A critique of Taiwan's bilingual education policy through a ROAD-MAPPING of teacher experiences

Bilingual education is spreading throughout the world as an approach for teaching content and language simultaneously. This is particularly true in Taiwan where implementation of bilingual education has begun as directed by the Blueprint for Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030. However...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current issues in language planning 2021-10, Vol.22 (5), p.516-534
Main Authors: Graham, Keith M., Pan, W.-Y., Eslami, Z. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
autoethnography
Bilingual Education
Bilingual teaching materials
Bilingualism
Collaboration
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Cultural Influences
Directives
Education policy
Educational Policy
Elementary School Students
English (Second Language)
English teachers
Foreign Countries
Global Approach
Hiring
Ideology
Language of Instruction
language policy
Language Role
Language Teachers
Language teaching methods
Monolingualism
Native Speakers
primary education
Private Schools
Taiwan
Taiwanese
teacher experiences
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching Experience
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Summary:Bilingual education is spreading throughout the world as an approach for teaching content and language simultaneously. This is particularly true in Taiwan where implementation of bilingual education has begun as directed by the Blueprint for Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030. However, the spread of bilingual education is often coupled with policies influenced by monolingual ideologies. This collaborative autoethnography critically examines the experiences of two teachers, an American and Taiwanese English teacher, teaching in a bilingual elementary program in Taiwan. Guided by the ROADMAPPING Framework, we critically evaluate our experiences with bilingual education in order to provide a critique of the policy directives for bilingual education implementation in Taiwan. Several issues are addressed including the promotion of monolingual classrooms, the balance of content and language in bilingual education, the use of Western curricula and materials, the hiring of native English speaking teachers (NESTs), and the disconnects and effects that result from the importing of Western practices. From this analysis, we suggest that Taiwan should pursue a glocalized, rather than an internationalized, bilingual education in order to fully achieve its goals of becoming a bilingual nation.
ISSN:1466-4208
1747-7506
1747-7506
DOI:10.1080/14664208.2021.1884434