Bilingual lessons from Singapore
By Lin Po-kuan 林柏寬
The Taipei City Government recently announced a new round of junior-high school teacher recruitment for the next academic year. Despite the limited number of openings, the available positions for bilingual teachers in eight subjects was 60, almost the same as for regular teachers, 66.
For example, in music, life technology and information technology, there were openings for regular and bilingual teachers, who would teach in English and Chinese. There were 12 vacancies for bilingual physical education teachers, but how would such teachers help improve students’ physical fitness?
The government has pledged to turn Taiwan into a “bilingual nation” by 2030, hoping to equip students with better international competitiveness by improving their English ability. This is a good policy, but it might help to look at a nearby multilingual country: Singapore.
GSAT flaws show it has outlived its usefulness
By Lin Po-kuan 林柏寬
As expected, after the mathematics portion of the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) was criticized last year for being too easy, the pendulum has swung back, with students calling this year’s exam the most difficult ever.
Some graduates have asked if teachers were trying to get revenge for last year’s complaints, and many students have decided to take the optional Advanced Subjects Test (AST) scheduled for July.
Looking at previous GSATs, the math portion in 2009 was the most difficult, as the average score of the top 1 percent was a mere 89.55 points, the only time that the average dipped below 90 points. More data are needed to determine if this year’s exam was truly the most difficult.