The Ministry of Education is set to expand its foreign English teacher recruitment project, hiring additional native-speaking teachers for posts at public high schools across Taiwan, the ministry said July 26.
A total of 300 teachers, up from the current 80, will be contracted on an annual basis to instruct between 20 and 22 class hours per week, MOE Minister Pan Wen-chung said, adding that the project’s yearly budget will be increased to NT$2 billion (US$70 million) by 2021.
Launched in 2015 and run by National Experimental High School in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City, the initiative aims to sharpen students’ English skills while promoting education equality between urban and rural areas.
According to the MOE’s K-12 Education Administration, government efforts over the past six years are paying dividends, as evidenced by the program’s success at National Pingtung Senior High School in the southern Taiwan county. Foreign teachers at the school have significantly boosted student engagement, in part by incorporating local elements like the Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival and attractions at Kenting National Park into course material, the administration said.
The project is also in line with the government’s Blueprint for Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030, the administration added. Approved by the Executive Yuan in 2018, the blueprint seeks to strengthen national English proficiency and enhance the country’s international competitiveness. (YCH-E)
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