Of the following twelve chapters, eight are based on doctoral dissertations, supervised by Professor Michael Byram at Durham University in England, and the other four are invited chapters by scholars from Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages in Taiwan, who also base their contributions on their doctoral research. The editors hope to show in this way the relevance of doctoral research and the importance of making it widely known.
The book is divided into four parts. In the first part there are two chapters which contextualize language teaching by historical analysis of the significance of languages in Taiwan. In Chapter 1, (Towards an intercultural citizenship community: monoculturalism or interculturalism?), Mei-Lan Huang presents a historical analysis of the evolution of language education and monoculturalism in Taiwan after 1945. Her chapter analyzes the relationship between the ideology of Chinese monoculturalism and its language education on the one hand, and on the other hand the development of imagined Taiwanese monoculturalism and its efforts in building the concept of a Taiwanese nation through reviving Taiwanese local native languages in present and future language education. It is based on document analysis and interviews with key figures in Taiwan recalling their childhood experience of education.
In Chapter 2, (Identity, education, and language: a case study in Taiwan), Grace Lee analyzes how language attitudes in Taiwan play out in people’s lives, some traces of which are also present in Chapter 1. Here, however, the objective was to look, in a detailed and chronological analysis, at the life history of one Taiwanese woman who lived through three educational systems in Taiwan. Her life story, collected through multiple interviews, is examined for moments and experiences which depict her views on her identity, and analyzed with particular attention to the relationship between identity, language and education.
The second group of chapters brings the focus onto the experiences of learners in the education system today at the crucial moments of transition from one level to the next. In Chapter 3, (Challenging the pedagogical discontinuity in EFL between elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan), Wen-Chuan Lin addresses the need to solve problems of elementary-junior high school transition and ensure continuity in pedagogical practice between the two social settings. His study explores differences in students’ access to EFL learning in four Taiwanese junior high schools and challenges the myth of “the earlier the better in learning foreign languages” when there is no consideration of issues of transition between elementary and junior high. Implications pertaining to elementary-junior high progression in pedagogical practice are discussed which may inform practitioners and policy makers who are concerned with the gap in EFL learning and teaching.
In Chapter 4, (Cultures of learning in English language classrooms in Taiwan during the transition year from elementary to junior high school), Chin-Pin Chen develops further the issue of elementary-junior high school transition with an analysis of discursive patterns which influence and inform the transitional year. This chapter addresses the question of “whole-class teaching, individual testing” and its implications for the transitional process. Despite the apparent similarities in terms of teachers’ design of whole-class teaching activities and conducting of individual tests before and after transition, the meanings of tests are probably different, indicating possible discontinuity of cultures of learning between the two educational phases. Since teachers from both educational phases hardly have opportunity to meet each other, a certain degree of mistrust can arise, and none of this is to the benefit of students moving from one educational phase to the other.
The next group of chapters concentrates even more on learners and learning processes. In Chapter 5, (EFL learners developing critical intercultural awareness through process drama), Wen-ling Irene Chen challenges the role of foreign languages teaching and learning in the reproductive purpose of education systems. Her study addresses the significance and urgency of developing “critical intercultural awareness” (CIA) in Taiwan students’ language learning experience, by describing an action research project that explores how and why CIA can be developed in process drama praxis in the context of Advanced English Learners’ Programs for junior high school students in Taiwan.
In Chapter 6, (A cooperative task-based learning approach to motivating low achieving readers of English in a Taiwanese university), Tsu-Chia Julia Hsu analyzes the problem of some first-year university students in Taiwan who had low English scores in their university entrance examinations, and who did not necessarily perform at their full potential in English language. Her study seeks an effective approach to the teaching of reading, one that will help these students to enhance their confidence and motivation. The approach includes cooperative learning and Task-Based Language Teaching, which encourages frequent interactions and positive involvements that are crucial for reinforcing motivation. A new pedagogy integrating these two methods was thus developed and applied.
In Chapter 7, (A study of translation teaching in a university of science and technology in Taiwan), Hsiu-Tzu Charlene Shen argues that translation studies is seen as a significant facilitator in the nation’s competitiveness in a globalized economy, and has developed as a discipline in the past two decades to answer the call from government for a response to globalization. Given the limited literature about Translation Studies curriculum development in Taiwan and taking into account the students’ interests in a technological university context, her study investigates whether students will learn effectively or perform better when taught with a curriculum which is derived from their needs.
Finally, in this section, Chapter 8, (Promoting the cultural dimension in EFL teaching: a turning point for English education in Taiwan), Yau Tsai argues that the promotion of the cultural dimension in EFL teaching is the key factor which can help students to develop the intercultural communicative competence needed in a global society. Her study explains the characteristics of intercultural communicative competence and the reasons why promoting the cultural dimension in EFL teaching leads to the development of this competence. Through the analysis of group interviews with students, relevant problems impeding the promotion of the cultural dimension in EFL teaching are identified and then suggestions are made for both the Ministry of Education and English teachers in Taiwan.
In the fourth and final group of chapters the focus is on teachers, on their classroom activities and on their professional development. In Chapter 9, (Analyzing EFL team-teaching in Taiwanese elementary English education: an intercultural perspective), Shu-Hsin Chen analyzes “team teaching”, a phenomenon often seen in elementary and/or secondary EFL classrooms in some East Asian countries, including Taiwan, where the fact that cultural differences between local teachers and foreign teachers affect team teaching effectiveness, is receiving increasing attention. Aiming at understanding how teachers of EFL conceptualize their team teaching experience, this ethnographic study elicited interview data from local and foreign teachers of EFL in Taiwan. The intercultural team teaching capacity (ITTC) model provides a useful source for future research and training programme development in the areas of TESOL, ELT, intercultural
The book is divided into four parts. In the first part there are two chapters which contextualize language teaching by historical analysis of the significance of languages in Taiwan. In Chapter 1, (Towards an intercultural citizenship community: monoculturalism or interculturalism?), Mei-Lan Huang presents a historical analysis of the evolution of language education and monoculturalism in Taiwan after 1945. Her chapter analyzes the relationship between the ideology of Chinese monoculturalism and its language education on the one hand, and on the other hand the development of imagined Taiwanese monoculturalism and its efforts in building the concept of a Taiwanese nation through reviving Taiwanese local native languages in present and future language education. It is based on document analysis and interviews with key figures in Taiwan recalling their childhood experience of education.
In Chapter 2, (Identity, education, and language: a case study in Taiwan), Grace Lee analyzes how language attitudes in Taiwan play out in people’s lives, some traces of which are also present in Chapter 1. Here, however, the objective was to look, in a detailed and chronological analysis, at the life history of one Taiwanese woman who lived through three educational systems in Taiwan. Her life story, collected through multiple interviews, is examined for moments and experiences which depict her views on her identity, and analyzed with particular attention to the relationship between identity, language and education.
The second group of chapters brings the focus onto the experiences of learners in the education system today at the crucial moments of transition from one level to the next. In Chapter 3, (Challenging the pedagogical discontinuity in EFL between elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan), Wen-Chuan Lin addresses the need to solve problems of elementary-junior high school transition and ensure continuity in pedagogical practice between the two social settings. His study explores differences in students’ access to EFL learning in four Taiwanese junior high schools and challenges the myth of “the earlier the better in learning foreign languages” when there is no consideration of issues of transition between elementary and junior high. Implications pertaining to elementary-junior high progression in pedagogical practice are discussed which may inform practitioners and policy makers who are concerned with the gap in EFL learning and teaching.
In Chapter 4, (Cultures of learning in English language classrooms in Taiwan during the transition year from elementary to junior high school), Chin-Pin Chen develops further the issue of elementary-junior high school transition with an analysis of discursive patterns which influence and inform the transitional year. This chapter addresses the question of “whole-class teaching, individual testing” and its implications for the transitional process. Despite the apparent similarities in terms of teachers’ design of whole-class teaching activities and conducting of individual tests before and after transition, the meanings of tests are probably different, indicating possible discontinuity of cultures of learning between the two educational phases. Since teachers from both educational phases hardly have opportunity to meet each other, a certain degree of mistrust can arise, and none of this is to the benefit of students moving from one educational phase to the other.
The next group of chapters concentrates even more on learners and learning processes. In Chapter 5, (EFL learners developing critical intercultural awareness through process drama), Wen-ling Irene Chen challenges the role of foreign languages teaching and learning in the reproductive purpose of education systems. Her study addresses the significance and urgency of developing “critical intercultural awareness” (CIA) in Taiwan students’ language learning experience, by describing an action research project that explores how and why CIA can be developed in process drama praxis in the context of Advanced English Learners’ Programs for junior high school students in Taiwan.
In Chapter 6, (A cooperative task-based learning approach to motivating low achieving readers of English in a Taiwanese university), Tsu-Chia Julia Hsu analyzes the problem of some first-year university students in Taiwan who had low English scores in their university entrance examinations, and who did not necessarily perform at their full potential in English language. Her study seeks an effective approach to the teaching of reading, one that will help these students to enhance their confidence and motivation. The approach includes cooperative learning and Task-Based Language Teaching, which encourages frequent interactions and positive involvements that are crucial for reinforcing motivation. A new pedagogy integrating these two methods was thus developed and applied.
In Chapter 7, (A study of translation teaching in a university of science and technology in Taiwan), Hsiu-Tzu Charlene Shen argues that translation studies is seen as a significant facilitator in the nation’s competitiveness in a globalized economy, and has developed as a discipline in the past two decades to answer the call from government for a response to globalization. Given the limited literature about Translation Studies curriculum development in Taiwan and taking into account the students’ interests in a technological university context, her study investigates whether students will learn effectively or perform better when taught with a curriculum which is derived from their needs.
Finally, in this section, Chapter 8, (Promoting the cultural dimension in EFL teaching: a turning point for English education in Taiwan), Yau Tsai argues that the promotion of the cultural dimension in EFL teaching is the key factor which can help students to develop the intercultural communicative competence needed in a global society. Her study explains the characteristics of intercultural communicative competence and the reasons why promoting the cultural dimension in EFL teaching leads to the development of this competence. Through the analysis of group interviews with students, relevant problems impeding the promotion of the cultural dimension in EFL teaching are identified and then suggestions are made for both the Ministry of Education and English teachers in Taiwan.
In the fourth and final group of chapters the focus is on teachers, on their classroom activities and on their professional development. In Chapter 9, (Analyzing EFL team-teaching in Taiwanese elementary English education: an intercultural perspective), Shu-Hsin Chen analyzes “team teaching”, a phenomenon often seen in elementary and/or secondary EFL classrooms in some East Asian countries, including Taiwan, where the fact that cultural differences between local teachers and foreign teachers affect team teaching effectiveness, is receiving increasing attention. Aiming at understanding how teachers of EFL conceptualize their team teaching experience, this ethnographic study elicited interview data from local and foreign teachers of EFL in Taiwan. The intercultural team teaching capacity (ITTC) model provides a useful source for future research and training programme development in the areas of TESOL, ELT, intercultural