Courses on native languages of Taiwan run by the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales’ Taiwan Studies Program in collaboration with multiple Taiwanese higher education institutions have attracted hundreds of sign-ups from Europe.
Program director and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) lecturer Liu Chan-yueh (劉展岳) said the courses would be taught via an online learning platform commencing next month.
The platform not only enables foreigners from across the globe to learn about Taiwan, but would also train Taiwanese language teachers to help foreigners learn Taiwan’s native languages as second foreign language, he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
A total of 28 courses would be available, including five on Hoklo, two on Taiwanese Hakka, eight on Taiwanese indigenous languages and 13 on Taiwanese Mandarin, Liu said.
Hoklo courses received the most sign-ups with 223 students, while Taiwanese indigenous language courses were selected by 120 students, he said.
Most students are from European nations, including France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Latvia and Portugal, totaling 465 people, Liu said.
Most students expect to learn more about Taiwan through learning its various languages, while many overseas Taiwanese are seeking to deepen their ties with Taiwan through language learning, he said.
Taiwan’s diversity of languages and cultures is its edge and should be leveraged to connect the international community with contemporary Taiwan, he added.
Taiwan’s experience and fruitful outcomes in reviving its languages can also be shared with the world, Liu said, adding the mindset of “who would be interested?” should be changed when it comes to learning Taiwan’s languages.
The real question is how to provide space and motivate foreign people to learn the languages of Taiwan, he said, urging the government to bolster the external development of various languages by planning schemes and funding.
Partnering institutions include National Taiwan Normal University, National Kaohsiung Normal University, National Pingtung University, National Chengchi University, National Central University, National Taichung University of Education, National Cheng Kung University, and the Indigenous Languages Research and Development Foundation.
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