According to articles 3 and 4 of the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), national languages are “the natural languages and sign languages used by the different ethnic groups in Taiwan,” which are all equal and people who use them “shall not be discriminated against or face restrictions.”
Article 18 of the act stipulates that mandatory classes in national languages are to be implemented at all stages of compulsory education over the course of three years, starting with the first year of instruction at the elementary, junior-high and high-school levels through the curriculum of the 12-year education program.
The law was promulgated on Jan. 9 last year, which means that junior-high school programs have entered the second year since the law’s implementation.
Several explanatory meetings and hearings have been held regarding the implementation of the act’s requirements for the 12-year education curriculum.
Many people have expressed their opinions, with a great majority favoring the prompt realization of a regular national language curriculum and addressing the risk that the mother tongue of some groups might not be passed on.
Junior-high school students have had one hour of national language training per week since 2002, and this has been shown to be insufficient. At least two hours per week is needed, with one hour each for Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakka, and the entire class should attend without being divided.
Splitting up classes during Hakka and Hoklo lessons would not be helpful for ethnic integration.
Only a few junior-high schools offer activity class electives, and that is not enough preparation for the mother tongue classes in senior-high school.
The Development of National Languages Act was written to create a robust curriculum to teach mother tongues. Its implementation should be smooth, but it has not been: It is stuck at the Ministry of Education’s curriculum review committee, where the members of the senior-high school task force have hesitated and failed to make a decision.
Their main task should be to review curriculum content to determine if it complies with educational principles and laws and regulations. They must not exceed their authority, and hopefully they will not miss the deadlines stipulated by the act.
Hopefully, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education will understand the law’s reasoning and not arbitrarily distort its meaning or intentionally obstruct the normal development of senior-high school mother tongue education. The curriculum must be formalized as soon as possible in order to fulfill the intent of the law. That would be the only way to provide a fertile environment for mother tongue education.
Social diversity is part of global culture. It helps promote and facilitate ethnic integration, and it is the sign of an advanced nation. Not living up to this standard and instead banning the use of local languages, as is happening in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, would only lead to protests and social unrest.
Taiwan is a developed society, is no longer under one-party rule and has been recognized as such by the international community.
A multilingual and multicultural curriculum would make future generations even more outstanding and given them even greater advantages on the international stage. Hopefully, the education ministry will be willing to accept good advice and follow the letter of the Development of National Languages Act.
Ng Siu-lin is a director of the Northern Taiwan Society and former chairman of the Taiwan Mother Tongue Teachers Association.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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