英语时差：台湾地区雅思成绩亚洲第17

Taiwanese people's English ability ranked 17th among the 20 countries with the most test-takers, according to statistics taken from 2006 test scores on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

The average IELTS score in Taiwan lags behind that of Japan and Korea-whose English-language environments and backgrounds are similar to Taiwan's-and also placed lower than Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand.

The IELTS is designed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. The test consists of questions on listening, reading, writing and oral comprehension, with scores ranging on a scale from 1 to 9.

Iain Mackie, the student services manager at the British Council, said the language learning in Taiwan has placed a particular emphasis on tests, often ignoring communication skills and opinion exchanges.

"People are afraid to speak English because they worried about making mistakes," he said.

With the trend of globalization, English has become the first language of international enterprises, said Chiu Wen-jen, the marketing director of 104 Job Bank.

Chiu indicated that Taiwan's English proficiency has been declining in recent years, while the demand for English ability in the job market has increased year by year.

According to 104's statistics about job opportunities, nearly 50 percent of jobs require workers' English ability to meet a certain standard. The high-tech industries, in particular, make English ability an essential condition of employment.