Whither Language Education in Taiwan?

Some think “graded assessment”; others think “torture”. Some think “steps to success”; others think “slide to failure”. Some think “worthwhile hard work”; others think “wasted effort”.

The emphasis on exams -both public and intramural -in most Asian countries is legendary. Since time immemorial, China for example, has utilized public examinations as the sole means to select young elites who would then staff both the governmental administrative apparatus and commercial enterprises.

Parents who cared about the family's future - both financial and social - could not help but try to maximize the students' chances of succeeding in examinations. Today in Taiwan, scenes abound of young students hauling heavy school bags around town to vari­ous tuition classes and “cram” sessions every day, not to mention camps and seminars during school “vacations”.

Homework and assign­ments serve primarily to prepare stu­dents for exams. All subjects are tested, with standardized answers to be memorized and reproduced during exams. This robotic system occupies more than a decade of the student's most precious years, and impedes the development of personal potential, which differs in nature from one individual to the next.

Students who may not be predisposed towards such an exam-oriented system, but who exhibit other equally valu­able talents (say in arts, music and drama performance, mechanical skills, ceramics or woodworking skills and the like) may thus be vetted out of the formal education system— and by extension, future gainful employment; deny­ing them their chance to con­tribute to and enrich society in their own ways.

Vocational and Technical colleges here do fill this gap somewhat, but there is a tendency in society to devalue and denigrate the (highly valuable) skills learnt in such places.

A society that does not foster the Arts, or that does not value all contributions from all individuals, is a moribund, fossilized society.

Time and again, I hear stories of parents who want their academically inclined child to be a doctor, because… (substitute your own value opinion here, but the bottom line is – money and prestige).

The increasing number of teenage delinquents and school dropouts in Taiwan bears adequate testimony to the failure of a purely exam-dominated system, and this situation can only worsen.

             What are we schooling for? Whither individual talent? Whither personal success?

“Teaching to Testing” controls the educational environment so much here, that students have often confided in me the teacher is always “right”. If a test answer is clearly shown to be wrong, or there may be another alternative according to colloquial rules of speech and this is pointed out to a teacher however, the teacher will respond that it may be so, but if you do not give the “correct” (i.e. a wrong or alternative) answer on the test, you will fail that question, as that is the required answer.

Furthermore, if challenged, most teachers will respond with threats of punishment to the student. Here, the teacher is often “a little God”, and proves the old maxim; “a teacher is a man among boys, and a boy among men”. It is all about maintaining face in front of a class, which prompts me to reflect on just why certain personality types decide to become teachers in the first place. Face and not flexibility; conservatism and not creativeness, seem to “rule the roost”!

  Taiwan is a society where emphasis is placed on academic achievement and performance; not much is put on creativity, lateral or "non-linear" thinking. There is a very black and white perception here of what stupid and smart is. Although there are different kinds of "stupid", just as there are different kinds of "intelligent", the distinction doesn't work for such a literally minded people.

 

But considering “Children of today need to know how to adapt in many forms-culturally, linguistically, to be excellent problem solvers, excellent communicators and to be very open-minded…We cannot stop with academic rigor, academic excellence[1]…” in contrast, Western models of education practise an alterna­tive educational assessment mechanism. In general, stu­dents in the US for example, are not so much educated as guided in their pursuit of knowledge and journey of self-discov­ery. The student-centered approach ensures that students are usually not assessed on their retention of certain facts, but are stimu­lated to be creative and prac­tical in their learning.

As such, assignments and projects play a much more important role in student assessment, with broad themes and topics assigned, and students are guided to unearth their learning and creative potential. Teachers serve more as facilitators and motivators, and not so much as conveyors of knowledge.

Students are generally afforded many opportunities to learn about themselves, their surroundings and the larger picture of the world.

They learn to think, to debate, to clarify, to verify and most of all, to seek the truth. They seldom memorize and regurgitate. Instead, they apply what they learn in ever more sophisticated ways. Although the American high school system has its critics, and is rated academically lower than many other countries’ systems, many US high school graduates move on to colleges and universities which afford them an even larger platform to express their ideas – the American postgraduate system being amongst the best in the world.

Despite criticism, this is the kind of educational system that kick-starts the careers of some of the best and brightest scientists, artists and intellectuals in the world. Such is the kind of educational system I earnestly wish ours in Taiwan would move toward.

Worldwide surveys in the late eighties indicated that for specific subjects, the early childhood education learning to read and write system in New Zealand was the best; language learning systems in the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries were the best; liberal education programs teaching about communication and relationships in America were the best; while physical science programs (Maths, Chemistry and Physics) in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore were the best to be found. (There has been little change in this ranking since then).

But which skills are more important? None. A synthesis of all would be the ultimate goal. Nevertheless, no system is perfect. Every system has its detractors.

 

Recent advances in technology mean that devices such as cellphones, mp3 players, personal computers, electronic dictionaries and the like, have potential application in classroom use, joining the more ubiquitous audio tape decks, television sets, video players and the ever-present whiteboard as tools of multimedia for the educator of today.

It should be noted however, that the introduction of technology often engenders fear of the unknown in peoples’ minds, but I firmly believe that with proper education and motivation, people (parents, students and teachers alike) could make proper and productive use of advanced wireless applications to facilitate learning.

Computer literacy is now a must, as is ability in information retrieval. Having these skills regardless, one still needs to be able to utilize them. Higher cognitive skills, such as those listed in Bloom’s Taxonomy of (Intellectual) Hierarchical Objectives, are those most lacking and untaught at high school level, yet are the most critical.

Everywhere, educators and teachers have been found to be those most resistant to change, and I have great concerns that those watchdogs who are in charge of education (in Taiwan and elsewhere), by their very nature and conservatism, tend to most resist new technologies, teaching techniques or learning directions that most threaten the status quo, and their own personal sense of and reason for being.

 

By their lack of introducing new proactive directions in education and their very passivity in monitoring schooling for the deadly-dull and mind-numbing examination system here, they illustrate the Peter Principle of Incompetence, that the least creative (and worthy) individuals have risen to be in charge of supposedly developing creative and worthy forward-seeking policies. In the words of the sociologist and educational philosopher Ivan Illich, the Taiwanese education system needs “deschooling!”

 

Furthermore, the results of such worthy learning also call for assessment methods that are more creative and effective than traditional examinations. New technology coupled with new thinking will hopefully yield us a fresher and more effective educational system.

 

I have found that, tragically, the majority of my adult students, having had information overload of textbook learning through their formative years, now lean toward the dislike of reading-of almost anything, other than the daily newspaper (if a man) or fashion magazines (if a woman). No longer is there the spirit of inquiry and sense of wonder in discovering new things about the world and our universe through reading, nor do many read for relaxation or self-improvement: novels or poetry for instance. [Many younger students however, read Manga, comic books of the Japanese ilk, or read the martial romances of Jin Yung in their teenage years].

 

Abstaining from direct responsibility is the golden rule for Chinese management –in ancient Chinese culture, lying and general deception were all instruments at one’s disposal... Why? Because it’s called something else, like ... "Maintenance of Face & Reputation".

What changes should be made to improve Taiwan’s English teaching system?

 

1.     Develop international views and events in student thinking; 

2.     Encourage international student exchange programs;

3.     Develop a better education and academic environment;

4.     Foster teacher re-training programs and refresher courses (run by locally based and international foreign language teaching experts);

5.     Set up efficiently run English Resource departments at all high schools;

6.     Cancel entrance examinations for junior and senior high school levels;

7.     Substitute ongoing yearly assessment from teacher evaluation in the classroom;

8.     Introduce a visiting foreign English teacher program into all high schools, where young certificated teachers from native English-speaking countries are recruited for a one-or two-year posting exchange much like the Japanese system;

9.     Introduce courses in communicative teaching techniques and methods at Teacher Training Normal Universities (even in these institutions here, courses are mainly lecture-based and not practical or hands-on);

10. Integrate disparate teaching syllabi and textbooks into a unified scheme for all Taiwan.

 

These are just a sampling, and will be considered in a future article.


[1] Dr. Sharon Hennessy in an interview, in “Centered on Taipei”, Sept. 07, Vol. 8 Issue 1 p23 (Community Services Center, Taipei).