work. It is unattainable for Taiwan to become a bilingual country
with Mandarin and English. If there should be a bilingual education
program, it has to be for Mandarin and the Indigenous languages
for the Indigenous students. (But they can still do EFL even at
an applied learning level).
FIFY. Who here that’s Taiwanese (and not connected to an English speaking country in some close family way, ie, an ABT) speaks English fluently? Some people at the MRT stations, the occasional bubble tea stand worker and a few flight attendants. I mean, I’m exaggerating, but it’s the lower paying jobs. Few schools have staff/teachers with majority English fluency. Even private “international” schools that hire foreign teachers have a bunch of Taiwanese office staff that run away from English speakers. The people in the government rarely speak English well enough to discuss important matters. Inappropriately ask if a young white woman has a boyfriend, sure. But discuss political issues? They rely on translation for that.
Knowing English doesn’t get you a pay bump here. TBH, few jobs anywhere actually get you higher salaries for being multi-lingual. Brownie points with the hiring manager, sure, but higher salaries? No, not really. I mean, maybe a few hundred bucks a year if the company actually needs your skilz. You just have everyone in your parents’ professional network asking if you’re interested in helping put out fires created by companies that thought it was a good idea to import employees and bosses from China. But they’re not going to pay the big bucks. More like US$13.50/hour. Or is that just my experience? The only job I was ever offered that cared to point out a salary bump for my fluency in Mandarin Chinese was the US Air Force.
2 Likes
Languages die. No reason for them to be preserved if they serve no useful purpose.
If they truly want English as a second language, fundamental changes must be made. Vouchers for full English kindergartens must be given to every 2~6-year-old child and elementary education should be taught in at least 80% English.
The government will never accept those realities, so this is all a pipe dream.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing this article. The Singapore model is hardly replicable in Taiwan since it was applied to a multiracial and multilingual (dialects included) former British colony that needed a lingua franca and not in an almost fully Chinese society with a consolidated use of Mandarin in everything and everywhere like Taiwan. And bilingualism in today’s Singapore is arguable considering how many young Chinese Singaporeans run away from Mandarin after sweating their way to pass the exams at school. I would look more at Scandinavia, the Netherlands and other European countries that have never been British colonies, are still learning and primarily speaking their mother tongue and even local dialects, while achieving an impressive fluency in English at all levels. Said with envy from an Italian 
2 Likes
And, at the moment, teaching English to Taiwanese kids 6 and under is illegal. We all know plenty of schools do it, but that doesn’t change the fact that, on the books, it’s not legal.
The dual-immersion elementary I teach at has kindergarten. They get (an illegal) 25 minutes of English instruction per day. Basically, they sing a few songs and read a picture book. Our first graders go through what is basically an English intensive camp for the entire summer so that they can at least do some academic work in English when they arrive in the fall. The kids whose parents sprung for private English lessons do great. The kids whose sole English instruction began two months before they began first grade drown. Try expanding English instruction to every child everywhere and you’re going to end up with an achievement gap never seen before.
1 Like
Yep- and I have an aboriginal wife who speaks her language daily, as do other people of her generation. But the kids don’t.
In knew an old Belgian priest who was much admired because he spoke Amis “like the elders” i.e. he used all the endings and proper cases that had already been forgotten by younger people.
It’s not as if people become inarticulate when their language dies- they can become just as expressive in the new tongue.
3 Likes
5 Likes
4 years early!
Just 62 lunar months away! 
2 Likes
The ESun woman they interview there, Magi Chen, is actually a former student of mine. Good to see she’s doing well.
1 Like
I see they’ve at least theoretically expanded their range of applications in ads outside this board, thanks to @tando’s efforts.
2 Likes
55 new teachers is a big step
1 Like
It’s interesting! Maybe not just all talk? I meant that little “etc.” there though. Maybe it’s not much, but it’s something.
1 Like
If they don’t change the process through which they teach the language, nothing will change. A one to one ratio of foreign English teachers to Taiwanese kids will not create a bilingual country if the focus continues to be on direct translation and passing multiple choice tests
4 Likes
I guess they wouldn’t hire foreign teachers if that was all they had in mind, but a lot remains to be seen, certainly. There’s a lot of ways it could go wrong. I’m skeptical about the whole grandoise concept personally.
3 Likes