Should Everyone in Taiwan Learn English?
Over the years, government officials and educators have been instilling the importance of learning English in our people. Candidates for public service are required to pass English proficiency tests to prove their competence. Excellent English ability is also a strong advantage in resumes or when employers are considering a pay raise and promotion. It seems all the information are telling us we can’t live in today’s world without using this global language, but I think everyone should give a deep thought about why learn English and find out their personal need.
Indeed, English is the major language in business, politics and tourism all around the world, so knowing English has a lot to do with one’s worldview. And how one perceives the world has impacts on one’s reaction and decision in the society. So it makes sense that more and more employers take job applicants’ English ability into consideration. And since English serves as the medium for people to understand the world today, not only do we need a large number of translators and interpreters in several professional areas, but we should also encourage students and people of all ages to learn English.
However, what really concerns me is that the emphasis on learning English has been carried too far. Is our English ability in proportion to the amount of money, time, and social resources that have been invested in learning it? What’s worse, when school children are forced to learn a foreign language before they can use their mother tongue with confidence and appreciate the beauty of Chinese literature, they may gradually lose the interest in exploring our profound culture. So why do parents send kids to expensive bilingual schools? Besides, from kindergarten and all the way up to university, I always have one or two troubled classmates who speak fluent English but misbehave all the time. Has the focus on teaching kids English distracted parents from teaching kids disciplines?
My high school math teacher is never shy about how bad he did on English in the college entrance exam 30 years ago—he got only eight points. To this day he still has difficulty in pronouncing easy words such as “luggage”. Yet at the same time he’s also proud of the fact that he has traveled all over the globe without knowing much about English, all because he can afford an interpreter. I’m not saying learning English isn’t important by giving this example, but the world today is a complicated collaborative system based upon expertise in different fields and teamwork of all the people. When one’s talent is not in foreign language learning, why conform to what everyone is already doing—learning English?
As an English major, I have to take the required listening, speaking, reading and writing courses. However, if I’m not planning to work with or under people who speak English when I enter the workforce, or if I don’t want to travel to English-speaking countries all my life or make friends from these countries, why do I have to take the oral drill class? And if I’m not going to write a book or publish anything in English (even if I do, I don’t think I’ll sell a copy), why bother working hard on an essay? Still, as a non-native speaker, I’ll never excel native speakers in the study of literatures in English, why am I studying English Literature when Chinese and Taiwanese literature remain strange to me? My point is, language learning should be tailored to everyone’s different need. Instead of enhancing English ability at all levels, everyone needs to find their own niche.
6.26.2009
definition
Prince/Princess Illness
Perhaps seriously influenced by cartoons at the early age, or well-read in comic books and novels, some people today behave with an aura of untrue perfection and confidence, like they are princes or princesses in real life, living in castles they imagine. Underneath these self-proclaimed princes/princesses are people who want to be at the center of the universe, but the result is usually far from what they wish for— everyone keeps his distance from them.
Guys with prince illness are extremely narcissistic. They believe appearance says everything in the chase for the opposite sex, so they do everything they can to be attractive and seductive, like wearing perfume. They’re aware that a sense of humor is the first step to get attention but their tricks really suck. They play sport not only to stay fit but also for girls’ screaming and cheering up. They tend to use some English or foreign words in their daily conversation even if they don’t have excellent linguistic ability. They think women are all into rich guys so they drive fancy cars and wear designer brands but they don’t have any personal style, because they only reproduce an ideal prince image. Since these princes exert themselves to be noticed, they forget to reflect on their inside. And when they can’t live up to the aristocratic life style of a prince, they brag.
Patients of princess illness are also narcissistic and egoistic. They believe they are born to be served and pampered so naturally everyone around them should be their subjects and at their service anytime. Whining, dropping tears, playing weak and helpless are their strategies to get people go their way. To meet the princes of their dreams, princesses need to be versatile. They learn singing, dancing, yoga, cooking, playing pianos, embroidering and all the womanly arts you can think of. It’s understandable these princesses set high expectation for their Mr. Right—maybe someone among Fortune 100—because princesses are so good at so many and their parents have invest so much on them. And since marrying the right one is what they live for, princesses never have real girl friends.
A classmate of mine is a seriously-ill "princess". She always approaches me for a certain purpose: either when she needs a ride or when she needs advice on something. I did help her for the first few times, but soon I realized I was treated like her personal driver without any pay. Whenever I sent her to a place, she would keep me waiting or expect me to be of further help without considering that I had my part-time job to do. I never hesitate in giving people suggestions, yet she always responds to my opinions like her ideas are much better. Once her birthday was around the corner, she wrote down a wish list for we classmates to share the price and send her as gifts. "This is how I celebrate birthday with my royal family," she justified. She claims she has a 30-something wealthy boyfriend, but we all suspect he’s a non-existent dream lover she fabricates.
In spite of their unwelcome personalities, since these princes and princesses of modern times are so "impressive," everyone around them has long been accustomed to the way they are: self-centered, narcissistic and pretentious. We have no more comments on whatever they do that should have aroused criticism. It’s just that they can hardly sustain friendship or relationship, because no one would share inner feelings with princes and princesses who wear masks and take advantage of people all the time.
Perhaps seriously influenced by cartoons at the early age, or well-read in comic books and novels, some people today behave with an aura of untrue perfection and confidence, like they are princes or princesses in real life, living in castles they imagine. Underneath these self-proclaimed princes/princesses are people who want to be at the center of the universe, but the result is usually far from what they wish for— everyone keeps his distance from them.
Guys with prince illness are extremely narcissistic. They believe appearance says everything in the chase for the opposite sex, so they do everything they can to be attractive and seductive, like wearing perfume. They’re aware that a sense of humor is the first step to get attention but their tricks really suck. They play sport not only to stay fit but also for girls’ screaming and cheering up. They tend to use some English or foreign words in their daily conversation even if they don’t have excellent linguistic ability. They think women are all into rich guys so they drive fancy cars and wear designer brands but they don’t have any personal style, because they only reproduce an ideal prince image. Since these princes exert themselves to be noticed, they forget to reflect on their inside. And when they can’t live up to the aristocratic life style of a prince, they brag.
Patients of princess illness are also narcissistic and egoistic. They believe they are born to be served and pampered so naturally everyone around them should be their subjects and at their service anytime. Whining, dropping tears, playing weak and helpless are their strategies to get people go their way. To meet the princes of their dreams, princesses need to be versatile. They learn singing, dancing, yoga, cooking, playing pianos, embroidering and all the womanly arts you can think of. It’s understandable these princesses set high expectation for their Mr. Right—maybe someone among Fortune 100—because princesses are so good at so many and their parents have invest so much on them. And since marrying the right one is what they live for, princesses never have real girl friends.
A classmate of mine is a seriously-ill "princess". She always approaches me for a certain purpose: either when she needs a ride or when she needs advice on something. I did help her for the first few times, but soon I realized I was treated like her personal driver without any pay. Whenever I sent her to a place, she would keep me waiting or expect me to be of further help without considering that I had my part-time job to do. I never hesitate in giving people suggestions, yet she always responds to my opinions like her ideas are much better. Once her birthday was around the corner, she wrote down a wish list for we classmates to share the price and send her as gifts. "This is how I celebrate birthday with my royal family," she justified. She claims she has a 30-something wealthy boyfriend, but we all suspect he’s a non-existent dream lover she fabricates.
In spite of their unwelcome personalities, since these princes and princesses of modern times are so "impressive," everyone around them has long been accustomed to the way they are: self-centered, narcissistic and pretentious. We have no more comments on whatever they do that should have aroused criticism. It’s just that they can hardly sustain friendship or relationship, because no one would share inner feelings with princes and princesses who wear masks and take advantage of people all the time.
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