Developing "Lo-Fi" Language Learning's Living Lab: A Context of Designing Creative English Curriculum for Taiwan's EFL System

Abstract

The Taiwanese National Development Council’s recent “Blueprint for Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030” encouraged further development of Taiwan’s English language learning fields to promote English fluency in students However the timeline given by the Blueprint has been met with skepticism Multiple studies show that Taiwanese students’ English proficiencies in speaking/listening significantly lag behind reading/writing This could be partly attributed to the disconnect between academic English material and conversational English Studies also show that common user feedback towards EFL (English as a Foreign Language) curricula describes the material skewed strongly towards reading/writing specifically for the American business world If the country expects graduates to communicate comfortably beyond boardrooms it’s going to require a more culturally and creatively minded approach from curriculum designers toward building speaking and listening proficiency This thesis will follow EFL teaching startup Lo-Fi Language Learning’s hip-hop-based linguistic approach to designing curriculum aimed at addressing perceived language skill gaps in Taiwanese Elementary aged students The study designed for this thesis evaluates the concept prototyping and user/stakeholder investigation of Lo-Fi’s curriculum design by drawing qualitative data from/about its process in order to discuss its merits as a model for future curriculum designers in Taiwanese EFL industries The goal of this research is to map out users/stakeholders key design elements and the applicability of the Living Lab methodology in a curriculum design setting

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English
Supervisor	Hsiao-Ling Chung (Supervisor)