The Taipei City Government yesterday launched an online learning system for Aboriginal languages in elementary schools, the latest in its effort to encourage the learning of mother tongues, as the city observed International Mother Language Day.
The “Aboriginal Language Long-Distance Learning” system, launched by the city’s Department of Education last month, aims to fill the gap caused by a shortage of teachers of Aboriginal languages in elementary schools.
Chan Yi-tsong (諶亦聰), a section chief at the department, said the system offers online courses in three languages: Atayal, Saisiyat and Puyuma.
More than 10 students in six elementary schools have started to use the system, with the students learning their mother tongues face-to-face with their teachers online.
Of the 43 languages used by Taiwan’s Aborigines, there are only about 60 to 80 teachers available to teach these courses to about 1,700 Aboriginal students in elementary schools in Taipei.
The department would continue to expand the scope of the system and offer courses on 12 Aboriginal languages that are spoken by a smaller number of people, she said.
The Ministry of Education has made mother-tongue education a compulsory subject in elementary school since 2001. Taught once a week, these courses are offered in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), Hakka and Aboriginal languages.
Chan said the city established the system last year and tested the online courses at three schools before launching it last month. She invited elementary schools to apply with the department for the online program.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday joined students of Hakka and Aboriginal ancestry in promoting the importance of mother languages on the UN-declared International Mother Language Day at Taipei Hakka Culture Park. The mayor pledged to dedicate more educational resources to preserving local languages.
“There are more than 6,000 languages around the world, but about 10 languages become extinct every year ... The online learning system for Aboriginal languages is a pioneer system in Taiwan and reflects the city’s dedication in preserving languages and promoting mother tongues,” he said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in