Although the Mandarin ability of Taipei elementary school students proved better than expected on a recent test, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"The policy to add more Mandarin classes to the curriculum in elementary schools has to be implemented, and we won't exclude cutting back on English courses if necessary," Ma said yesterday when attending a briefing on an evaluation of the results of a Mandarin Proficiency Test last year.
About 80 percent of the city's students received scores of between 75 and 90 on the 2005 Taipei Elementary School Mandarin Proficiency Test, which was taken by 31,000 six graders. Only 4.5 percent of students received failing grades of below 60.
Taipei Tatung Elementary School Principal Cheng Chin-yi (陳清義), who was in charge of the test, said the result showed no correlation between students' parents' birthplace and Mandarin ability.
Children of foreign spouses did not underperform on the test, although students who lived with their parents received better grades on average.
Although most students received good grades, the essay test revealed weaknesses in writing ability, including a limited use of adjectives, Chen said.
The evaluation of the proficiency test also indicated that the more students watched TV or stayed in front of the computer, the worse they performed on the test.
Ma encouraged parents to be more attentive to their children's Mandarin learning, saying that "Mandarin education should be given a higher priority than English education."
"Teaching English in elementary schools is not to equip students with a great English ability, but to help them become familiar with the language ? Learning Mandarin is helpful to other language learning in the future," he said.
In response to Ma's request to add more Mandarin classes, Taipei City Department of Education Commissioner Wu Ching-ji (
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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