Policy Suggestions for Reopening Dual Language Essay

This data- base inquiry leave behind be presented to the Ministry of procreation in chinaware for the utilisation of playing atomic number 18aing the possibility of re centripetaling Chinese and side doubled words frameergarten school cadences. In 2004, the Ministry of raising in Taiwan had forbidden the feat and establishment of bilinguistic and slope kindergarten schools. position could that be integrated in songs, plays, and activities besides it could not be taught in the Chinese and position bilinguistic drop and usage as a mediocre of centralisesing. Kindergarten schools argon not similarly to apiece one(prenominal)owed to betroth any external takeers. All kindergarten educateers moldiness be a natural born(p) Chinese citizen. In the equivalent year, the spokesman of the Ministry of statement cited three footings for implementing this raisingal indemnity. First, they feel that at the preschool st senesce children should master their principal(a) diction. Second, they be so concern with the quality of article of faith as they found start that roughly distant teachers who melt downed as side of meat teachers in kindergarten schools do not view satisfactory noesis on ahead of time childishness nurture.These teachers are simply hired because they are inborn incline speakers. Third, although Formosan schoolchilds form solelyy begin learning position on the third grade, they do not rung behind their counterpart in new(prenominal) Asian countries. However, there is not decorous look for to prove the positive put of banning the dickensfold delivery kindergarten. The query cited by the Ministry of instruction to prevail their insurance form _or_ system of government activity is discussed in the review of books.Review of associate Literatureenquiry Supporting the polity The research apply by the Ministry of fostering of Taiwan as a foot in supporting its polity was conduc ted in 2001 by Dr. Chuang Shiang Chuan and Dr. Chaing Jen Ru. These professionals were invited to conduct a field of force on the possibility of integrating side in the kindergarten broadcast and hiring opposed teachers to teach in the kindergarten direct. In this research, Dr. Chuang Shiang Chuan patched off that spoken communication translateing for children requires the use of both(prenominal) the expressive and thinking abilities. If the medium of instruction is purely in position alone, the content of parley betwixt the teacher and the students would be very(prenominal) particular(a). She in addition indicated that preschool children fail to accurately chat and comprehend a inappropriate actors line in affinity to the adult encounterers.Further more(prenominal), she interchangeablewise say that acquirement a foreign manner of speaking could interfere in the acquirement of the m another(prenominal) tongue. In terms of hiring foreign teachers, Cheung (2 001) matte that noncitizens who are working as kindergarten position teachers do not suffer the required skills and knowledge on early childhood rearing. Their knowledge is however entraped to the teaching of the position lyric poem. In addition, hiring of foreign teachers would result in the decrease of parentage opportunities for students who assimilate completed their cultivation degrees from the teacher preparation institutions.However, the findings of Dr. Cheung whitethorn not be objective and conflict of interest is translucent as a result of her commerce in one of the early childhood teacher preparation institutions. Besides, in the policy statement published by the Ministry of reproduction to the domain on October 10, 2004, it was stated that the research was ground on the neuroscience, linguistics and side of meat training findings which indicated that instruction face at an early age does not procure that children will hold in better.The Ministry o f breeding too argued that teenagers learn a foreign lecture more efficiently than preschool children due to their more mature cognitive dampenment. It is alike stated that imposing the No Chinese kindergarten nurture would result in communication difficulty, ruttish disturbance, conflict of values and problems in conclusion personal identicalness operator which could affect the ontogenesis of Chinese style training. Furthermore, the language barrier would limit the breath and dept of childrens tuition. Lu & subgenus Chen (2003) who are researchers in Taiwan alike supported the previous findings and argued that it is inappropriate for preschool children to learn a foreign language and nuance at an early age. They entrustd that China would be the substantialest unpolished in terms of stinting st top executive and the Chinese language would be the next global language.Hence, parents should not be anxious to relieve oneself their children learn slope at a young ag e. They except stated that there is no little stream in training a second language so it is not necessary to start learning at preschool age. The researchers too believed that having a bully moderate of the native Australian language is the foundation for learning a second language. The absence of an Ameri house or British accent is not an important matter to consider in learning the English language. at that placefore, it is unnecessary to study English at an early age to avoid speaking with a foreign accent. Besides the devil researchers and one brass statement above, the book My Child stinkert Speak Chinese (Cheung, 2004) is in addition frequently cited by deal who are against using English as the lone(prenominal) medium of instruction in the kindergarten education. In this book, Cheung depicted her daughter who tends to combine the English and Chinese syntaxes when speaking Chinese by and bywards(prenominal) attending an English but kindergarten school.In the book, the arguments to ban the English totally teaching in kindergarten school is understandable considering that children in Taiwan speak Chinese at home and kindergarten is the premier education that they project experienced outside their homes. The use of English as the only medium of instruction in their first school may give the children the wrong impression that English is the formal school language. They may also think that their Chinese language is little important. These thoughts could possibly expand to the confusion of culture identity and invalidatingly affect the learning of the Chinese language. As an international student who had studied in various classes with native English instructors and have worked as the touch on foreign teacher in an Ameri force out school, I understand the anxiety that a child may feel in an English only environs based on my personal experience. Armed with a first hand experience in obtaining an education in an English only school unde r instructors who are native speakers of the English language and with an experience of world a foreign teacher in an international school, I can potently understand and clearly see the point in the policy made in not completely toldowing the operation of the English only kindergarten schools.However, in as much as I could empathized with the policy makers, I also felt the inadequacy of the study that was conducted in advance arriving at a advocateation to dear and prohibit the existence of duple language kindergarten schools. in that location are many four-fold language kindergartens in the linked States and I have taught in an English-Chinese dual linguistic public school in bracing York, P.S. 184M, Shuang Wen School. This is the first dual linguistic and bicultural public elementary school in the east coast. Children at Shuang Wen have regular English classes as other public school students and start learning Chinese from the kindergarten level and continue poring o ver until the half dozensometh grade. In the Shuang Wens website, there is a report cited that just about 100% of their students exceeded the required grade level standards of the bare-ass York State examination for math and English. With Shuang Wens success, one could only ponder as to why American students are whollyowed to enroll in an English and Chinese multilinguistic trope since kindergarten dapple the minute students in Taiwan have to be deprived of this opportunity. I went with literature reviews by searching and reviewing dual language related literatures on databases of ERIC, ProQuest, culture Full Text, Digital Dissertations taken from the Teachers College as wholesome up as the TC catalogue (EDUCAT). The summary of my findings are written below. look for on Dual Lingual didactics The dual lingual education literature reviewed is presented here in the following sections multilingual education has no prostitute, the benefits of bilingual education, the scoop up bilingual education-dual language plan, and the period mail service of dual language syllabuss.Bilingual Education Has No Harm Contrary to the findings of the researchers in Taiwan, Norbert (2005), Schambach (2006), Garcia (2006), and Pearson (2007) claimed that bilingual education has no harm to children at all. All the misconceptions were bias. For instance, Cheungs (2003) botheration concerning her daughters have employment of English and Chinese is actually unnecessary. The combined usage of language was part of a learning process that children want to taste in order to see which of these both languages the listeners strongest language is. This regularity would also enable the children to communicate efficaciously with their listener (Garcia, 2007). Moreover, the efficiency of switching amidst two languages could increase childrens cognitive flexibility (Steward, 2004).In terms of the concerns about the lost of identity and delay in the development of t he childrens first language, it was spy that bilingual children do not have any identity electrical outlets because in the bilingual education, childrens culture are well-thought-of and recognized (Farmer, 1998 & Schambach, 2006). Some children may develop two identities since they are educated in using two languages and two cultures but this helps children to be more adaptable to the globular world and prepare them better to be global citizens.Moreover, Schambach pointed out an example of an identity issue whereby an immigrant child, who emigrated from one orbit to another, felt totally lost when not world accepted in the new country and treated as a foreigner upon return to the country of origin for a short visit. This situation can come to pass to Taiwanese children if the political relation is not open to the education that the parents expect for their children in Taiwan.well-nigh 77% of parents in Taiwan forecast that the political sympathies would allow the integrati ng of English in the kindergarten curriculum (Wu & Cheng, 2002). The main reason for the immigration to the United States of Taiwanese families is to admit better education for their children. If Taiwanese government fails to meet parents expectations, there is a strong possibility that Taiwanese family immigration would lead to a problem on the identity issue for the next generation.The Benefits of Bilingual Education After clarifying that bilingual education creates no harm to children, many researchers pointed out that bilingual education can invoke the development of childrens cognitive and genial skills (Chan, 2003 Garcia, 2007 Norbert, 2005 Steward, 2004 Thomas, 2003). Chan (2003) compared 31 bilingual preschoolers and 29 monolingual preschoolers performance on 3 cognitive tasks and 4 theory-of-mind tasks. The results showed that the advantage of the bilingual learners in the theory-of-mind development hinges intimatelyly in their cognitive development e.g., inhibitory con trol, argumentation and metalinguistic awareness. Garcia (2007) quoted the research of Peal and Lamberts work with French and English bilinguals and English monolinguals and suggested that the apt experience of acquiring two languages contributed intimately to mental flexibility, superior concept fundamental law and a generally diversified band of mental abilities.She also cited Padillas reasoning that bilinguals are cognitively advanced because they are able to process information provided in one language and produce affiliate information in another language. Padilla apply Keats and Keats report of a study as an example which German-English bilinguals, who did not demonstrate the ability to conserve weight in a Piagetian task, were trained to conserve in one of the two languages. Results from English and German post hears indicated that the concept was acquired in both languages. This suggests the attainable increased in the flexibility of bilinguals during conceptual acqu isition. Steward (2004) cited the finding of Willig who pointed out that students in the bilingual programs scored both the same or higher on the movement tests in both languages in comparison with children in monolingual education.Steward also agreed with Cummings, Hakuta and Golds survey that the bilingual program has increased childrens cognitive flexibility. Thomas (2003) and stated that the cognitive stimulus from the bilingual program led to enhanced creativity and analytical thinking. He also presented the result taken from Houston in 2002 that native English speakers, who had been in the two way dual-language programs for four years, scored between 63rd and 70th percentiles in total drill hemorrhoid in the Stanford 9 whereas the scores of students in the monolingual English program hovered around the 50th percentile.This is a extraordinary finding that could be used to generalise that if Taiwanese children, who are native Chinese speakers, are educated in a bilingual program since preschool their intellectual capability might surpass students in a Chinese only program after four years. After reading all the benefits that bilingual education can put to work to students, I continued to research for the comment of bilingual education and its outflank practice.The trump out Bilingual Education Dual quarrel Education Barrera (2004) defines bilingual education as using two languages to learn. Schambach (2006) said a bilingual person means he can use two languages freely in any given situation. In terms of the scoop up practice for bilingual education, Garcia (2007) pointed out that in teaching two languages, it would be best to separate them or else of combining them together. For example, at home each parent should speak a unlike language to the child and at school, antithetical teachers should speak different languages.Children tend to learn the language in order to communicate. Norbert (2005) further strengthened the importance of separatin g two languages when teaching. Scofield (2007) specifically talked about the importance of a relaxed environment that is enriched with comprehensible language as well as the usage of gestures, mime, and real objects to flesh out speech and to provide input.He also suggested singing songs and rhymes and having group activities to create a conducive environment for the learners. In terms of time allocation for teaching each language, Steward (2004) cited Willigs research result which showed that students in the alternate immersion program, wherein the sidereal day is divided into two halves each alone in one language, have the best performance in the tests of both languages. This kind of program is also called dual language program.Current Situation of Dual address Education According to Barrera (2004), there are more than 270 dual language programs in the U.S. and the interest in these programs keeps growing as fast as the waiting lists. In Barreras research, she concluded that t he most victorious dual language program resulted when students learn one language in the dawn and another one in the afternoon. There must also be a continuing non-repetitive lesson in the morning. In the bring home the bacon morning, students must proceed to the next lesson in the other language.The important characteristics of a good dual language program as suggested by Barrera includes a minimum of six years instruction a focus on the core academician curriculum high quality language humanities instruction in both languages integration of the languages into the instructional thematic units separations of the two languages for instruction with no translation and no reiterate lessons in the other language use of each language in 50 percent of the instructional time an habit-forming e.g. adding a new language at no cost to students first language bilingual environment that has the full support of school administrators, teachers and parents and an active parent-school partner ships. However, regardless of all the benefits of dual lingual education as shown in the research, some politicians in calcium still think that English should be the one and only dominated language in United States. Hence, they brought up marriage proposal 227 to replace the bilingual and dual lingual education to total immersion system to help immigrant children learn English as fast as possible. Nevertheless, many researchers sight that bilingual education has helped children learn English faster than the total immersion method acting (Krashen, 2005 Manyak, 2006 Monzo, 2005 Olson, 2007). Bilingual education has likewise helped students physical body more positive self identity by providing a sheltered learning environment (Monzo).Recommendation After learning from the studies conducted by some researchers, the Taiwanese government must reexamine their educational policy that resulted in the total ban of bilingual kindergarten education in Taiwan. I recommend that the Taiwanese government conduct an empirical study on the possible effect of dual language kindergarten education in Taiwan and recruit volunteer participants to determine if the Chinese and English bilingual kindergarten education should be reopened as an educational survival of the fittest for Taiwanese children. I would also like to suggest a research design which includes the preparation of the curriculum, teachers preparation, students choices and students evaluation.Curriculum Prior to conducting a research, the Education Ministry of Taiwan must initially design a Chinese and English dual lingual curriculum for kindergarten pupils. The easiest and most efficient way is to translate the menstruum kindergarten curriculum into English. In this method, the traditional Taiwanese values are neither changed nor modify and the English language was only used as a medium of instruction. This invariable and continuing curriculum, which is part of the current dual language program, has been pr oven to be the most beneficial way for students learning.Teacher supply Secondly, the government must prepare all the teachers who will be involved in teaching the dual language program. The selection of teachers who would teach the Chinese curriculum is not as difficult as selecting teachers who could teach the English curriculum. For the Chinese curriculum, experienced teachers can be selected among a roster of kindergarten teachers. Since the current law forbids the hiring of non-Taiwanese citizens, it would not be lenient to immediately hire English instructors. There may be few Taiwanese batch who could teach using the English fluently, have a solid accentuate in early childhood education and fully understand the Taiwanese culture.Since learning the language while keeping the Taiwanese cultural context are two major purposes of the dual language program, I would suggest to the Ministry of Education in Taiwan to hire Taiwanese Americans or Taiwanese people who have studied foreign for a long enough period of time and have attained a good level of English fluency. The faculty to become a kindergarten teacher in Taiwan should not be based on the nationality but on the teachers English capability and judgment of Taiwanese culture.With regards to having a solid knowledge on the background of kindergarten education, I believe that teachers can be prepared inside few months of extensive workshops as I became a primary teacher at an award winning independent primary school in Connecticut after a week of intensive training and continuing professional development end-to-end the school year. In my job, I performed well as a foreign teacher. done experience, I personally felt that it is possible to prepare any teacher for the background knowledge. Further research on this issue could be conducted to be assured that only the most qualified teachers are selected for the program.Students plectrum and Follow-Up Plan Participating pupils should be voluntary and the opportunity to be a participant should be well broadcasted to all the parents who have children who are about to be enrolled in kindergarten schools. Students should be chosen from families of a mixed social economic location to represent the common student tribe in public kindergarten schools. Plans must be undertaken for students who are currently attending kindergarten so a continuing dual lingual elementary education can be achieved until the fifth grade as suggested by Garcia. Garcia discovered that the positive effects of dual language education will be manifested after 6 years of straight education.The greatest challenge here is that all dual lingual elementary schools in Taiwan are hugger-mugger schools and therefrom the tuition fees are not low-cost by every family. For this problem, the government could either give vouchers or subsidize the tuition fees of the children who have attended the dual lingual kindergarten so they could study in private dual lingual ele mentary schools. In addition, the government can also put an effort to open a public dual language elementary school in each grade level to accommodate the education needs of these students. data Analysis Students cognitive development and academic performance will be assessed through and through standardized testing and observation from teachers and parents. selective information analysis will focus on the findings to determine if advance cognitive development and better academic performance were achieved by students who were given the dual language program in comparison with the dual language students performance in the United States and Canada as studied by Barrera (2004) and Chan (2004). To avoid overstressing students, the test will be carefully designed and will be taken semi-annually. Likewise, students build up will be recorded for six years.Conclusions Education is the best investment for the approaching of a country. With the influx of globalization and buckram economic and business competition, it is time for people of Taiwan to be armed with an education that could be comparable not only to their neighboring Asian countries but also to the western countries as well. The progress of the country highly depends on its young citizens and the best way for the young citizens to be war-ridden is by providing them with an educational tool that will enable them to communicate with other people across the globe. English has been considered as the universal language in many split of the world.There are no negative effects in learning a foreign language as shown in many research studies. Hence, it is time for the government of Taiwan, specifically the Ministry of Education, to study their policies and reconsider the survival of reopening bilingual kindergarten schools in Taiwan. If the government intends to be the educational leader in Asia, it is time to open their doors to accept the teaching of English in preschool level.ReferencesBarrera, R., et. al. (2004). Profiles in culture. Scholastic advance(prenominal) Childhood Today, 19(3), 46-48.Chan, K. T. (2004). Chinese English bilinguals theory-of-mind development. University of Toronto, Toronto.Cheung, S. C. C., Jen Ru (2002). The possibility of having slope education and hiring foreign teachers in kindergartens in Taiwan. Ministry of Education, Taiwan. (T. Ministry of Education o. Document Number)Chuan, C. S. (2003). My child cant speak Chinese. Taipei New Parents.Farmer, M. (1998). Creating Montessori bilingual programs. Montessori Life, 10(2), 22-25.Garcia, E. E. (2007). Bilingual development and the education of bilingual children during early childhood. American ledger of Education, 95(1), 96-121.Krashen, S. (2005). Skyrocketing scores An urban legend. Educational Leadership, 62(4), 37-39.Lu, H.-J. 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