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
US President Donald Trump has gotten off to a head-spinning start in his foreign policy. He has pressured Denmark to cede Greenland to the United States, threatened to take over the Panama Canal, urged Canada to become the 51st US state, unilaterally renamed the Gulf of Mexico to “the Gulf of America” and announced plans for the United States to annex and administer Gaza. He has imposed and then suspended 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico for their roles in the flow of fentanyl into the United States, while at the same time increasing tariffs on China by 10
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
Last week, 24 Republican representatives in the US Congress proposed a resolution calling for US President Donald Trump’s administration to abandon the US’ “one China” policy, calling it outdated, counterproductive and not reflective of reality, and to restore official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, enter bilateral free-trade agreement negotiations and support its entry into international organizations. That is an exciting and inspiring development. To help the US government and other nations further understand that Taiwan is not a part of China, that those “one China” policies are contrary to the fact that the two countries across the Taiwan Strait are independent and
RSS