Sent to the Taipei Times, July 14, 2005
The Ministry of Education is now considering hiring
English-speaking foreigners without training in
language teaching to help in English classes
("Ministry battles to find English teachers," July
13), The assumption is that the presence of a native
speaker in each school will enhance English language
development.
According to what we now know about how second
languages are acquired, there is a more cost-effective
and permanent way to strengthen English language
teaching: Fill school libraries with English books and
tapes that are truly interesting as well as
comprehensible. We do not acquire language by
"practicing speaking." Study after study shows that we
acquire language by doing a great deal of recreational
reading and listening, when we get thoroughly involved
in interesting stories.
Few English students have the opportunity to develop a
reading habit in English, which is the key to
progressing beyond the beginning stage: Study after
study has shown that the amount of recreational
reading students have done is an excellent predictor
of how well they read, write, their vocabulary size,
and how well they perform on examinations such as the
TOEFL.
If the collections are open to the public, everyone
can continue to improve in English long after they
complete their EFL program.
There is no need to bring in underqualified and
overpaid foreigners. Many will stay for only a short
time, but the books and tapes will be there for many
years.
Stephen Krashen
Ministry battles to find English teachers
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER , WITH CNA
Wednesday, Jul 13, 2005,Page 1
The Ministry of Education's (MOE) program to recruit
certified foreign-language teachers failed to attract
enough qualified applicants to teach English in public
elementary and secondary schools.
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