Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Language Diplomacy and Bilingual Ambitions in Taiwan

Amazing stuff! What an ambitious undertaking for any country! Could this also be the way to go for China?

"In November 2020, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) declared her goal to turn Taiwan into a bilingual country within 10 years. Tsai’s “Bilingual Nation by 2030” agenda is aimed at achieving a high degree of English proficiency among the Taiwanese public. Taipei’s bilingual ambitions are related to several of its diplomatic and economic goals. First, Taiwan hopes to attract more foreign investment and increase international trade opportunities. The government also sees English language capacity as a means to improve international cooperation and strengthen its ties with the global community. Taiwan’s promotion of English learning—coupled with the suggestion from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT, 美國在台協會) that Taiwan could help replace China’s closing Confucius Institutes—could be an effective method of bolstering US-Taiwan cooperation on language instruction and exchanges.

Bilingual Nation by 2030

Taiwan’s government has highlighted several specific goals in order to achieve national bilingualism. First, English will be used to teach other non-language subjects such as math. To teach in this format, teachers will need higher levels of English fluency and more diverse vocabulary, so the government is working to organize teacher training programs. Second, the government aims to improve translations of relevant government documents and websites for foreigners and international businesses, helping to remove language barriers that could prevent some companies from establishing operations in Taiwan.

Since the announcement of the national bilingual policy, few updates have been reported by the national government. By contrast, some cities and counties in Taiwan—including Taipei, New Taipei, and Pingtung—have publicized their plans to enhance English-language education. These new programs generally focus on improving training for Taiwanese teachers of English and hiring native English speakers. However, the wide variety of strategies at the local level has complicated the national implementation of English learning. For instance, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) stated that English classes must be taught in at least one-third English to be considered bilingual, but many cities and counties have not specified what exactly a bilingual class entails and how it differs from current teaching methods. ..."

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