Cheng Cheng-Kei, director of the Education Division, speaking at the Fall Education Seminar

An introductory seminar on Mandarin Education organized by the Seoul Chinese Teachers’ Association was held in Korea on October 23. More than 20 members participated, including Choi Seng Kuang, chair of the Seoul Chinese Teachers’ Association. Cheng Cheng-Kie, the director of the Education Division of the Taipei Mission in Korea, and Wong Jing-Yi, an administrative officer there, were invited to attend. Director Cheng was invited as a guest speaker.  

Director Cheng presented a session on the Current Status and Future of Teaching Mandarin as a Foreign Language in Taiwan. He outlined the overall Mandarin learning environment in Taiwan and the educational resources available. These include Taiwan government scholarships, short-term Mandarin study group programs, the Mandarin Teacher / Teaching Assistant Employment Program, the Taiwan Experience Education Program - TEEP, and a range of online Mandarin learning material. He told the teachers about the online courses that many Taiwanese schools are now providing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he encouraged the Korean teachers to organize Mandarin language study groups with their students and participate in small group online courses. Their students will be able to experience Taiwanese culture through the curriculum and the interaction with the students in Taiwan. 

After his session, Professor Choi Eun Jae, who teaches in the Tourism Chinese and Business Department at Jangan University, presented a session about current issues of Mandarin Learning in Korea. Her session was divided into three parts:1. The Mandarin Learning Crisis, 2. The Future of Mandarin Learning, and 3. The Direction of Mandarin Learning. She analyzed the impact of a current rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in Korean society which is creating student recruitment challenges for the Chinese language departments, and she expressed hope that the session would help find solutions for this barrier to language learning.  

At the end of the seminar, the Association chair, Choi Seng Kuang, thanked the Education Division for the help and support. It has provided to the Association and its members throughout the years.