Taiwan is performing badly on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), a recent report said.
In a report which listed the 20 countries that had the most people taking the language-proficiency test, Taiwan was only 17th, after Japan (12) and South Korea (14), and worse than Vietnam (13) and Pakistan (15), the Chinese-language United Evening News reported yesterday.
IELTS was developed by the University of Cambridge and is used to assess the English ability of students. About 700,000 people take the test every year.
The results are accepted in many countries, including England, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries, and more than 100 colleges in the US accept IELTS in addition to the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
The IELTS is offered in two formats: Academic, for those hoping to enroll in a foreign university, and General Training, for prospective immigrants. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are all tested, the highest score in each subject being nine. The average score on these four subjects makes up the IELTS score.
Last year, Taiwan had a test average of 5.62, with an average of 5.81 points on the reading section, 5.66 for speaking, 5.52 for listening, and only 5.23 points for writing, the report said.
The United Evening News cited research by the British Council in the story as saying that Taiwan's English-learning environment faces five main obstacles to effective English learning: first, it has no standardized teaching materials; second, there is no communication or guidance to improve students' weak points; third, teaching design is restricting; fourth, teachers and material are not in accordance with international standards and fifth, a lack of sufficient learning facilities.
The report also quoted statistics from 104 Job Bank, an online recruitment service, that showed almost half of the jobs in Taiwan require a basic command of English. But although the demand for English in the workplace has gone up, the English level of Taiwanese is not improving, it said.
An employee with the British Council was quoted as saying that in an ideal situation, the students' level is first tested, and then they are taught according to their level.
Taiwan has implemented a General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), but this test does not fit into the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
It is hard for students to learn English well when teaching methods are lacking, the staff member was reported as saying.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by