Abstract
Curriculum is not only a product of political and sociocultural negotiation but also a projection of the imaginary of an ideal society because it aims to educate students into citizens in an imaginary future world. The global spread of English in the past century has greatly impacted the curriculum in non-English-speaking countries. This study examines the roles of English in the curriculum imaginaries using a historical analysis of English curriculum standards and documents in Taiwan. Findings show that the roles of English in the curriculum have changed from a foreign elite language to an international, scientific, and communicative medium for global sustainable development. The evolvement of English in the curriculum suggests a trend of incorporating English as basic literacy as secondary schools gradually changed from elite to mass education. However, changes in the curriculum imaginaries have not been reflected in the total required weekly teaching hours of English in high school, junior high school, and elementary schools under different curriculum standards. Adjustments in policies are needed to bring the imaginaries closer to reality.
摘要
課程不只是政治權力社會文化協商下之產物，它也投射出對未來理想社會的想像，因為課程目標是教育學生成為想像中未來世界的公民。在過去一個世紀裡，非英語系國家之英語課程由於全球英語擴散而有極大改變。本研究透過分析教育部教育年鑑、歷年課程標準及綱要來探討百年來課程中英語角色定位之轉變及必修節數之變化。結果發現英語定位從外語逐漸轉變為國際科學語言，最**則是全球永續發展之溝通媒介；中等教育歷經九年義務教育及十二年國教政策，逐漸從過去菁英教育轉變為普羅教育，伴隨此過程英語在課程中也從學術語言轉化為基本公民素養能力，然而百年來英語文在各學習階段之必修節數並未增加，表示雖然英語文能力重要性增加，國民教育所提供之教學時數似乎沒有改變，因此建議政府應思考如何讓現實更接**課程綱要所投射之未來想像。
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Data Availability
1. The Annual Education Reports are available at https://history.moe.gov.tw/
2. The curriculum frameworks in the twenty-first century can be accessed at https://www.k12ea.gov.tw/
3. Digitalized files of historical curriculum standards are available upon request.
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This study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST109-2410-H -155–036.
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Ke, IC. English as a School Subject: A Historical Analysis of English Curriculum Standards in Taiwan. English Teaching & Learning (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-022-00135-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-022-00135-4