TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Education (MOE) is expanding its initiative to teach Taiwanese in preschools through immersive learning as the country struggles to pass on the unwritten language.
The program involves incorporating Taiwanese into everyday activities for youngsters for them to acquire the language in a more authentic and natural way. A total of 227 preschools were enrolled in the program in 2022, up from 10 such institutions in 2016, said the MOE.
From storytelling, field games, and folk festival-themed events, to explorations in riverbank parks, a team from the National Taichung University of Education has resorted to various methods to create an ideal environment for children to hone their Taiwanese skills.
This is part of a nationwide drive to preserve the diverse tongues of Taiwan, including those used by the Indigenous peoples. Data from Taiwan has played a significant role in the development of the world’s first English-Hokkien speech-to-speech translation service by Meta, launched last month.
Children learn Taiwanese. (MOE photo)
