by Christine Cheng In 2018, the Taiwanese government launched the Bilingual 2030 Policy, which is a long-term policy that aims at the achievement of competence in both Mandarin and English at the national level. The 2030 Bilingual Policy was developed in the hope of elevating global competitiveness and responding to increasing internationalization. However, the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions gathered to call for the suspension of the policy. Moreover, many Taiwanese also launched a petition to stop it. Why has the Bilingual 2030 Policy stirred up such a strong backlash from both the public and teachers? I asked two students who have bilingual teaching experiences in the Department of English Instruction to discuss the current policy. Kayla and Jenna are studying to be bilingual teachers, and they shared some of the challenges they met in the current implementation of the Bilingual 2030 Policy. First, there is a lack of qualified bilingual teachers. Bilingual teachers possess teaching certificates and are proficient in English. Currently, there are only 477 qualified bilingual teachers and 1652 students who are studying to be bilingual teachers, but there are more than 3000 schools that lack bilingual teachers.
Kayla pointed out that due to the lack of qualified bilingual teachers, many are forced to teach in English even though they do not have English training, which is a significant challenge for them. Jenna also shared her experience helping a science teacher prepare for her class: “When I went to an elementary school in Hsinchu for an internship, I was surprised to hear that a lot of teachers, especially teachers of physical education and the arts, are asked to deliver classes in English without further explanation and standardized bilingual teaching materials. The teachers were very confused and worried, so they asked for my help. A well prepared bilingual policy shouldn’t be like this.” Many teachers in math, social science, and Chinese have also conveyed their concerns about teaching in English. Even if the teacher is proficient in English, delivering the whole class in English may still influence the effect of the teaching. Furthermore, the bilingual policy not only challenges the teachers but also the students. Kayla and Jenna participated in a six-week study in which students tried to learn social science in English, explaining the history of the Qing Dynasty. They pointed out that the students were very afraid at first. “They had the expectation that they wouldn’t be able to understand. Most of the students adapted to the bilingual environment after a certain time. However, there were certain students who immediately gave up and weren’t willing to engage in class anymore.” Some students improved their English and social science scores immediately, but others hated the bilingual classes. Everything seemed to depend on the students’ attitude. On the other hand, although Kayla and Jenna have expressed their concerns about the Bilingual Policy, they also maintain a positive attitude about turning Taiwan into a bilingual country. “Yes, there are definitely a lot of unsolved problems, but we still think the Policy has value and can be improved as long as the government reschedules it and does more preparation. From our perspective, we suggest that the government prepare standardized teaching materials and start bilingual classes with only a small group of students." Kayla and Jenna both agreed that Taiwan could develop into a bilingual country, but at the same time they were concerned about the lack of preparation. Perhaps it would be better to suspend the Bilingual 2030 Policy until it is fully ready. a
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May 2024
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