Taiwan Night - Networking for Progress Evening Held in Boston
A Taiwan Night - Networking for Progress was held in Boston on November 18, 2022, with the support of Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and FICHET, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan. The date was chosen to coincide with the first live annual convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in three years, scheduled from November 18 to 20, which would see thousands of language educators converge to Boston.
The evening was also the first large-scale gathering of Mandarin language educators in the New England region of America since the launch of the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative in 2020. It provided a unique opportunity for educators from Taiwan and educators in the United States to interact, exchange information and ideas, and extend their professional networks.
More than 100 people attended, including 28 representatives of 12 universities and related organizations in Taiwan. The universities included the Chinese Culture University, Fu Jen Catholic University, National Cheng Kung University, National Taiwan Normal University, Shih Chien University, Tamkang University, Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages, and Yuanpei University of Medical Technology.
The U.S. participants included Boston Public Schools personnel, Mandarin language teachers and foreign language directors from elementary and secondary schools in Indiana, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts, and Mandarin language program directors and academic staff from Boston University, Harvard University, Hunter College, Indiana University Bloomington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Williams College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Rhode Island. Three of these—Hunter College, Indiana University Bloomington, and the University of Rhode Island—offer Chinese Language Flagship programs with grants from the National Security Education Program.
The exchanges at the Taiwan Night - Networking for Progress evening between educators from Taiwan and from U.S. educational institutions at all levels will contribute to vibrant future language education cooperation.
