Junior High Exam English Listening Test Features Four Speakers for the First Time, Simulating News Interview

The English listening section of the Junior High School Comprehensive Assessment Program for the first time featured a question with four speakers, simulating a news street interview scenario. Teachers analyzing the test noted that while more speakers increase difficulty compared to the usual two-person dialogues, the distinct male and female voices in the question made it manageable. The Ministry of Education today invited teachers Hsu Hsiu-min from Qingxi Junior High School in Taoyuan and Chuang Hsiao-yun from Zhongxiao Junior High School in Tainan to analyze the English test questions for the 115th year of the exam. The English test is divided into separate reading and listening sections, but the scores are calculated together. Hsu Hsiu-min pointed out that this year's English test maintained a 'moderately difficult' level, emphasizing natural language use in context and testing core competencies such as analysis, synthesis, critical thinking, inference, information comparison, and converting between text and graphics. A particularly notable feature was question 21 in the listening section, the first time four speakers appeared in a single question. Hsu Hsiu-min stated that more speakers can be confusing, but fortunately, the scenario involved a female news anchor reporting on a railway undergrounding project and interviewing three citizens on the street. The sound effects and the anchor's tone clearly conveyed that it was a news report. Hsu Hsiu-min analyzed that the first interviewee was an older male, the second a female, and the third a young male. The differences in their voices were significant, so students should have been able to distinguish them clearly. This type of material is close to real-life experience and creates a clear context through clever design. Reading questions 35 to 39 used two texts by different authors on the 'survival of the Icelandic language.' Chuang Hsiao-yun noted that one author believed English, as a dominant language in globalization, has endangered Icelandic, while the other was more optimistic, believing that revitalization is possible through government funding, school education, and the introduction of technology products. Chuang Hsiao-yun stated that this question set required understanding the different stances of the two authors and extracting common information, making it more difficult. The choice of material conveyed the concept of multiculturalism, leading students to consider the impact of dominant cultures on local ones. Additionally, this year's English test also incorporated the issue of cyberbullying, describing a girl who was being cyberbullied. When a male friend asked if she wanted to fight back, she chose to take care of herself first, frankly saying, 'Only the words of people who truly love me can hurt me.' Hsu Hsiu-min believes this question has a profound purpose, guiding students to think about how to face online malice and external attacks calmly, 'love themselves,' and maintain firm values.