▎TEACHING & LEARNING

To enhance the international competitiveness of Taiwanese youth, the government approved an ambitious policy to turn Taiwan into an English-Mandarin bilingual nation by 2030. In support of this policy, the Ministry of Education decided to implement a dual-track English instruction approach, aimed to nurture students in professional fields and improve their English abilities at the same time.

As a support institution for the Program on Bilingual Education for Students in College (BEST), NTU established the Center for Bilingual Education (CBE) to promote EMI courses on campus. EMI, an acronym for English as a medium of instruction, is more than translating course materials but involves redesigning the entire curriculum and pedagogy to ensure the students’ learning outcomes. It is not an easy task, but members of CBE are dedicated to helping faculty members design and offer their EMI classes on campus.

CBE invites EMI experts to share their personal experiences and knowledge at EMI Sharing Sessions. After the expert presentations, NTU faculty members have the opportunity for discussion groups, not only to learn from their peers but also encourage them to re-evaluate their methodology and approach to teaching. Invited speakers at the first Sharing Session included Associate Professor Shan-Yun Huang of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Associate Professor Joshua Goh of the Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, and Assistant Professor Sin-Yi Chang of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. They addressed the following topics, “Using Group and Team Building Activities to Improve the Atmosphere in the EMI Academic Classroom,” “Perspectives as an English-educated Person Working in a Chinese Academic Setting,” and “EMI for Whom and for What? Rethinking the Relationship Between Language, Pedagogy, and the Politics of Knowledge.” respectively. All three sessions were well received and appreciated by the participants.

EMI adaptation plays a crucial role in the Bilingual 2030 policy and the future of Taiwanese students. Through CBE’s monthly EMI Sharing Sessions, faculty members can celebrate knowledge sharing and join hands to discover better ways to train the next generation of Taiwan’s global talents.