Mandarin Education Enhancement Program
- Schedule: January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2025
- Strategy
- Have comprehensive review & promotion coordination mechanisms
- Refine language proficiency descriptors & assessment
- Enhance access to Mandarin education in North America & Europe
- Support high-quality Mandarin teacher training
- Integrate & further develop digital teaching & learning resources
- Establish more Mandarin learning centers overseas
- Implementation Strategies
1. Have comprehensive review & promotion coordination mechanisms
The Ministry of Education (MOE) has designated a unit which is responsible for overall promotion of the Program. MOE agencies and agencies of other ministries meet regularly to jointly review Program matters, and when necessary, coordinate promotion activities. Program matters include providing access to an extremely wide range of Mandarin education resources, and links with Phase 2 of Taiwan’s Higher Education SPROUT Project.
2. Refine language proficiency descriptors & assessment
The MOE commissioned the National Academy for Educational Research to formulate guidelines for using the Taiwan Benchmarks for the Chinese Language, as a useful reference for teachers. It also commissioned the Steering Committee for the Test Of Proficiency-Huayu to revise the TOCFL—Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language—proficiency tests. TOCFL 2.0, which was released in early 2023, incorporates more CAT testing and its proficiency level descriptors are aligned with those of other international proficiency tests.
3. Enhance access to Mandarin education in North America & Europe
The MOE is encouraging universities in Taiwan to collaborate with universities in North America and in Europe to implement the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program. In addition, subsidies are available for university language centers in Taiwan to provide state-of-the-art facilities & teaching to attract universities in North America and Europe to send more students studying Mandarin to Taiwan for language immersion and exchange visits.
4. Support high-quality Mandarin teacher training
The MOE has developed competency indicators to assist the training of high-quality accredited teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language who can teach Mandarin overseas. It also invited experts to design mechanisms to integrate the evaluation of key aspects of the associated teacher training: academic courses, practical education training, assessment, and practice teaching.
5. Integrate & further develop digital teaching & learning resources
A central platform provides one-stop access to the Mandarin education resources of the Taiwan Mandarin Educational Resources Center, Huayuworld, and COOL Chinese websites. In addition, subsidies are available for universities in Taiwan to continue developing a wide range of innovative online Mandarin courses to cater to learners all over the world.
6. Establish more Mandarin education centers overseas
The MOE’s Taiwan Huayu BEST Program provides subsidies for universities in Taiwan to set up Mandarin education centers in universities in North America and in Europe. The centers offer a variety of activities, including professional development courses and workshops for Mandarin teachers, and TOCFL language proficiency testing. As well as serving Mandarin learners and educators, the centers serve as bases for Taiwan to promote Mandarin education.