The present study, in five different theoretical and pedagogical perspectives, is intended to examine the effectiveness of Taiwan’s Nine-year English Curriculum Guidelines implemented in 2001 and to offer practical suggestions on its improvements. With the aim to illuminate the impact and effectiveness of the curricula, the first study adopts the methods of systematic review to analyze the existing literature on elementary and secondary school English education. The second project is a cross-national study that aims to examine the curriculum guidelines for English education at the elementary and secondary school levels in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. The third study aims to investigate and examine the quantity, the selection criteria, as well as the extent of repetition of vocabulary words in elementary and secondary school textbooks in Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The fourth study explores the profiles of current English teachers at elementary and secondary schools and proposes professional standards for English teachers. The purpose of the fifth study is to survey English teachers’ use and perceptions of instructional technology both in elementary schools and secondary schools island-wide in order to examine its effectiveness. ?
Major findings of this study are summarized as follows: ?
(1) Researchers in Taiwan need to expand their research scope and vision in curriculum studies to reach international readership. Policy makers need to solve the problems of teacher shortage and disparity of resources in remote areas. It is not re commended to further lower the English instruction to first grade nation-wide.
(2) The stipulated vocabulary size in the elementary school curriculum can be increased from 180-300 to 400 words. Cultural awareness and international perspectives should be introduced as part of the learning themes and topics at elementary and secondary levels. ?
(3) Core competency in teaching should be included in teacher pre-service training. ?
(4) Most schools have been equipped with adequate facilities for teaching; most teachers, acknowledging that it takes time to prepare lessons that integrate technology, have made use of the existing facilities. However, English classrooms equipped with necessary teaching resources can be set up to further facilitate lesson planning and teaching. ?