Facts about Taiwan -
The Republic of China (R.O.C.)
Area
The Taiwan area encompasses Taiwan proper, Penghu (the Pescadores), Kinmen (Quemoy), Matsu, Orchid Island, Green Island, and a number of islets.The majority of the people live in Taiwan proper.The capital of Taiwan is Taipei.
Location
Taiwan is located in the middle of a chain of islands in the West Pacific stretching from Japan in the north to the Philippines in the southwest. It lies off the southeastern coast of China and is separated from it by the Taiwan Strait.
Size
Taiwan is 394 kilometers long and 144 kilometers broad at its widest point. It is approximately 36,000 square kilometers (14,000 square miles) and is slightly smaller than Holland.
Population: 22,370,461 people (July 2001).
Ethnic groups
1)Taiwanese - 84% (including the Fukienese and the Hakka; the ratio is 3 to 1)
2)Mainland Chinese (or Mainlanders) - 14% (they moved with the ROC government to Taiwan after Mainland China fell to communist forces in 1949)
3)Aborigines (nine tribes) - 2% (most of them live in the mountains in the eastern areas)
Languages
1)Mandarin – the official language
2)Taiwanese (i.e., Southern Fukienese) – the most common dialect
3)Hakka – spoken by over one fourth of the population
4)Nine indigenous languages (Proto-Austronesian languages) – spoken by the aborigines
Religions: Buddhism and Taoism - 93%, Christianity - 4.5%, and others - 2.5%.
Literacy Rate: 94.66% (in 1999).
Sources: Taiwan Online
The Republic of China Yearbook
CIA – The World Factbook: Taiwan
The Educational System in Taiwan
Schools at Each Level
(School Year 2000-2001)
Kindergarten / Elementary School / Junior High School / Senior High School / Senior Vocational School / Junior College / University & CollegePublic / National / 1,230 / 2,575 / 702 / 152 / 95 / 4 / 49
Private / 1,920 / 25 / 7 / 125 / 93 / 20 / 78
Class Size
(School Year 2000-2001)
Kindergarten / Elementary School / Junior High School / Senior High School / Senior Vocational School / Junior College / University & CollegeNumber of Students per Class / 24.23 / 30.84 / 35.01 / 43.21 / 42.93 / 50.98 / 45.63
*Source: Ministry of Education in Taiwan
Role of the Teacher
-an authoritative figure
-a role model
“The role of the teacher is to serve as a role model, to perfect virtue and assist in the development of talent, to answer questions, and to cultivate his own virtue and learning while encouraging students to do the same.” (Scollon, 1999, p. 20)
Classroom Practices
Teachers
-tend to be more teacher-centered
-tend to give more time on lectures than discussions or activities
-put more emphasis on rote memorization and drills (especially in language learning)
Students
-prefer more structure-oriented lessons
-tend to seek the teacher’s approval and make decisions based on the teacher’s opinion
-tend to expect their teachers to give “correct” answers
-seldom challenge their teachers (i.e., respect for authority)
-less likely to voice their opinions or ask questions in class
-tend to seek conformity and group dependence
-tend to hide their abilities (i.e. to be modest in behavior and speech)
Parental Involvement and Expectations
-value and emphasize children’s academic achievement
-regard education as a way of gaining prestige in one’s socio-economic status
-generally respect and trust teachers and schools
-willing to sacrifice themselves for children’s education
-emphasize children’s development of reading ability
-believe in effort and downplay innate ability
-usually say, “You can do better,” ratter than “You’re the best”
Chinese Language Learning in China vs. in Taiwan
China / TaiwanPhonetic System / Pinyin System (拼音)
e.g. 老师(teacher)
lao shi / Chinese Phonetic System
– Chu-yin (注音)
e.g.
Writing System / SimplifiedCharacters
学(learn), 爱(love), 国(nation) / Traditional Characters
學, 愛, 國
Print Style / Horizontal lines
– from left to right / Vertical lines
– from top to bottom and from right to left
English Language Learning in Taiwan
1) When do children start learning English?
-English has become a required school subject from the 5th grade through the 12th grade since 2000 (it used to be a required subject starting from the first year of junior high school, i.e., the 7th grade). That is, every child learns English for 8 years before going to college.
-In reality, most children learn English at an earlier age in private English language schools. These English language schools provide after-school English classes and weekend classes.
2) How English is taught in the classroom?
-A combination of a communicative syllabus and grammar-translation approaches is used.
-More emphasis is put on the development of reading ability and vocabulary building.
-English is usually taught in a 40- or 50-student large class in public schools.
(In private English language schools the class size is smaller, between 10 and 20 students)
- Memorization, imitation, and repetitive practice are still preferred learning strategies.
-Written tests are more emphasized than oral tests; therefore, accuracy is more emphasized than fluency.
Final Notes on Cross-Cultural Understanding
-Teachers need to be sensitized to their students' cultural backgrounds and prior educational experiences that may be different from those of the dominant society.
-There are no absolute “rights” and “wrongs” in any human behavior and values, but only cultural differences.
-Cultural characteristics do not explain all kinds of behavior or learning strategies.
-All cultures have values and ideals that their members consider true, but their members’ behavior may not always reflect those values. Individual variations always exist.
-No two cultures can be treated as if they were polar opposite.
Selected References
Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (1996). Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in China. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Society and the language classroom, pp. 169-206. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Cortazzi, M. & Jin, L. (1999). Cultural mirrors: Materials and methods in the EFL classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning, pp. 196-220. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Igoa, C. (1995). The inner world of the immigrant child. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Parry, K. (1996). Culture, literacy, and L2 reading. TESOL Quarterly, 30, 665-692.
Scollon, S. (1999). Not to waste words or students: Confucian and Socratic discourse in the tertiary classroom. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in second language teaching and learning, pp. 13-27. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Scollon, R. & Scollon, S. (2001). Intercultural communication (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Wang, M. M., Brislin, R. W., Wang, W., Williams, D., & Chao, J. H. (2000). Turning Bricks into Jade: Critical incidents for mutual understanding among Chinese and Americans. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.
Zhang, S. Y. & Carrasquillo, A. L. (1995). Chinese parents’ influence on academic performance.New York State Association for Bilingual Education Journal, 10, 46-53.
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