Class dismissed: Brougham leaves enduring legacy on Taiwan

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) American educator Doris Brougham, who founded of the popular English education magazine Studio Classroom and dedicated her life to English teaching in Taiwan, died Tuesday at the age of 98 but her legacy will live on among many Taiwanese.

Brougham died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome at MacKay Memorial Hospital Tamsui Branch, according to a statement by Overseas Radio and Television (ORTV) on Wednesday.

She has chosen Merryden cemetery in New Taipei's Jinshan District overlooking ORTV, which Brougham founded in 1960, as her final resting place, according to the statement.

A former Christian missionary, Brougham, better known in Taiwan by her Chinese name Peng Meng-hui (彭蒙惠), left her hometown Seattle 76 years ago to go to China, said ORTV Chairman Simon Hung (洪善群) in a statement.

ORTV is the publisher of Studio Classroom, which Brougham launched in 1962.

In a statement Wednesday, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) thanked Brougham for dedicating herself to Taiwan and lauded her as a "respected educator."

"Studio Classroom has been part of the collective memory among Taiwanese through generations," Lai said.

Lai thanked Brougham for "resolutely speaking up for Taiwan" in the international community for decades and being a "force for good" for society.

In an interview with CNA in 2023, Brougham said she saw a desperate need to improve English education in Taiwan, which motivated her to start Studio Classroom.

The publication started life as a single-page lesson sheet with an accompanying radio program and was later expanded into a magazine.

In 1981, she founded another hugely successful English-teaching magazine "Let's Talk In English," a magazine designed to help learners improve their English conversation skills.

Today, the two magazines are fixtures of Taiwan's collective memory, in part because teachers have used them as supplementary teaching materials to help students get better grades.

Though Brougham was mainly known as an educator, she was equally passionate about music and was an excellent trumpet player.

"I like music better than English," Brougham told CNA last year. "Words are what we say, but music is a language of the soul."

In 1963, Brougham formed the Heavenly Melody choir -- a choir consisting of Christian members -- beginning another important chapter of her career.

"We've been to 34 countries, and every time we go there, we represent Taiwan," Brougham said.

For her many achievements in Taiwan, Brougham was given citizenship in May 2023, and then-President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) later visited Brougham in person at ORTV's headquarters in Dazhi, Taipei, to present Brougham with her Taiwan passport.

On Wednesday, Tsai thanked Brougham for always bringing her "warmth and encouragement" during times of difficulty and challenges.

"Doris Brougham, Taiwan will always be your home. Although you have left us and your beloved Taiwan, I believe you have fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept your faith," Tsai wrote in a Facebook post.

Deeply rooted in the Christian faith, Brougham credited her life's work to God.

"I was just here to serve because God led me here. I just thought about doing that each day," Brougham told CNA last year. "Then days became months and then years, and wow, here I am 72 years later!"

Brougham said she had not thought about leaving Taiwan, even when boyfriends wanted to marry her and take her back to the United States.

"I already committed my life here. I don't want to go back and forth," Brougham said, professing her love for Taiwan, even if it is relatively small.

"Precious things like a diamond are very small," Brougham said. "Taiwan can be like a shining diamond. We don't have to be big."

On Wednesday, many in Taiwan mourned Brougham's death.

Chen Chao-ming (陳超明), chair professor with Chihlee University of Technology's Department of Applied English, told CNA that he built up his English proficiency by listening to Brougham's radio broadcast.

He noted that Brougham emphasized the practical use of English, different from Taiwan's traditional education system that focuses on grammar, sentence structure, and translation.

Brougham stressed the importance of learning English through everyday life, culture, art and science, and this approach had a significant impact on language education in Taiwan, Chen said.