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      The Globalization of English: Its Impact on English Language Education in the Tertiary Education Sector in Taiwan

      Her, Jia-Huey
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      Her, J.-H. (2007). The Globalization of English: Its Impact on English Language Education in the Tertiary Education Sector in Taiwan (Thesis). The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/2809
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/2809
      Abstract
      The overall agenda for the research reported here grew out of semi-structured

      interviews with senior educational managers from a tertiary educational institution

      in Taiwan. These managers raised a number of issues, including the changing

      profile of tertiary students, the changing nature of English curricula, the

      increasing need for English teaching staff to be adaptable, highly qualified and

      research-active, and the growing pressure on institutions to introduce English

      language proficiency benchmarking. Each of these issues can be related to the

      impact of globalization and, in particular, the impact of the globalization of

      English, on the education sector. Following a critical review of selected literature

      on the impact of globalization on the teaching and learning of English, each of

      these issues, as it affects the tertiary education sector in Taiwan, was explored.

      Analysis of the Taiwanese national curriculum guidelines for schools, strongly

      influenced by academics in the tertiary education sector, revealed a number of

      problems relating to a lack of proficiency benchmarking and a lack of coherence,

      consistency and transparency in some areas. These problems may be associated

      with the initial phase of transition from a grammar-based curriculum to a more

      communicatively-oriented, outcomes-centered one. Problems of a similar type

      were indicated in responses to questions relating to curriculum matters included in

      a questionnaire distributed to a sample of teachers of English in the tertiary sector.

      Among other things revealed by questionnaire responses was the fact that many

      survey participants had received no training in English teaching.

      The results of a C-test (one that was initially used in a major European study)

      taken by a sample of entry-level and exit-level Bachelors degree students

      indicated a wide variation in proficiency, with individual scores differing by as

      much as 64 percentage points in the case of exit-level students. Furthermore, there

      was a difference of almost 10 percentage points between the mean scores of

      students from two different institutions who had majored in English. These results

      indicate some of the difficulties that Taiwan faces in attempting to establish

      graduation proficiency benchmarking.

      -ii-

      C-test participants completed a background questionnaire, the responses

      indicating a generally positive attitude towards English-speaking people, a general

      willingness to use English in situations where there was the option of not doing

      so, and a strong tendency towards instrumental motivation. Although one of the

      factors that appeared to have a positive impact on C-test performance was time

      spent in an English-speaking country, fewer than 18% of respondents had done so.

      Although there appears to be considerable anxiety and uncertainty associated with

      the teaching of English at tertiary level in Taiwan, and some genuine cause for

      concern, there are also many positive indicators of future success. Teachers and

      educational managers are aware of the problems they currently face and appear

      determined to resolve them. Taiwanese academics are increasingly involved in

      language-related research and increasingly prepared to interrogate their own

      practices, and Taiwan, unlike some other countries in Asia, is moving towards

      graduation proficiency benchmarking.
      Date
      2007
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Name
      Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
      Publisher
      The University of Waikato
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