An English-language "village" is an excellent idea as it gives Taiwanese students an opportunity to practice their speaking and listening skills in a non-academic, pleasurable environment ("`Village' shows strength of English," Aug. 1, page 2). There are no exam pressures and the practical nature of the interchanges is a welcome change to these students' usual experience in school and buxiban, which mainly consist of rote learning, boring grammar and exam preparation.
While I laud the efforts of all concerned and wish them every success, this approach is far from being a panacea. Unfortunately, it will do very little to improve the general levels of competency in Taiwan. In the same article, it mentions that in Japan, they have set up 100 "Super English High Schools" where classes are taught entirely in English. This is a major remedy for improving the standard of English usage in Japan.
Is Taiwan ready to follow suit by creating a number of schools where all or most courses will be taught in English by competent teachers? Students who graduate from these schools can later replace less competent teachers in the school system, foreigners in cram schools, etc. It is a real shame that in Taiwan, with so many young people seeking teaching positions, thousands of foreigners are given the jobs instead.
If the Ministry of Education were to implement such a program, which now only exists for foreigners living in Taiwan, then 10 years from now, we won't be reading the same articles decrying the level of English proficiency in Taiwan, but will be reading about a new crop of graduates whose English skills are outstanding. As a teacher with 25 years of experience, I would gladly offer my services to realize this goal. If not, I'll be sending in the same letter to the editor 10 years from now.
Chaim Melamed
Pingtung
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
I have heard people equate the government’s stance on resisting forced unification with China or the conditional reinstatement of the military court system with the rise of the Nazis before World War II. The comparison is absurd. There is no meaningful parallel between the government and Nazi Germany, nor does such a mindset exist within the general public in Taiwan. It is important to remember that the German public bore some responsibility for the horrors of the Holocaust. Post-World War II Germany’s transitional justice efforts were rooted in a national reckoning and introspection. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps not
RSS