Taiwan Aims To Go 'Bilingual' by 2030 | TaiwanPlus News

Taiwan's government wants to boost the country's English ability by 2030. But views on this "bilingual" policy are divided.
📹 Reporter(s): Howard Chang/John Van Trieste
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[@metalkez]

I teach here in Taiwan and I keep telling students to find a hobby that they like and explore it in English, but then many people dont even have a hobby... so they dont even know what is proper time off and enjoying your hobby, so they just tell me they read 1 or 2 hours a week... hahahaha If keep this way 2070 they might see some results...

[@martinfiedler4317]

Yes. How is one supposed to entertain something like a "hobby", when one spends virtually all "free time" either in cram schools or working overtime...

[@metalkez]

We quit the job, we put pressure on the government to not let companies exploit people, we vote for the right people, in general we do something about it... I had a life like that in my country, now I dont...@@martinfiedler4317

[@cfromnowhere]

While I am all for better English proficiency in a non-English speaking country because of English's importance as the lingua franca of many fields, I seriously doubt the practicality of this policy. "Stress-free multilingualism" is possible but with a crucial requirement: cultural exposure. To this day, all non-English speaking countries with high English proficiency either have geographical proximity to the UK, the OG English-speaking country (e.g. Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Nordic countries) or are former British colonies (e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, Kenya, South Africa, India). In the second situation, the high English proficiency is actually a legacy of British colonialism and often results in uncommon varieties of English and English-based creole languages (Google yourself for what this term means). Taiwan is not a former British colony (it was a Japanese one!) so there are no cultural backgrounds to play with. Even if Taiwan tries the way Dutch people do it, broadcast English films & TV series subtitled rather than dubbed unless you use some accessibility features for the blind, start English lessons early in compulsory education, etc. People still don't have that advantage of literally have Britain at your doorstep, looking similar to Britons (for most people), and speaking a language that is linguistically similar to English... The only way to achieve high proficiency in English without such cultural exposure is the hard way, explict instructions. You have to learn grammar. You have to use flashcards, but don't remember words for the sake of remembering them, use them instead. There is also the question of how proficient the government wants an average citizen to be. If C1-C2 (CEFR level) is unrealistic for most, how proficient is enough? The English lessons showed in the video also frustrated me. It seems that they are teaching Taiwanese content (geograhy? culture?) in English. The only place for such lessons is university foreign language majors in which students are expected to be the super-advanced learners. Before that, the topics should either be universal (e.g. school life) or focus on culture of major English-speaking countries. You are learning their language and you have to follow their way first.

[@martinfiedler4317]

@@cfromnowhere Regarding: " Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Nordic countries" All of these countries speak Germanic languages - thus languages highly similar to ... English. In Belgium, the romance language France is also widespread in the southern parts. French and English have a large overlap in vocabulary, due to the Norman invasion of England in the 11th century. So, it has nothing to do with geographical but with linguistic "closeness" that people there are more proficient in English.

[@Leyichen-pe2wg]

Totally agree that most Chinese/Taiwanese people don't seem to have hobbies, as indicated by their lack of hobby shops, their CBD districts seem to only consist of malls for clothes, bakeries, and other eateries, which is great for a foodie but awful for everyone else who is just not THAT into food. However, I doubt that English learning can be achieved by hobbies alone such as watching movies and playing games in your targeted language, since I've already tried these methods of learning a third language. And yes while you can learn a few words there and then, the efficiency of this method is so low, I'd rather just get a former education on it, since most of what I've remembered and retained of my third language is from formal education, not from playing games. Also, 1-2 hrs/week of studying in a new language is a pretty short amount of time being indulged in the language compared to native speakers, and if they are reading the wrong things, that makes it even longer for them to be proficient in their targeted language. So I don't think it's the reading method that is wrong, just that they are not spending enough time on it.

[@roxanec6803]

It's a good strategy to ensure Taiwan is not isolated in the international stage. But for having met a lot of Taiwanese myself, most of them are not comfortable at all when it comes to speaking. It's just so hard when your native language does not allow you to find escapes or improvise, every word has to be learnt by heart. Also, speaking Mandarin is certainly a fundamental part of the Taiwanese culture, but I'm not sure that the language would be at the danger of becoming obsolete like Dutch, simply because it has 1.3B speakers just across the Taiwan strait... In any case, Taiwanese people have to carry heavy responsibilities from a young age given the difficult geopolitical situation of their country, and their courage is commendable!

[@1chibanKasuga]

Dutch language obsolete is something i never heard, its seems fake because i live in Belgium and we speak Dutch

[@roxanec6803]

@@1chibanKasuga The issue with Dutch does not seem related to everyday common language but specifically to higher education. Academic lexicon and specialised vocabulary in various scientific fields are no longer used, and thereby declining. But if Dutch universities are highly internationalised, maybe it is indeed different in Belgium?

[@gtjhuang]

@@1chibanKasugaIf we lose Dutch, so what. Too many languages in the world.

[@planetarysolidarity]

In the absolute worst-case scenario, Dutch would become a dialect of English - not die out. The way to reduce the stress in language acquisition is to focus testing on listening and reading. Teachers should be able to answer grammar questions, but testing students on grammar just adds to stress for most of them. 🇹🇼

[@ianmarks8559]

As a native English speaking German teacher I think Bilingual Education is valuable, but not at the expense of a person's native language. Also, for a while English has been the world's lingua franca and I don't think that's entirely bad, however I think that additional language education needs to be improved in English speaking countries because as native English speakers we get the message or idea that we don't need to learn a second or additional language, but it's highly important, regardless of the language you learn, in order to keep language and culture alive because every language has value.

[@Pfyzer]

Oh most definitely, it lowers risk of dementia... I mean if u forget a word in your Native language u got the other lang to compensate

[@VersusThem]

The so called "distinguished professor" Liao Hsien Hao from this video peddles outdated unscientific facts (now deemed as myths) about "language stunting" due to bilingualism, it's not real. The "at the expense of" part is just not supported by facts, science shows bilingualism positives faaaar outweight the "downsides". And on the social side, the acquisition of a new language is not a threat to the native's language, that would be like implying that having a few extra Spanish classes a week is a threat to the nation's culture, like the amazing The Onion skit "Patriotic Teen Fails Spanish".

[@ianmarks8559]

@@VersusThem I agree with your statement, however I'm more so speaking about the global impact of English and how colonization has resulted in the widespread use of English. One language dies approximately every two weeks and I think that's a great loss to the diversity in our world.

[@jacqueslee2592]

English is a pidgin language that developed as a bastardization of romance and germanic languages. It is a language of Anglo imperialism. English is a simple language, hence why it is a global language. However, Americans and Anglos have a supercilious mentality and arrogantly believe that all languages are below English and that English is a complex language due to the fact that pronunciation as native may be difficult as a result of Anglos being toxic to people who are learning English. There is no standard English, but Americans tend to believe that their English is the correct English. It is more of Asians idealizing anything Anglo due to media.

[@revilokid]

⁠​⁠@@jacqueslee2592woah bro calm down. I would say English is an easy to learn hard to master language. Compare to other European ones where a lot more time has to be spent to be “decent”at it. As for pronunciation I don’t know personally if I get what you’re saying I don’t care what someone sounds like.

[@shenowvlok7436]

He's completely right about the Netherlands. There's too much English in universities here. The level of Dutch has been dropping significantly under native speakers.

[@dg-hughes]

My ancestors came from Ireland they left in the 1870s and went to Canada. It's hard to keep your culture and a feeling of who your ancestors are if you don't speak the language. Irish is disappearing and not an easy language to learn. The First Nations/Native America people here too are losing their languages. Language is a power anchor to who you are.

[@edwardyoon6296]

I have an extended family living in the Netherlands as an expatriate for decades and they tell me they never have to use Dutch there as everyone is great at English and they like using it themselves as well (they take pride in it).

[@RaveMasterr]

Same in Philippines. Most people speaks and writes in English and native language become like a side language, lol.

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

@@RaveMasterr they're not side languages. it depends on demographics in the philippines. english is mostly just used by upper middle class and upper class filipinos for colloquial purposes. most other filipinos of lower classes still treat local languages as their casual speech and have english just as a second language they sometimes cant find words to be comfortable with. that's why mixed taglish or bislish or etc are the popular advertisement language choice. english serves a more formal or highly educated dimension in life in the philippines. countries just need to maintain the proper roles in life for each language they have per region so languages do not wither away from disuse.

[@stevens1041]

Thats sad to hear. Dutch has an impressive history. I hope more people speak, read and write in Dutch.

[@saltag]

And of course the preservation of local languages will be even further sidelined...

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

@codybagelstein2235I don’t think you fully understand….

[@dramotarker1352]

It really is sad, how people thousands of years ago has always cared more about communication than the preservation of languages. As a result, the amount of people that the average person can communicate with might be ever increasing, but at the inexcusable cost of disregarding the previous languages that people once used, simply because they no longer "further the degree of communication with others", as if that was even a goal worth seeking the first place. Even to this day, certain people and their foolish ambitions sadly haven't died down. There are many people who strive for global communication, for every single person in the word to understand one another. It seems like a noble goal at first, until you realize it's at the cost of not preserving the current languages of our time. They fail to realize the inherent beauty of language, that lies in the exclusive culture and community created by having a mode of communication that only the in-group understands. Instead, they think the purpose of language is communication, like so many ignorant people have done before them. If they continue, their current languages well be gone as well, just like the languages that came before. But luckily, people are starting to wisen up. I'm happy to see so many of my people in this comment section, taking a stance against these dangerous idiots who prioritize communication over the true beauties of language. I hope we manage to stop them before it's too late, and manage to preserve our languages just as they are, forever unchanging, lest they join the ranks of dead, past languages.

[@Redlights111]

I'm bilingual from Finland and I'm definately losing my language due to lack of using my native language. It is valid concern. I'm also learning my 4th language and knowing many languages can mess with my head when talking. I might remember word in one language while trying to speak another. I think in multiple languages too. I sometimes have tought in all 4 languages simultaniously.

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

the trick is to assign roles in life for each language you know and plan to mainly use. in my country, the languages have a good balance for harmony. english is mostly used for international, formal, national lingua franca means, while local languages are used nationally, regionally, or with family and relatives or with certain subculture one is a part of. one should not give too much primacy to a lot of foreign languages and just give it attention for practical purposes. just maintain the traditional roles of the main languages so they do not drop out of mainstream use at least in each community or family.

[@deaththekid3998]

That fairly normal, I’m Italian and I use my own language plenty, but sometimes the same thing also happens to me 😅

[@p4nd4b01]

I think it is a good thing, finnish is overcomlicated, irregular and archaic.

[@Redlights111]

@@p4nd4b01 I live in finland tho so I need it sometimes.

[@rolandalcid7127]

lnteresting to know what reactions could be happening in a multiligualist while learning several different languages at the same time.

[@abbyc.4215]

As a native English-speaking Spanish teacher in the US, this is my dream for America (USA). Unfortunately, many Americans (typically older among other things) view learning a second language as unpatriotic, and it instills a fear causing them to believe that something will be taken away from them and that they will become inferior. I tried getting a Seal of Biliteracy program started at my school and while the non-support was no surprise from the parents considering that their children were barely passing their English classes, receiving zero support from the administrators was a huge shocker. Students perform so horribly in their state tested subjects that requests outside of English, math, science, and social studies get quickly rejected and there is never any funding. Education policy, here I come!

[@yucol5661]

Yeah. It’s hard to aim high when the bare needs are not being met

[@Novusod]

You pretty much answered your own question. If the schools are failing to educate students in English, math, and science then what good will adding bilingual education do. Children have to learn to walk before they can run.

[@Biga101011]

Right now English is the closest we have in the world to a lingua franca. Having that as one of the primary languages is very useful. If that is the primary language then French, Mandarin and Spanish are all good candidates for a second language but none are as universally useful. In the US we have close ties to countries that speak all three, so it becomes really hard to choose what to adopt at any sort of a policy level.

[@SteveSmith-os5bs]

When I was a kid I a lot of problems with the mechanics of English, it was by learning Spanish that helped understand the mechanics of language, I had a lot of learning disabilities growing so when I was in grammar school I never could grasp the difference between verbs, adverbs, adjectives etc. studying Spanish helped me make sense of my first language english. Later in life I worked in law enforcement working as a Parole Officer I was in a lot situations where I had conduct investigations, interviews in Spanish. On the downside since many coworkers did not speak Spanish I would get called on to do a lot of extra work.

[@amazingamx1255]

As a Pashto speaker I find this unfair. How come Spanish should get this special treatment? Why not Pashto? If you want to live in America learn English. Only that is fair. If you wouldnt like Pashto forced onto Mexicans, dont force English onto Americans

[@Red-Feather]

Go bilingual! I speak 4 languages. It’s good for the brain, not only the economy.

[@guanxiedutv8620]

Good luck. We support the goal.

[@Soooooooooooonicable]

I can understand the reasoning behind these countries adopting english, as it has arguably become the international language at this point. On a personal level, your chances of nabbing a high-paying job at a major company increases significantly if you're able to bypass the international language barrier.

[@ReviveHF]

In Malaysia, Tamil and Chinese schools were done in trilingual approach.

[@Xiao-s6d]

Malaysia is a good country 🇮🇳❤🇲🇾

[@lyhthegreat]

and this is why malaysia is ranked no 25 in english proficiency while the Philippines is at no 20 and Singapore is at number 2.

[@ephsan1075]

I'm from the Philippines and we have mastered the English language already, we are one of the best English Speaking countries in Asia(big thanks to the Americans who colonized us in the past though). If some Asians really want to master a second language like English, you don't need to force it in school, much better if you immerse the citizens in their everyday life with that second language because a language can only be learned through unconscious ways like if they hear it often, or they read it and spoke it everyday. Here in the Philippines, everything is in English from signs, Titles, movies, shows, malls, schools, TV, almost everything. we can have a decent conversation with anyone and foreigners because we are used to it everyday. Additional to that: I think Taiwan wants to gain the benefits of many investors from western companies and put up out-processing companies in their countries like here in the Philippines because indeed, it is really a big money.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

It really depends but usually that’s the case. In Sweden I’d say they speak English with hardly any accent (Filipinos have a very think Fillipino accent, same with Indian) and they speak perfect English but their movies, their books, their signs are all in Swedish.

[@SmartGuy213]

and thanks to that, your culture is almost non-existent. It is a terrible path

[@dramotarker1352]

The high English proficiency of Swedes and the rest of Scandinavia is indeed the product of immersion of the English language. But the other dude was wrong to think it had to be everyday items like signs. You say their movies and books are Swedish, and it's true, the native ones usually are. But luckily, like the rest of Scandinavia, the amount of Swedish speakers is relatively low. As a result, the market for producing and translating entertainment to Swedish is quite low. The result is people starved of more choice in the entertainment they consume, seeking out entertainment in other langauges - where the primary language is English. And it's not exclusive to entertainment, it happens to other things as well like information. If a Swede only looked for Swedish stuff on the internet, they simply wouldn't have a lot to choose from. That's when they come across videos like this one, where they practise listening skills. Look through the comments, practising their reading skills. And maybe even add to the comment section themselves, practising their writing skills. And it's a self-reinforcing feedback loop too. As people's proficiency in English improves because of their consumption of English products, the market for producing and translating products to English increase. So not only can Swedes enjoy content from natively English-speaking countries, they can also enjoy translated content from the rest of Scandinavia, from France, even from across the entire world from Japan. If Taiwan wants to improve their English proficiency, the answer is oddly enough just to get some hobbies to enjoy in English.

[@felipee.5075]

As a Portuguese-speaking English teacher, and having taught English for a few years now, I have come to the realization that shoving English down students' throat just like it's done with any other subject is but counterproductive. Students will hardly ever have any regard for the language if it's being offered as an obstacle they need to get past in order to achieve a greater, often uninteresting, goal (e.g. to pass exams or even to accomplish a simple non-English-related task in a bilingual class). It has to be brought closer to students as if unintentionally, but still provokingly. I'm a strong believer that to a great extent this soul-consuming schooling system is to blame. Most of my students are overwhelmed with school and extracurricular activities that their parents sign them up for (in hopes they'll become well-rounded, competitive beings in the market) and so English is just one more thing they need to get through. And even if they enjoy it, they have little to no drive to get themselves immersed in engrossing daily activities that will involve the language. Most of them just want to do whatever in their free time because anything that resembles studying just instantly turns them off, and that's because their relationship with learning couldn't have been more negatively affected. So it's only natural that they will push away learning for the sake of learning.

[@1chibanKasuga]

Why Philippines is still so poor if its big money? And why arw you thanking colonisation your ancestors would be ashamed of you

[@DemPilafian]

I feel bad for only being able to speak English. Despite my guilt, the hard cold truth is that English is the language of trade and science. I created an open source software project and designed it from the beginning to be fully internationalize. Volunteers from around the world translated the project into a dozen different languages. However, internally the software itself and the developer documentation was in English. All popular computer languages (JavaScript, Python, Java, C, etc.) use English commands and keywords.

[@ActiveAussie2024]

To learn Chinese for example, is not hard. Only the pronunciation is difficult. Took me three years to learn, but I was living in HK and China. If you really want to learn a foreign language you need to immerse yourself in the language country of origin.

[@koshobai]

Guilt? Don't waste your energy. Surely it's the multilinguals who feel sorry for you (no offense!)

[@DemPilafian]

@@ActiveAussie2024 Sadly, I'm too lazy to learn another language. I'm more into eating. I do love the food scene in HK. Fortunately, I live in the SF Bay Area, and we have AWESOME Burmese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese (my favorite), Korean, Japanese, and Indian restaurants. It doesn't matter how expensive it gets, I simply cannot move out of the Bay Area.

[@p4nd4b01]

English speaking people have made it the lingua franca, the language of trade and science, you better be proud rather than feeling bad :)

[@DemPilafian]

@@p4nd4b01 C'est la vie!

[@guillaumeprince7332]

It’s true that English isn’t much spoken in China but it’s alright, Chinese is a beautiful language

[@wolong925]

I'd even say there are ideas, feelings, and even full-on discussions that just comes more naturally to Chinese than English. I used to believe that I almost had to switch personalities every time I switched languages. Now, I've found that there are insights in Chinese culture that just cannot be translated into English, let alone to a Western individual.

[@guillaumeprince7332]

@@wolong925 personally I think Chinese is more convenient and more flexible language than English so looking at English as the « future » is actually funny because Chinese is the future. English is the present international language just like French was in the past so all of this is just geopolitical just like how the province of Taiwan allies with the west rather than its own country. Anyway, us simple people can’t change it but the world will tell us.

[@ActiveAussie2024]

I speak Chinese, although I don't really like China, I lived and worked there for quite a while. I d consider Taiwan for living if an invasion threat were to dissipate. Chinese actually is a convenient language, it's a more to the point type language. Sometimes I even prefer to send and email or text message to Chinese people in pinyin instead of English. If most Taiwanese could speak English though that would be a big advantage to them. For example, most people in Thailand, China, South Korea, Japan, they can't speak English outside of the biggest cities and tourist areas.

[@TESTTER-sd8yv]

Many paid comments here, to force tw to be coloni.ed by that country,bcause all brain of human developmnt is CHINESE but in CONFUCIUS, now that country wants to force tw to be in their REal LIGIONnaire🤣.when tw convert into that cross, tw brain also same as other cross later, bcause cross real ligion naires changes mentality to be more ignorant

[@lyhthegreat]

stay away from east asian countries man(japan,china, taiwan,korea) these places will work you to the bone and pay you peanuts.@@ActiveAussie2024

[@junebro7586]

When you choose teachers based on their nationality (or exoticness), the bilingual target will still be faraway.

[@stevenzheng5459]

3:34 Yeah, what the hell is this educational policy?

[@nikki-diary]

I hope the government will stop suppressing our indigenous languages!!!

[@aiocafea]

yeah reading 'bilingual' as implying the native language is Mandarin and a second language would be English is somewhat disheartening many are already making an effort to be bilingual so they can fit into society and the government does the opposite of appreciating it once again ignoring this fact by describing investments into foreign language-learning as becoming 'bilingual'

[@newmapper5939]

​@@aiocafeamandarin is the simplified Chinese made the Prc and Taiwan macau and Hong Kong speak Cantonese the actual chinese

[@moqyy]

​@@newmapper5939??? Simplified/Traditional Chinese (or CHARACTERS) is a simplification of the WRITING and has nothing to do with the spoken language. And also, Taiwan don't even speak Cantonese at all. (you seem to confuse traditional characters = cantonese)

[@aiocafea]

@@moqyy i think you fed a troll my friend, be calm, there are people everywhere willing to say nonsense for a tiny crumb of attention

[@yabibiin]

What are you talking about

[@yen-yilin8655]

As a Taiwanese studied, worked, and living in Canada where I finally feel way more comfortable to speak English everyday, I think it is not possible to make Taiwan become a bilingual country by school's English lessons.

[@rinsolaris2284]

Not Tawainese (I'm Filipino), but I agree. It isn't impossible, just very difficult to do. You'd essentially be forcing Taiwanese to "think" differently because language acquisition does that. If you look at the Asian countries with the highest English scores, you'd notice one thing in common- they were former colonies of Anglo nations. Singapore and Malaysia were former British colonies, and the Philippines was a former American territory. All three were forced by colonizers to "think and act" differently and through the years, it slowly Anglo-ized our cultures.

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

do not worry, changes to society are best done gradually. it will not change suddenly automatically. english can slowly build its grasp in taiwan's practical purposes for it. taiwan should see the example of singapore, philippines, malaysia, and this time, dont be like japan in terms of english where they are bad at it because they dont practically use it as much.

[@lyhthegreat]

yeah just practicing english during english lessons is not enough, immersion is the key.

[@magnetospin]

You can't properly learn a language in school. You need an immersion environment for it.

[@martinfiedler4317]

3:50 "with gripping stories and a lot of free reading, stress-free bilingualism is [...] possible" While one does not need to dedicate one's life to the study of language acquisition to realize that, it is good that his expertise can support this obvious truth!

[@earlysda]

But what if students hate to read?

[@cadiazm]

A very small percentage of students will choose to read for leisure, you can pack the libraries with "good" books, most students will still use the libraries to do homework and then browse internet. Not to read.

[@martinfiedler4317]

@@earlysda Then, obviously, they would not benefit from it. But many students would hate it, if they had the time and the leisure to explore it free of stress? My little boy is not yet school age and already tries to read with great interest...

[@earlysda]

@@martinfiedler4317Yes, martin, sadly, most people under age about 30 in the world will not crack a book open if they aren't forced to. I've travelled to many countries, and spend a lot of time with kids, and basically everyone is just doing stuff online (not much reading either) now. They won't even go outside to play. . I asked 7 junior high school students what kind of books they like to read, and 5 of them said they don't read anything other than textbooks, and 2 said they read comic books.

[@martinfiedler4317]

@@earlysda That is indeed sad. Maybe I am getting old, but it reinforces my slight feeling that modern technology and globalization is doing more harm than good..

[@alileevil]

I think everyone should pause at 3:06 lol.

[@ProximaCentauri88]

This is a good policy however Taiwan has another language issue that isn't still solved which is the rapidly dwindling number of first language speakers of Austronesian languages of Taiwan which had been there before the arrival of Chinese.

[@lyhthegreat]

many young taiwanese can't even speak minan now lol....so you can expect the situation with the aborigines to be even worse..

[@simonlau7652]

Its better to promote bilingual education but not entirely

[@TESTTER-sd8yv]

Better not , if it is west.no use

[@thailux6494]

This is great for the sake of learning, but I don't think it's at all necessary economically. Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, etc. Neither is seen as a beacon of English proficiency, yet all are rich developed economies.

[@EliyahuShual]

Congratulations. English is becoming the one world language.

[@davidmella1174]

Far from it lol

[@I_am_Raziel]

English is very useful. The will profit their whole life.

[@lyhthegreat]

Singapore is the number 1 country in terms of english fluency in asia because there is a *NEED* to speak a common language in singapore in order for the 3 main races to communicate amongst each other(malay,indian and chinese)..hence all of the classes in schools are conducted in english and only english except for mother tongue classes..for taiwan, i don't see how it will be able to reach singapore's level unless it is willing to ditch mandarin and follow what singapore does and use english as the language of instruction in schools and workplaces..otherwise, it's gonna just another japan...

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

Another comment claims that Philippines have the best English in Asia, which is it?

[@lyhthegreat]

use google my brother and you'll be enlightened..@@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN

[@mythrin]

⁠@@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYNIts definitely Singapore. While filipinos are very proficient in English, they speak with a lot of local influence and informality. Singaporeans are incredibly well versed in their main languages (Mandarin, English, Malay, and sometimes Tamil) to a professional level.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

I almost must point out in the OP is that there is no “3 main races” in Singapore. All that was mentioned is part of one race. Chinese, Malaysian, Indian, is all under the “Asian race”. That’s 3 different ethnicities/ nationalities. 3 different races would like someone from Germany, India, Somalia.

[@sodakk17]

​@@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYNThere is no such thing as "Asian race".

[@leejustin9329]

The issue with Taiwan is the sluggishness of its economy rather than language. Language is just one factor to consider when it comes to expansion in the perspective of MNC. Profitability of the market still comes first. A lot of countries can still do well without a strong English background and vice versa.

[@Blaze6432]

Almost every major economy on the world teaches English in its schools as either a compulsory subject or a highly demanded/reccomended one

[@leejustin9329]

@@Blaze6432 English is a mandatory subject in Taiwan since primary school - it has enough education. What they are pursuing is turning every subject other than Chinese into English teaching. This might not worth the cost as it doesn’t mean MNC will expand to Taiwan. Spending the resources to hone the technical capability of students will be a better path.

[@theblumarc]

@@Blaze6432 It doesn't necessarily mean that people in these countries can actually speak English. It really depends on the approach their education had and how they studied or just used English by themselves

[@frakorS]

​@@Blaze6432Yeah but then you have France being the worst country in Europe at speaking English only above Ukraine and Armenia (Armenia is in Europe... right?) Brazil being the worst in South America only above Colombia and Ecuador. China and Japan being below everyone in Europe and South America, and even below everyone in Asia except Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. It's hard to establish that there's a correlation between English proficiency and economic growth with this data. Source: EF English proficiency Index.

[@lingo-phile]

Taiwan is doing much better than mainland China right now though, largely in part due to its international connections.

[@veronicarodriguez8094]

WOW!!

[@DEEPWEB-.-]

As a korean who's been learning English for the past 4 years myself,(Public schools English education doesn't teach you how to speak fluently) I'd just like to point out that the best way to learn a language as fast as possible is to throw out all the textbooks and have students engage in as many conversations as they can in the aimed language, looking at texts off of books and just mindlessly reading along the texts wouldn't get them anywhere, they gotta start getting used to thinking and feeling in the language and encourage them to entirely switch up into life that's surrounded by English contexts since you have to learn it in context, Context really matters in English language i'd say

[@panama-canada]

Good goal. Like Singapore.

[@JosephSolisAlcaydeAlberici]

If Taiwan wants to make English as one of the official languages, then require all official government correspondences to be in English and require all Taiwanese elected officials and civil servants to be proficient in English (B2 level). This is how the Philippines was able to make English a widely spoken language. It is actually a good move for Taiwan to distance itself from China, linguistically speaking. The Philippines, on the other hand, should reinstate Spanish as one of its official languages as well.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

Most Fillipinos never spoke Spanish, less than 1%, might as well onstage Japanese as well since they came over.

[@SmartGuy213]

you're not the brightest person

[@gravityissues5210]

And the reason the Philippines should do this is, why now? As the other poster noted, the Spanish cared so little about the Philippines and the people who lived there, they didn’t even bother to teach them their language. So you’re not resurrecting some great tradition. Meanwhile, being fluent in English is a decidedly competitive economic advantage for them.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

@@gravityissues5210 sadly some Fillipinos need to look to foreign power to feel a sense of pride. Spanish was never a widely spoken language there that’s why English replaced it so easily. But after widespread of Spanish in Latin America and their uniformed “Latino/ Hispanic” culture, the Fillipinos want to join in with the reasoning that they were once occupied by the Spanish. It’s quite sad as no one, and I MEAN NO ONE from the Hispanosphere considers Phillipnes as part of them. Spain and Spaniards at least recognize Latin America but it seems like Fillipinos will try and do anything to grasp on to that part when clearly they aren’t.

[@JosephSolisAlcaydeAlberici]

@@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN because we Filipinos don't have standardized indigenous cultural identity that we have warring ethnolinguistic groups (Tagalogs and Bisayans) which language should become the national language, and there are some of us who are Muslims (Moros) who don't consider Filipinos at all because they weren't conquered and influenced by the Spaniards. Bringing back Spanish as one of the lingua franca in the Philippines will level the playing field by putting every Filipinos from different ethnolinguistic groups to study Spanish in schools as a second language.

[@chianchen776]

It’s such a bullshit policy tbh, I have absolutely no hope about it. Look at those textbooks, they are signs of corruption, at the end of my high school (3 years) me and my friends from different schools threw away approximately 90 kilograms of books on average, and probably 80% of them are unused, and this purchase (the whole set of books) is mandatory. Before that is the design of lectures, boring corny content, hideous visual design and so on. If you live in Taiwan, go to the street in front of central Taipei station after 5pm on weekdays, see how overwhelmingly many lines of students for their English cram school hour. Those business makes no difference to students when they’re confronted with reading actual materials written in English, or speak to a person. On top of all these, there are so many layers of dog shits in the system that weigh on students, they simply have no hope in themselves and have no spirit to cultivate their bilingualism. I myself had no environment or any policies to help me learning English, heck my family never spent a dim on my English education (other than taking SAT, which I prepped by myself); the only thing that stood out is my understanding parents that never sent me to cram school, and never once stressed on my academic performance (now I study mathematical physics in Northern Europe). Even though I’d probably vote for Lai, this and the extension of military service period instead of quality (our military conscription is painfully ineffective and meaningless) makes no much sense. It’s all burdening on the students in a counter productive way.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

Why I mean you wrote a lengthy paragraph in English, surely it’s better than America teaching Chinese? Lol

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

lol philippines, malaysia, india are doing completely alright being bilingual english speakers. dont fear that your other languages will go away. different languages just serve different dimensions in life. english serves as an international global lingua franca or even a national lingua franca as well, while other languages can stay for colloquial and family purposes or regional lingua franca purposes. why be afraid of mandarin withering away when they choose to do this in the first place? funny they didnt mention about taiwanese hokkien, hakka, and of course the native austronesian languages...

[@yijuli5623]

It will be difficult to build a bilingual system. People who can speak English in Taiwan is around 40% but people who actually speak English in daily life is less than 5%. And I really do not know how would the government force them to speak English in daily life? Even Hongkong could not build a bilingual system.

[@valorzinski7423]

No need to force anyone, just encourage them to play video games in English servers and talk to people via VOIP

[@artugert]

Where did you get those percentages from? From personal observation, I would’ve guessed much lower.

[@yijuli5623]

@@artugert Not an official data. I saw it from a local newspaper couple years ago

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

oh how did we do it in singapore, philippines, malaysia? the organic natural learning is to engage with english media. the english speaking internet is the first step. dealing with english speaking foreign tourists, businessmen, exchange students is another. watch english movies, tv shows with no subtitles or dub. you can practice english reading skills as well from watching let's say anime with english subtitles. all these, we do not need historical colonizer to be there. many european countries learned english that way by their own choice. do not be harsh on yourself if your english is bad, trying is best, eventually, with enough exposure, english will be very normal to anyone.

[@valorzinski7423]

@@xXxSkyViperxXx singapore and Malaysia were British colonies, the Philippines is the one and only officially recognized former US colony Kinda different when there were people forcing them to learn English at gunpoint

[@hyperiondragon]

I wish there was something national like this for the USA. In any language, preferably in both Spanish (PR Spanish) AND Chinese (mandarin and Cantonese).

[@FrantaPo-bc5mu]

Aim for energy independence first!!

[@jebbo-c1l]

Chinese is hardly a language at risk of extinction 😅 More bilingual Taiwanese will open opportunities for its citizens

[@Thomas-Bradley]

Hopefully it will be like Singapore where the residents can speak both in Mandarin and English.

[@lyhthegreat]

nah, young singaporeans are pretty bad when it comes to speaking mandarin, if you are talking about reading and writing then it's even worse and there's plenty of them who cannot speak or understand their own dialects anymore, which is their true mother tongue...bilingualism ain't easy to achieve for a country imo..

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

@@lyhthegreat​​⁠that all comes down to which language flows better and has the biggest vocabulary. I speak 4 languages but my mind mostly goes to English as it flows quite well and has vocabulary words not found in other languages. Naturally that’s what the mind will do.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

@@lyhthegreat​​⁠I speak Spanish, Chinese, English, and Tamil but my mind almost always goes to English. I’d say I am most comfortable speaking in English and then Spanish, Spanish is a very close runner up to English while Chinese is very simple, it’s almost like words are missing, things are missing in the Chinese language when compared to English and Spanish.

[@BuzzSargent]

Interesting show today 😸

[@THB1945]

The major reason for the lack of foreign interest in Taiwan is national security which you know where the concern is from. Making the people talk English just won't help.

[@kevinfox6220]

As an American living in Taipei, it's a challenge to find people willing to speak English at stores, banks, the post office, the train station. Those who try actually speak quite well, but seem think it is not good enough. Some work places that say they are bilingual have names of services in English, but all the content is in Chinese, such as in apps, websites, and payment services. As a foreigner, I need to learn more Chinese. The bilingual push will improve when conversation and content can be in multiple languages.

[@liebfraumilch3518]

This is a good start and just keep going!! More than 70 years ago, before end of WW2, Taiwanese spoke Japanese and Taiwanese, no one spoke Mandarin. But through education policy, now every Taiwanese can speak Mandarin, some even can not speak Taiwanese!

[@figulapt3784]

There is no such thing as Taiwenese language though. Unless you are talking about indigenous Austronesian languages in taiwan

[@alan85]

@@figulapt3784 "Taiwanese" is short for "Taiwanese Hokkien" which is the version of Hokkien spoken in Taiwan.

[@figulapt3784]

@@alan85 ahh i didnt know that

[@quasistarsupernova]

@@figulapt3784 why did you state this as a fact when you clearly don't know 🗿

[@fernr9496]

Omg! So true!!! I wonder why they spoke Japanese before the end of WW2, though. Hopefully it wasn’t because of imperialism xD

[@eb.3764]

"bilingual" why not trilingual in their other populous language, Taiwanese Hokkien

[@cs0312000]

There are many voices in our community. We think school education should use our national language to teach students.

[@TESTTER-sd8yv]

@@cs0312000 why learnn english and english speaking is bankruot full of gsng rapist.

[@uuclmusic2711]

I came here thinking they were going to require everyone to learn Taiwanese…. Not Mandarin

[@yanglee1404]

Similar to Hong Kong style is more preferable. Singapore style is undesirable. It's not necessary to boost up English this way. Children have to grasp the native language first prior to master English. Similar to Hong Kong style is more preferable.

[@MultiJustindavis]

They feel stressed out? Seems they take delight in the process ?!?

[@tychan4333]

This is just a dream for them.

[@hardwalker95]

better than reading is watching tv series and movies in a foreign language. It trains the ear and you don't feel like you're working.

[@nedthumberland]

Their current education system makes it almost impossible to do so.

[@ralphlong8371]

English teacher here in Taiwan. Not going to work sadly as the focus on 'education' is getting a good test score. I teach 3 Grades, 4, 5 and 6. I see my Grade 5's and 6's once a week for 40 minutes, my Grade 4's once a month. Next year my principal has decided to remove all English Rooms from the school and so we have to go to the home room of each class and teach in a setup that hinders teaching. I will see my Grade 4's twice a semester. What a waste. When I ask for more time with my students to teach them in a more innovative way, that is, not being bound to the textbook, I am met with stern resistance as they say we won't have enough time to teach the textbook and that will affect their final scores. Result: students all get A+ even though they can't string two words together. It's all about appearances. Everyone gets a good score, happy parents, happy teachers (except me) and happy principal. My co-teachers are wonderful, good at English BUT we are hamstrung by a results orientated system. I have to fight daily to get them to stop translating every word I utter. I know too, that in their classes that they conduct without me, precious little English is spoken, all instructions are given in Chinese. For this to succeed we need more than 1 foreign teacher per school but that isn't going to happen as Taiwan doesn't have the money to do it as they have to spend too much on defending this beautiful country from that lunatic Xi. How sad.

[@marcellomancini6646]

I'm confused... don't most Taiwanese speak both Mandarin and Hokkien or Hakka or an Aboriginal language?

[@TESTTER-sd8yv]

This happens to singapore, too. In1980? After meeting with west politicians,if i m not wrong, Lee Kuan Yew started English program, REASON SAME AS TW, GLOBAL TRADING,ETC. AFTER THAT,many x tian priest/ something like that coming. but they already planned (since their b1ble exists , colonized while, building many x.tian univ/school. Brainwashing youth Chinese there) so it is easy to make them x.tian. See it, singapore more and more become third country mentality because they are NOT /MANY NOT in Confucius Tao anymore. They oppress suppress insult non ×.t1an now. Actually anywhere in RICH SE ASIA but Thai saves now (the newPM not u$4 allies). I feel heartbreaking, too.Chinese the creator of Confucius, would it be the k1ller of Confucs, also,?

[@aiocafea]

yeah imagine going to indonesia and branding an english-language program as them 'becoming bilingual' it's good to support learning an international language but i fear this will simply encourage the government to ignore the native languages of Taiwan even further

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

sadly, there are certain parts of taiwan where the Gen X, Y, Z only know Mandarin and no longer Hokkien nor Hakka. I heard it is usually just boomers and silent gen elderlies who know about it, but younger generations only know a little or none, so it's ridiculous sometimes they wonder about why certain places are named in hokkien, but they think in mandarin logic and sometimes try to correct things from mandarin perspective.

[@lyhthegreat]

not anymore, most young taiwanese people can't speak their own dialects, some will understand but most can't speak, so if you tell me that they should speak more english i can't imagine the damage it's gonna do to their cultural identity lol.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

@@aiocafeathose would be “dialects of Indonesia” some would say like how there are “Chinese dialects”.

[@TystaTankar]

Es una lástima que inglés esté en todos lados del mundo, deberíamos dar espacio para otros idiomas en nuestra sociedad también. Soy bilingüe en Español y sueco

[@revilokid]

Waaaaaaay big up England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Honestly tho maybe it will be the case it’s just not much entertainment, which is shown to English speakers, is in other languages. Nowadays there is a lot more but back in the day Dora the explorer was the most you were going to get.

[@Timothee_Chalamet_CMBYN]

I bet you’d want Spanish to have the same power world wide. You wouldn’t be saying the same things here . Some people might say it’s a shame Spanish is all over Latin America, maybe give way for other languages.

[@didacusa3293]

*español, se escribe en minúscula, al menos si te refieres a la materia de lengua.

[@zillsburyy1]

i love how most of them know very good to perfect english when i visit there

[@sommmeguy]

I think it is an excellent goal, but the wrong language. Taiwan should make Taiwanese (Hokkien) their second official language first.

[@gilbertdaniels8]

I never thought i would see the King of Curses in a video like this lol😂

[@pt6792]

我更喜欢中文

[@ehjo4904]

This is not bilingual but english fluency. Many Taiwanese are already bilingual in mandarin and Taiwanese. This is very anglocentrict mindset

[@Naruto-u2k3n]

Good because we can hear Taiwanese radio station her in the northern Philippines from Nueva Ecija all the way to Batanes .

[@davislin7603]

If schools can provide different choices for students, that would be better. choice 1 : full Chinese classes (no English) choice 2 : partial English classes choice 3 : full Englisg classes (no Chinese) 如果學校能夠為學生提供不同的選擇那就更好了。 選擇1：全中文課（無英文） 選擇2：部分英語課程 選擇3：全英語課程（無中文）

[@josefa.trinidad4137]

Shouldn't they be teaching Japanese and Korean? That would be their closest allies and English would be a distant fourth.

[@Karen-fk1mn]

I’m a student who have studied in both international and Taiwanese schools, and i guess the biggest problem is that Taiwanese schools are not equipped with enough English speaking faculties. That’s why the whole thing seems cool, but never feasible. At the first point, our education only taught us to read, not speak English, so there’s actually never enough teachers who really “speaks” English. Taiwanese should first change their test-oriented education that focused on standardized test, so that students shift their focus to “using the language” (not just scoring higher in standardized tests).

[@U_can_Doit]

ain't no one gonna talk about Sukuna's drawing 😲

[@simroysten7963]

The Japanese influence on the Taiwanese psyche is disturbing and need to be addressed. Start with including English in all signs in transport, places, street/road etc etc.

[@Jez_eats]

3:29 "What the hell is this educational policy?" ... They teach English this way? 👀🤦

[@nendoakuma7451]

Taiwanese people always say that the class that stresses them out is not English class, but Chinese class

[@TheOnyomiMaster]

The English class sounds super fun!

[@lyhthegreat]

cause they're learning traditional chinese..just the strokes alone is enough to give you a stroke.

[@nendoakuma7451]

@@lyhthegreat I think you’re overrating the difficulty of traditional vs simplified

[@davidmella1174]

@@lyhthegreatthe difference is not a big deal

[@lyhthegreat]

@@davidmella1174 not really, I don't know if you've tried writing out characters using traditional chinese, there are many characters that have significantly way more strokes than the simplified ones.

[@billyean]

Big companies won't invest on Taiwan because it has a lot of people who can Speak English. they care aboout the profit and fund security. If simply make more people who can speak English can bring more investment, some Afican countries have better position.

[@FunnyAnimatorJimTV]

1:19 no way they used the word clout

[@earlysda]

The elderly man from Southern California is still living in a different age. Students will NOT naturally want to read anymore. Among my students, less than 20% like to read anything, and of them, about half only read manga. . While I mostly agree with him, his advice will not work in this day and age.

[@Leyichen-pe2wg]

That's his point though. Books aren't interesting, Mangas are. Book writers and a lot of book readers seem to be stuck-ups who think less flowery styles of writing means low quality junk when a lot of people just don't like pretentious shit. Take Fahrenheit 451 for example, there's like paragraphs after paragraphs full of verbose descriptions about literally nothing. Kids always go for books like "The Hunger Games" for a reason. What's up with schools always putting books of white old men writers on the shelves anyway? The topics of those books are irrelevant at best, misogynistic at worst. Books need to step up their game to be more interesting like mangas are. Kids also never liked books, so this is not anything new.

[@paulwalther5237]

That's the way it's always been. That's nothing new.

[@bobsands3557]

he's parroting the discredited Lucy Calkins nonsense

[@earlysda]

@@Leyichen-pe2wgLeyichen, you sound like you were probably born in the 21st century, and think that there is nothing to learn from any prior century. Crack a history book open some day and learn about life.

[@timothyreal]

​@@bobsands3557Not really sure how you're drawing a connection between her and Krashen, who has been active longer and has focused primarily on the field of language acquisition. His Input Hypothesis has been supported by tons of experimental data. Check out the videos on the topic made by What I've Learned and Matt vs Japan if you're not familiar with the topic.

[@shoiku4734]

Should have done this earlier. Language & infrastructure should have improved to join the international countries. To achieve proficiency in English, reading English novels is necessary. But there are no or very few English books in Taiwan bookstores & libraries. Same as Japan. These 2 countries are monolingual. In Singapore, the first language is English & second language is Chinese. All classes are in English (except for other language courses) & this was done way back in the 1980s. So Singapore is attractive to both Western & Chinese countries.

[@ambarvalia9757]

this would create a new creole that's concerning unless enough americans immigrate to taiwan

[@TESTTER-sd8yv]

Hokkien IS 4000 YRS ROOT ,SOME USED BY TANG DYNASTY ,MIXED WITH NATIVES, SO WHEN YOU TALK,YOU TALK IN MOST PRIVILEDGE CULTURE

[@chrismichael6048]

Bilingualism/multilingualism is the best prevention for brain degradation disease like Alzheimer。Constantly changing between 2 or more spoken languages helps the brain to be more active。

[@lyhthegreat]

yeah, the best way of learning english is to make them watch movies, play video games and read novels.

[@Erik_Emer]

I have some personal ranting caveats about this initiative I want to get out, even if they sound silly: - Taiwan isn't something like those Germanic countries that were mentioned. Germanic countries generally have some step above other countries in terms of learning English due to many grammatical similarities with their language and English (not vocabulary and word structure, though). Additionally, there're many sources of English language media in those countries since the end goal seems to be to work in a Native Anglophone country, especially when those countries export a lot of their own entertainment like influencers and music. If you take a look at Hong Kong, there the constitution states that English is a second language, less than 50% of the population are actually proficient at English, despite the high prestige of the language and the high influence of English in modern Hong Kong Cantonese. So, it's factors like exposure and usage opportunity that influence overall English proficiency, and Taiwan might not have those because I imagine that Taiwanese are more likely to watch their own media in Hokkien, or have Chinese media to watch. - And on the topic of Chinese-language media, I think Taiwanese education should also focus on education and retention of their own languages. Not just the other Chinese language spoken by a large majority of the population, but other aboriginal non-Chinese languages that existed in Taiwan before the Chinese came. This will help strengthen their identity from China who is slowly attempting to faze out local "dialects" in the name of national unity, meaning erasure of ethnic pride and history. - And I don't know if this will be possible, but making the national language something that isn't Mandarin while maintaining Mandarin classes will strengthen that idea of Taiwan as a separate country from China which is something more people are learning towards as opposed to the "we ARE China" idea.

[@ActiveAussie2024]

If Taiwanese can speak both Chinese and English fluently that will be a huge advantage to them. Taipei could become a leading international city. Philippines threw away their English speaking advantages, but I guess corruption is the worst problem there. Taiwan has a lot more to offer than either HK or Singapore. I can speak Chinese ( putonghua) but if most Taiwanese could speak English too that's a massive advantage. Most people in Asia have crap English, so this is a winning move.

[@Peter-be5lo]

India however has preserved its local languages while being the second largest english speaking country. They teach both english and the local language in schools there and there is not a lot of 'english based media' that they watch. So it is not impossible for a country to achieve that kind of balance

[@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263]

They can always use hokkien as national language lol

[@lyhthegreat]

exactly, learning english as a frenchman or a german is way way easier as compared to learning english as a japanese or chinese person...tbh an english speaking german guy don't impress me as much as a japanese/chinese speaking german guy due to the amount of xtra effort they have to put in to get fluent even tho both are their 2nd language.

[@dxelson]

Better teach them coding language over foreign languages 😂

[@DemPilafian]

Every major coding language is in English only.

[@amazingamx1255]

To code you need to know basic English

[@aldenteh9412]

Back when i was in taiwan, i went to the information counter at an outlet mall to ask for directions to the theme park. None of them speak English and couldn't understand me. They thought that i looked Chinese so i can speak Chinese with them. At the end I used gestures to show them where I'm trying to go. Finally they understand me, took them 8 employees to help me. But I thanked them in Chinese, I'm malaysian Chinese so speaking 3 to 4 languages is what Malaysians are capable of. I had fun but felt sorry to do that to them.

[@peterlee6148]

Malaysia boleh 😅

[@3MinutesFever]

So basically you were trolling them? Please don't look down upon others because they don't know English. 入鄉隨俗。

[@uplink-on-yt]

Want to make English less stressful? Don't dub cartoons and films on TV. That makes English surround people throughout the day, not just in school.

[@SmartGuy213]

Terrible idea

[@siewheilou399]

Why?

[@scorpioninpink]

Only English? Include Spanish in that list to attract Spanish speaking country to invest in your country.

[@user-su6js9po4l]

completely westernised

[@edwardyoon6296]

Has this succeeded anywhere ever?

[@JadeWhite-xf9xq]

Did anyone else notice sukuna at 2:15? 😂

[@yogishmanjarekar7931]

In India we have to learn 4 or 5 languages and if you good at learning language one may add 2 or 3 extra languages.

[@Blaze6432]

Yah this stupid comment was definitely written by an uneducated Indian. In most Indian schools only 2 or 3 languages are required. Hell in some places it's only 1. Meghalaya only used English in its school. Tamil Nadu only requires English as a compulsory subject (Even Tamil is technically not required outside of Tamil Medium schools) Usually only local language and English are compulsory unless you go to a school that requires Hindi as a 3rd language. Stop making up nonsense.

[@Reinhardt_Kozlowski]

I went to India for two weeks on business in 2017. As an American i couldn't believe how easy it was to travel from city to city, nearly everyone spoke some level of English, even some of the rickshaw drivers could speak some basic sentences!!! If India could get its act together they would be an absolute dominant world superpower. Great place, awesome food, and beautifully women!

[@bmona7550]

​@@Reinhardt_KozlowskiIt used to be an English colony so it makes sense they'd be fluent

[@NoteAndroid]

No need to argue or worry about when or what age to learn another language. Our family came from 3 different races, cultures, and languages. We mixed at least 3 languages in our daily conversations . Picked up French as part of the university degree requirement, I go to Paris every year to maintain the listening and speaking proficiency, especially the Parisian accent. Besides providing the English classes, Taiwanese folks need a steady environment to "PRACTICE" what they've acquired in the classes, and eventually they will add and increasing English to their daily conversations as part of their innate behavior, just like when we sit down for dinner with multiple foods on the table. Can you imaging our in laws' faces when they come over during Thanksgiving~!

[@gwang3103]

I'm okay with Taiwan becoming bilingual as long as they don't end up sidelining their own mother tongue. That will be lamentable.

[@melquiadespabillare5437]

What's wrong being bilingual? Here in the Philippines there are dozens of languages but there is only two official languages: Filipino and English.

[@lingth]

English is the future?? They are saying it in 2023?? They shld be saying it in 2003..

[@WanuWanuWaGaLiGong]

The real problems is not English comprehensive ability. Young Taiwaneses don't want to pursue higher education and prefer jobs in sevice field. Why do you need to study hard when you can just work an idle job such as convenient store staff, security guard, factory worker, etc. and get a reasonable amount of pension after retirement. There is no dream to chase here.

[@wkingp2755]

Having a bilingual country is a good idea but I also see the concern for losing the local language

[@BatAskal]

Perhaps Taiwan can look into the multilingual approach when it comes to education in the Philippines. English is also considered an official language. All the subjects are taught in English except Filipino and Social studies. The interesting part is that the books are in English but the class instruction is in Filipino. Students are asked to read the article in English as an assignment before the classroom discussion and the teacher/professor discusses them in Filipino to clarify what the lesson is all about. The written tests are in English though.

[@idlecloudsky2372]

Most of the Taiwanese are already bilingual if not more. On top of Mandarin, They speak southern Fujian dialect (Hokkien), the tongue of their ancestors from Fujian Province. I guess the cultural and linguistic effect of English Colonialism and Imperialism will continue to be felt in the world - while one could criticize the locals for learning Mandarin, the lingua Franca of the land, one also finds the locals learning English are rather commendable- isn’t that ironic 🤨

[@DDELE7]

The scheme worked in Singapore. Make English the lingua Franca but encourage locals to be proficient in their native tongue. Let’s see what happens.

[@lyhthegreat]

"Make English the lingua Franca" in that case, would taiwan still be taiwan lol?

[@DDELE7]

@@lyhthegreat Canada recognizes English and French as their two official languages. Everything public is published in those languages. I don’t see Taiwan adopting English officially but a broader implementation of English would do them some good. After all a wise teacher win realize in that side of the earth you’re biggest client will be the U.S. and of Commonwealth nations, particularly India. So English will come in handy.

[@An_ony_mous]

My country India is already Bilingual. Some people are even Trilingual here in India. I'm Trilingual. I know English, Kannada and Hindi.

[@amazingamx1255]

Thats not good. 3 languages is too much. This will only degrade kannadan. English and kannadan are more than enough for you

[@An_ony_mous]

@amazingamx1255 No it's not. Being Kannadiga dosent mean I can't know other languages. Since when is that a thing? And why do you hate Hindi?

[@amazingamx1255]

@@An_ony_mous When did I say anything about hating Hindi. Im n it south asian. Just telling you a fact. You may not have oayed attention but thats fact. Not everyone is capable of being fluent in 3 languages. Thats too many

[@An_ony_mous]

@@amazingamx1255 I know to read, write, speak and understand all three languages though..

[@amazingamx1255]

@@An_ony_mous You are a minority who can do that. Most arent able to do that for more than 2 languages

[@ScoobieDoo-zy1rh]

No point since the plan will be re( unification ) with mainland after all the obstacles are taken care of .

[@LinkoofHyrule]

It's interesting that it's 'fashionable' to have Japanese characters everywhere in Taiwan as well, even if they don't make any sense. Is this another sign of Taiwan trying to differenciate itself from PRC?

[@阮Michael]

"Kids need libraries filled with good books." Prof. Krashen's theory of reading to acquire proficiency is a proven, surefire method that I can personally attest to. This obvious solution has been stated before. What is preventing the government from implementing it?

[@1chibanKasuga]

Kids will use their smartphone

[@michaelyuan3382]

@@1chibanKasugaPolicies on electronic distractions should be developed to address such problems, not just for the sake of English learning, but all learning. TikTok is training kids to have only 3-second attention spans. Students addicted to video games can learn nothing else.

[@charmlove6162]

It's futile.

[@jm7578]

Maybe everybody is applauding this, but I think it’s really terrible. If somebody goes to Taiwan to learn how to speak Chinese, everybody will speak English to him. It’s also sad sometimes in Taiwan when a foreigner, they always want to speak English to them regardless of the foreigners from Russia, Poland, or Mexico.being bilingual is great but keeping your native languages even better