TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's high school English exams have undergone significant changes to align with new educational guidelines, shifting away from rote memorization toward real-life applications and competency-based learning. This transformation reflects a broader trend in Taiwan's approach to English education.
Cheng Yuan High School (成淵高中) English teacher Li I-hua (李宜樺) notes that while this year's exam questions weren't particularly complex, they emphasized practical application and everyday English usage. Students with strong reading habits generally performed better on these revamped assessments.
The Ministry of Education's (MOE, 教育部) 12-Year Basic Education of Academic Year 108 (108課綱) has prioritized competency-based teaching that focuses on critical thinking. Students are now expected to analyze text and infer authors' intentions rather than simply recall information.
Mao Hsien-ying (毛顯鶯), who teaches at Taipei Municipal Ming Lun High School (明倫高中), has observed increasingly challenging vocabulary in exam sections. Reading passages have also grown longer as the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC, 大學入學考試中心) works to better differentiate student abilities.
English tutor Lin Yang (林揚) recommends that students utilize social platforms like Threads to practice English writing and actively expand their vocabulary through real-world applications. This approach supports the new educational direction.
Educators widely advocate for "reading strategies" to help students move beyond multiple-choice test-taking habits. They encourage broader reading comprehension skills and integration of English into daily life, underscoring Taiwan's growing emphasis on practical language proficiency rather than theoretical knowledge.