The policy and development direction of the Department of Education of Taipei City Government

　　According to “Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guidelines”, elementary schools started teaching English since 1991. Based on these guidelines, the English curriculum of elementary level focuses on creating a natural and happy language-learning environment, and develops students’ learning interests and their basic communicating abilities. The teachings should be conducted in relaxed, practical and interactive approaches. In sum, the purpose is that students will acquire English through diversified language inputs and actually applying the language rather than learning grammar structures inculcated by teachers.

　　To retain students’ learning motivations without increasing their extra burdens, the teaching materials should be moderate and interesting, therefore, the curriculum goals of elementary English are aimed as follow,
1. To develop students’ basic communication abilities.
2. To develop students’ learning interests and methods.
3. To enhance students’ knowledge on foreign culture and customs.
In elementary stage, the main purpose of English learning is focused on their listening and speaking capabilities, while writing and reading are secondary. During the junior high school stage, the four abilities are equally emphasized. Since young kids have an advantage in pronunciation learning, we hope they can lay a good foundation on their spoken ability through a lot of listening and speaking exposures. Nevertheless, reading and writing abilities are not neglected. Simple reading materials and adequate copying and writing practices are incorporated into curriculum. Ultimately, students graduating from elementary schools will be well equipped to attain the four equally emphasized abilities junior high demands, and achieve the consistent goal of Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guideline.

The Learning Situation of Children English in Non-Governmental Circles

　　Many Taiwan parents are afraid that their children will lose at the starting point if they do not study English at an early stage, so bi-lingual or whole English daycare centers and cram schools are set up in great numbers. Based on Professor Huang Chun-Mei of the graduate school of Early Childhood Education of National Chiayi University, about 63% of parents put their children in English teaching kindergarten. And more than 70% of parents hope that government would include English in the kindergarten curriculum, so that their kids could learn English as soon as possible. In fact, a study in 2000 revealed that about one third of the public kindergartens and almost all (97.2%) of the private ones include English in their curriculum.

　　According to 《Evaluating Taiwan Early Childhood English Education Situation and Development from National Language Policies》, cram schools increased from 1,800 to 11,555 within 10 years span. Most of them focus on foreign language learning, art and crafts, and public employment tests. In Taiwan, there are 922 cram schools claiming “Bilingual School or English Schools” to attract student enrollment, said Liu Yi-Quan, the head of Social Education Department of Ministry of Education.

　　English has become the mainstream in Taiwan’s children education. The English teaching institutions could be seen as cram schools, kindergartens, or even nursery schools, such as Kojen English Centers, HESS Education Organizations, Sesame Street, Joy English schools etc. Those English cram school veterans and the ones just started to learn English will be studying in the same classroom in elementary schools. This weird phenomenon deeply troubles English teachers. Many English teachers at school mock themselves as the ones who do review lessons for cram schools.

　　Even in a society like Taiwan, in which learning English is a trend, English learning environment is not enough for students. Other than classrooms or in cram schools, children rarely have the chance to hear, read, or speak English. Some anxious parents will work hard to “create” an English-speaking environment at home for their kids. Yet children should be speaking their native language at home! If English keeps popping out from their parents or relatives, it not only would intensify children’s pressure on English learning but also cause their identity crisis. English not learned through natural process will become forced when it is used.

Our Results

　　Professor Li Chia-Tung had pointed out that English education is much emphasized in the current Education Reform and that both in public institutions and private organizations, people are in fervor of learning English. The high hopes parents placed for their kids to win from the starting point make children start learning English at very young age. In consequence, all kinds English learning institutions can be found mushrooming everywhere in Taiwan.

　　Based on an investigation conducted by Common Wealth magazine, 70% parents sent their kids to cram schools to study English. Some of them enjoy the privilege of having better English ability in elementary school. On the other hand, a lot of kids gave up learning English early because their English level is far behind. From the results of the Basic Competence Test for Junior High School Students, we discovered the twin peaks phenomenon in English and Math. General speaking, those falling behind are mostly from remote areas, and students from western Taiwan tend to have better performances than the ones from eastern Taiwan, and that students from northern Taiwan also have better grades than southern counterparts.

　　The National Policy Foundation pointed out that accompanying with the globalization; interactions are more frequent among all people which make English more important than before. Through the learning of English, we can not only experience different kinds of culture, but also understand and respect them more. Thus, focusing on English education is a trend among most modern countries. To have an international vision can enhance our skills in managing international affairs, and thereby enhancing the competence of our country.