Bridging bilingual boundaries: Taiwan’s nationwide strategy for EFL transformation

I-Shan Jenny Chen (), Yeu-Ting Liu (), Ryuichi Yorozuya and Shunsuke Uchino
Additional contact information
I-Shan Jenny Chen: National Taipei University of Education
Yeu-Ting Liu: National Taiwan Normal University
Ryuichi Yorozuya: Hokkaido University of Education
Shunsuke Uchino: Hokkaido University of Education

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Taiwan’s nationwide bilingual education initiative aims to integrate English into primary and secondary education while maintaining subject integrity. However, large-scale implementation presents challenges related to administrative constraints, teacher engagement, and balancing content mastery with language development. This study investigates how Taiwan’s bilingual education model navigates these challenges and adapts strategies for effective implementation. Using a nationwide census-based approach, survey data from over 16,000 participants across diverse regions were analyzed to identify key patterns. The findings reveal that while teacher collaboration between subject specialists and English instructors enhances both linguistic and disciplinary learning, institutional barriers and uneven policy execution hinder progress. Strategies such as the Satellite Collaboration Project and cognitive learning approaches have been employed to address these challenges, yet their effectiveness varies by region and school resources. The study underscores the importance of leveraging nationwide census data to refine policy frameworks and ensure adaptive, evidence-based decision-making. These insights contribute to the broader discourse on bilingual education, offering data-driven perspectives on how large-scale EFL initiatives can navigate systemic obstacles and support effective bilingual instruction in K-12 settings.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04867-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04867-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/palcomms/about

DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04867-z

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Palgrave Communications from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().