| This study examines the ways in which the discourses about the English language and Taiwan's national development were constructed during Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party administration between May 2000 and March 2006. Framed from the perspective of development, the study draws from human capital theory in comparative and international education, Foucault's notion of discourse, Habermas's notion of the pubic sphere, and English as an international language in language policy and planning. Methodologically, the study was operationalized with a grounded theory approach to textual analysis, particularly open coding, constant comparison, and memoing.;The following research question guided the inquiry: what are the ways in which the English language is portrayed in relation to national development in the Taiwanese central and local governments' press releases, and in the two Chinese newspapers that are published in Taiwan, the United Daily News and the Liberty Times? The findings of this study suggest that a plurality of discourses about the English language and Taiwan's national development exists. The dominant discourses reflect a broad consensus on issues related to English as well as frameworks and agendas that drive resource allocation. The official discourses, constituted by the Taiwanese central government's press releases, suggest a disjuncture between the government's claim on equal promotion of English, Mandarin and other local languages. Lastly, the alternative discourses reveal doubts about the logic of the utility of English as is often assumed in the dominant discourses, as well as the Taiwanese people's periodic ambivalence towards the English language. In sum, this study highlights the existence of diverse viewpoints and voices alongside the dominant discourses, with the goal of enriching national conversations about the role of the English language in Taiwan's development. |
