The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA) held a press conference on February 5, to promote the exciting new Mandarin on-the-Go in Taiwan program, and the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL), and the Test for Children’s Chinese Competency Certification (CCCC).

The Ministry of Education’s newly launched Mandarin on-the-Go in Taiwan program puts participants into interesting real life settings where they can use the language that they’re learning. It integrates exploring aspects of Taiwan’s culture, history, and different social environments, and includes some popular tourist sites.
Chinese Language Centers associated with a number of universities in different parts of Taiwan are offering specially designed study tours, for example: Tamkang University’s “Enjoy Lifestyle in Taipei” – in northern Taiwan; National Changhua University of Education’s “Two-Day Tour Learning Chinese, Traveling Changhua – Temple Culture & Lukang Township” – in central Taiwan; National Sun Yat-sen University’s “Let's Fun Kaohsiung 2 Days + 1 Night” – in southern Taiwan; and Tzu Chi University’s “Hualien Mini Trip –¬ Fun with Chinese” – in eastern Taiwan. International visitors can enjoy these tours, while they learn some Chinese at the same time. Detailed information about the Mandarin on-the-Go in Taiwan program can be found at https://www.mgt.org.tw/en/.

The Education Division of TECO in LA also used the press conference to promote the TOCFL tests it has administered for 12 years now, since 2006, and the CCCC tests it has administered since the pilot testing in Los Angeles in 2008. More than 6,000 students in Southern California and Arizona have already taken at least one of these tests, and this year the Education Division is working with a total of eleven universities, schools, and Chinese schools to conduct 18 official tests. The University of California, Santa Barbara; Barnard Elementary School; the Chinese School of San Marino; Irvine Chinese School; Sunshine Education Center, and Buddha's Light Hsi Lai Chinese School are among those on the list.
Shirley Lee, the principal; Shu Hui Wu, the director; Joanne Cheng, the manager; and three trustees from the Chinese School of San Marino; and May Chen, principal of Sunshine Education Center, attended the press conference to show their support of the TOCFL tests.
Rebecca Lan, Director of the Education Division, told the reporters “TOCFL is Taiwan's standardized Chinese proficiency test. It was developed by researchers and scholars in the fields of linguistics, language teaching, and language testing, under the direction of the Steering Committee for the Test of Proficiency-Huayu (SC-TOP), to formally assess the Chinese language proficiency of non-native speakers. The TOCFL proficiency levels have been carefully designed, taking into consideration the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, and those of the Common European Framework of Reference of Languages (CEFR).
An additional preliminary band has also been developed, to provide a test band that takes into account the actual Chinese teaching situations overseas. There are now four bands: Band Novice, Band A, Band B, and Band C, and each of these bands is subdivided into two levels, making a total of eight levels.
The SC-TOP also designed a separate set of tests for children aged 7 to12, the CCCC, which stands for Children’s Chinese Competency Certification. The CCCC takes into consideration children’s specific cognitive and linguistic development, and it has 3 levels: Sprouting, Seedling, and Blossoming.”
Successful TOCFL examinees receive a certificate and this will put them in good standing if they apply for a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship to study Mandarin in Taiwan. A Band B level pass is an eligibility requirement to apply for a Ministry of Education Taiwan Scholarship to undertake a degree in Taiwan, and also for admission to undergraduate academic programs at colleges and universities in Taiwan. The certificate can also serve as proof of Chinese language proficiency for individuals who are applying for employment with a company where this is a job requirement.
Ms. Tatumn Walter, a USC alumna who passed TOCFL and received a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, spoke at the press conference about how she prepared for the test and her awesome experience of learning Chinese in Taiwan. The mock tests on the SC-TOP website, and “The Ultimate Illustrated Chinese Grammar Guide” and “A Course in Contemporary Chinese”, two book series developed by the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University, are recommended as ways to help examinees prepare.
And for information about the Mandarin on-the-Go in Taiwan program and the Chinese proficiency tests, please contact the Education Division, TECO-LA:losangeles@mail.moe.gov.tw.

Photo:Education Division in LA at a Press Conference to Promote TOCFL and Mandarin on-the-Go in Taiwan.