Why the preference for Mandarin or English over learning a "mother tongue"? This has to do with the perception of languages in our society.
An important factor in mastering a language is for learners to consider the language they are learning "useful." This is why English is so popular: it is regarded as useful. The reason for the lack of success in the promotion of mother tongue education is that many people do not regard these languages as useful. After all, they are not part of school entrance and civil service examinations, nor are they valuable in the employment market.
Therefore, unless the status of local languages spoken in Taiwan are raised to the same level as Mandarin, they will be regarded as less useful. The motivation for learning and teaching these languages will, therefore, be rather limited.
Of course, the responsibility for promoting local language learning does not only lie with the Ministry of Education. It is the job for people all over the country. But for this to work, the right kind of environment has to be established.
What needs to be done is to upgrade the status of local languages. Students should be allowed to choose their own languages when receiving education, taking national examinations and engaging in business. Mandarin would then no longer the only official language at schools and public organizations.
For national examinations, Aborigines who benefit from weighted grades based on their ethnic identity, should have to pass a language test in their "mother tongue." By implementing measures such as this, local languages will again be regarded as "useful" and students will be motivated to learn them.
The measures that should be put in place may be complicated, but they could be put into practice one step at a time. Only by establishing a better system can the promotion of mother tongues proceed more smoothly.
We look forward to seeing Taiwan become a nation where all local languages are retained intact and its many and varied cultures perpetuated.
Chi Chun-chieh is an associate professor at the Institute of Ethnic Relations at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien.
RSS