Parents' Attitudes Towards Bilingual Education Policy in Taiwan

Bilingual Research Journal, Spring 2006 by Oladejo, James

Abstract

This paper investigates the opinions of parents on some critical issues relating to recent educational reforms and their effects on foreign language education in Taiwan, particularly those aspects of the reforms that relate to the learning of English as a foreign language in the country. The paper noted that educational reforms in the country are dictated down from the authorities with little input from the public at large. This process has often resulted in complaints and confusion among the population, and consequently further reforms have often been rushed through in order to plug the emerging lacunae. The study found that much of the changes embarked upon by the government are out of tune with parental perceptions and expectations. It strongly recommends the need to develop a process of societal participation and parental consultation in educational planning and language policy issues, prior to the implementation of such reforms through the education process. This way, frequent changes and the attendant confusion that have characterized the education system in Taiwan can be minimized. Other suggestions are offered towards enhancing the teaching of English as a foreign language in Taiwan.

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Introduction: Taiwan-Geography and Background on Language Education Policy

Taiwan, sometimes also known as the Republic of China, is the name often used in referring to the main island of the country and its conglomerates of 64 islands, including those of Penghu (the Pescadores), Kinmen (Quemoy), and Matsu, near the Fukien province of China. The main part of the country is about 36,000 square kilometers. The last census in November 2002 indicated that Taiwan's population was 22.51 million.1

Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a colony of Japan and as a consequence of this, the Japanese language was forced upon Taiwan as both its official and national language. By the end of the 50 years' Japanese occupation, about 50% of the population were able to understand and speak Japanese (Sugimoto, 1971). Today, even though Japanese is not one of the main languages of Taiwan, it is not uncommon to hear fluent Japanese spoken, especially among those who are over 60 years of age.

Although approximately 70% of the population speaks Taiwanese fluently, the language is more popular in the south than in the northern part of the country. Taiwanese originated in the Han language system but was later influenced by non-Han dialects. However, it still contains many ancient Han linguistic features. Its writing system is based on existing Han characters, but has not been developed enough to represent all the distinctive sounds of Taiwanese. One of the reasons is that some sounds, though originating from the Han language, have changed so dramatically over time that their corresponding characters can no longer be traced, while others have a written form that has since become rare. Another reason is that some of the sounds might have been derived from non-Han languages that never had a written form to begin with.

During the Japanese era, and for a considerable time after Taiwan had been receded to China, Taiwanese language was not allowed to be spoken or used in schools, nor was it formally used in official government circles. This was due partly to the desire to promote the nationalization of Chinese Mandarin, and because Taiwanese was considered inferior to Chinese Mandarin. Even today, it is not unusual to hear pejorative comments suggesting that speaking Taiwanese is a marker of low educational attainment. It is worth noting, however, that the fortunes of the Taiwanese language have been changing gradually, particularly since the inception of the current government. There have also been calls in recent times to make Taiwanese the national language or second official language of the country. Nevertheless, Mandarin Chinese is still the national and official language of Taiwan.

At the end of the occupation when Taiwan reverted back to China, the national and official language policy changed in favor of Mandarin (Van den Berg, 1985). Schools actively taught and promoted the language, and traditional Chinese materials were soon reintroduced. Taiwanese's lack of its own writing system and the perception that it is a language associated with the low class might have contributed directly to the decision to adopt Chinese Mandarin as the official language of Taiwan in 1946. In addition, it has been suggested that the choice of Mandarin Chinese as the national language was largely based on at least two factors: the urgent desire to facilitate communication between its diverse ethno-linguistic groups, and the need to replace Japanese as the language of education (Tsao, 1999; Young, 1987). Apparently, none of the other Chinese languages spoken in Taiwan, including Hakka, would have been suitable for the status of national language at the time because none had its own independent writing system. Similarly, none of the numerous indigenous languages including Amis, Nataoran, Atayal, Babuza, Bunun, Kanakanabu, Kavalan, Kulon-Pazeh, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saaroa, Saisiyat, Taroko, Thao, Tsou, and Yami had their own writing system. In addition, none of these languages were spoken by a considerable number of people to be worth considering as a national language.