English benchmark policy for graduation in taiwan’s higher education: Investigation and reflection

Abstract

Encouraged by the Ministry of Education (MOE), an increasing number of universities and colleges in Taiwan have started to set their own English benchmarks for graduation using external standardized language tests as exit exams. The present study investigated and reflected on the implementation of this policy at two technological universities in Taiwan by answering two research questions: (1) How did college administrators, teachers and students perceive the policy? (2) What washback effects did the English graduation benchmark policy bring about? A mixed-methods approach was adopted for the study. The results show that although there was a social consensus about the implementation of the policy, the policy did not seem to have achieved what the MOE had expected due to its limited and weak washback on teaching and learning. It is suggested that the English graduation requirements might have to be modified in the subsequent policies for more meaningful and practical results.