IELTS scores in Taiwan rank 17th in the World

August 2007

It seemed like devastating news: seventeenth out of twenty; behind all other Asian competitors, including Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong; with a score of 5.62 on a scale of 1 to 9.

But Stephen Krashen, writing in the China Post, checked the numbers carefully. According to him, the statistical difference between Taiwan's average score and the average scores of several other countries is not significant, meaning that Taiwan could, in all probability, be further up the list.

Furthermore, if we took out those countries in which English is used officially or semi-officially, Taiwan again would move higher up the list.

And here's what a student of mine told me: A lot more people take the exam here in Taiwan, good and bad; whereas in places like Vietnam, only the best enter.

But when we consider the investment that has gone into English teaching in this country, we have to wonder what is going on. And Taiwan coming in behind Japan, a country famous for its bad English, is really humiliating.

Paul