臺灣為民主法治國家,重大語言政策應有民意與法律基礎,2018年通過之《國家語言發展法》是最佳範例。但政府又於2017年開始推動雙語國家政策,欲將臺灣打造為類似新加坡,以英語為主要語言的國家。本文欲回答的研究問題為:2030雙語政策從2017至2023如何演變,與相關民調結果的互動關係為何,進而提出本文對政策的論點,期能提供學界與政府一個檢討雙語政策目標與操作的動機。首先觀察英語在臺灣近二十年的發展,接著從兩個層面的互動觀察該政策的演變與現狀:一、政策名稱改變的緣由與政策內容的具體化,二、政策發展下各民調所展現出的結果,逐漸從支持轉為質疑。落實雙語政策的主要手段是高等教育中的全英語授課與高中以下雙語教育,因此在民調呈現上也以教師的反應最為顯著。本研究進而針對政策中的爭議議題,尤其是政策願景中的經濟面向,進行網路問卷調查。從1,551人填答的問卷分析中可看出,多數臺灣人認為該政策在教育、語言與經濟的面向上所產生的影響弊大於利。本文呼籲新政府應以民主政治的精神嚴肅看待,重新檢視政策方向。
Taiwan is a democracy with the rule of law. Language policies should thus be based on the will of the people and the law, the National Languages Development Act passed in 2018 being the best example. Yet, the DPP government's Chinese-English bilingual policy since 2017 has aimed to transform Taiwan into a country like Singapore with English as a dominant language. This paper examines how the evolution of the 2030 Bilingual Policy interacted with relevant opinion polls from 2017 to 2023. We first discuss the development of English in Taiwan in recent decades and then show the reasons for changing the policy name and the steady implementation of the policy content, as well as the gradual shift of public opinion from support to apprehension. Additionally, results from an online survey conducted from an economic perspective show most of the participants believed the cons of this policy would outweigh the pros. The new government is well advised to critically re-examine the direction of the policy in the spirit of a true democracy.