The education ministry yesterday said 20,260 foreign spouses nationwide have enrolled in adult education classes to learn Mandarin since September last year, an improvement from 16,000 the year before.
Hsieh Ming-chao (謝明昭), a Department of Social Education official, said the classes were initially designed for illiterate Taiwanese, but since 1999, the number of foreign spouses in the country has been rising and the classes have become an important means of language education for them.
Listening, reading and writing in Mandarin are taught in the classes which take place two to three times a week, Hsieh said. The classes are divided into beginners, intermediate and advanced levels, she added.
The results have been positive and more foreign spouses are learning Mandarin, Hsieh said.
There are currently 1,013 adult education language classes held across the country.
Evening classes, which differ from the adult education classes, are offered at local elementary and junior high schools and teach not only Mandarin, but also math, science and social studies, she said.
Hsieh said that this provided an opportunity for foreign spouses to learn other subjects. The evening classes were designed for the elderly or drop-outs in the past, but most students in the classes are now foreign spouses, she said.
Foreign spouses are officially enrolled in school if they take these evening classes and may receive degrees at the end of their studies, Hsieh said.
Since September last year, 9,446 foreign spouses have enrolled in elementary school evening classes and 804 in junior high ones.
Roughly 23 percent of non-Chinese spouses are enrolled in either language classes or evening school classes.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS