What a big shock!!!

[flymonkey]

As an English major, I'm convinced that to be an English teacher in the elementary school or kindergarten would be very interesting and practical. However, I heard a bad news from our Ministry of Education. They announced that very young children should first be taught in their mother tongue then Mandarin Chinese and then a foreign language. In addition, some unregistered preschools hire teachers who have no qualification and the government is worried about the children's future. It means that English can't be a main subject in the kindergarten. The policy sounds very reasonable, but it indeed deprived many of our job opportunities. In fact, the field of education in Taiwan is saturated. As I know, many people have the qualification of teach, but still some people can't get the job. Since the situation is getting worse, I'm wondering why our government can't make the policy softer. Probably, it can shorten the hours of English learning in kindergarten or restrict the numbers of English teachers. By this way, it would not only improve the quality of English learning but also the teachers'. If the policy could change, I, as a junior in the college, will not concern about my future that much.

[juyu522]

first , u do not have to be so nervous about the news. although the government may not allow educational institutions to teach children english. there are still many cram schools need english teachers. look at the tendency, english is more important than it used to be, so as an english major, u do not need to worry about losing job in the future.and the system of education in taiwan is always changing, u never know what will be next day. if u really cannot find a job in the future, just think other careers. english major's choices are broad!!

[Simon Yang]

In my opinion, i don't think the government policy would eliminate the job opportunities for English majors in university. It is of course inarguable for young children to learn their mother language before they can contact and proceed to a foreign one. In Taiwan, i think children are started to be taught English since grade 5, and before that, it's up to their parents whether to send their kids to go to preliminary English cram schools or not. Which means, they still need certain numbers of teachers to be there and teach English in elementary schools, and those teachers must obtain a certain degree or educational certificate (qualification) because they work for institutions founded by the government. Besides, learning English is important and it has become a trend and awareness of all age, schools (either private or public ones) will only require more and more people who teach English and who have a degree in English regardless of any policy from the Ministry of Education. Threfore, don't worry because the road will be still be wide-open for English majors.

[bstwhitepigg]

I think the situation will not be so terrible, because learning English has became a trend in Taiwan. Government’s policy seems that will eliminate the requirement for English teacher (in preliminary English cram school), though the requirement of English teacher is still in shortage right now. I believe that our government will put more emphasis on ESL education in the future; you don’t need too worry about your job opportunity. Besides, I am sure that children’s parents will get more nervous than you do.