Uncomfortable Topics and Their Appropriateness in Asian EFL Classes

The primary purpose of this paper is to find out if certain topics are embarrassing and not easy for Taiwanese university students to discuss in the EFL classroom. Seventy students, who are English majors and study in the Department of Applied English at Shih Chien University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan were surveyed. The results of the study revealed that there are a number of topics which are uncomfortable for students to talk about. The paper also focuses on the appropriateness of such topics in class. It concludes with a number of suggestions on how to ease students' embarrassment when they have to deal with uncomfortable topics during English classes.The theoretical framework for this article is provided by the general idea of the school as an organization and social institution. (Contains 1 note.)