Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects
Department
Political Science
Additional Departmental Affiliation
Honors Academy- (Honors Self-Design Major)
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Language policy in Taiwan has been a focus of the government since the days of the Kuomintang (KMT) dictatorship, when languages other than Mandarin were ruthlessly suppressed. After democratization, local languages were allowed again, but soon English became Taiwan’s top language education priority. However, not all Taiwanese agree with the decision to prioritize English. Despite claims that English is important for economic and diplomatic reasons, my survey found that most Taiwanese did not support English education when it threatened local Taiwanese languages. The survey also found that despite a significant amount of debate in academic literature about the role of native English speakers as teachers in foreign classrooms, few Taiwanese have ever had a native English speaker as a teacher. This suggests that despite rhetoric emphasizing the value of foreign English speakers, improving the performance of local English teachers should be prioritized.
Advisor(s) or Committee Chair
Timothy Rich, Ph.D.
Disciplines
Language and Literacy Education | Linguistics | Other Education | Other Linguistics
Recommended Citation
Eliassen, Isabel, "Public Perceptions of Language Education in Taiwan: English in a Multilingual Context" (2021). Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 907.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/907
Included in
Language and Literacy Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Other Linguistics Commons