Taiwan promoting local languages through special program

台灣推行特別計畫 推廣本土語言

Education ministry teaches young students languages through immersion


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Education’s K-12 Education Administration is continuing efforts to promote local languages in kindergartens through an integration program.

The MOE highlighted two schools participating in the initiative. Children at the Dabang Elementary School's affiliated kindergarten in Chiayi County have been learning the Tsou language and culture since the 2017 academic year, according to the ministry.

Teachers help students learn their indigenous names, traditional songs, and daily vocabulary, creating a natural language environment.

Meanwhile, Zhubei Elementary School’s affiliated kindergarten in Hsinchu County has participated in the program since the 2006 academic year and has cultivated a Hakka culture-based education. The school uses Hakka to tell stories and sing traditional rhymes, helping children become familiar with the language through interactive experiences.

Students also learn vocabulary and cultural meanings by taking part in traditional Hakka festivals such as the Yimin Festival and Tianchuan Day.

The MOE said the program seeks to familiarize children with local languages from an early age through diverse learning methods, thereby nurturing a sense of identity and belonging to their own culture and heritage. In the 2024 academic year, 314 kindergartens across Taiwan are participating in the initiative.

The ministry added that it will continue encouraging more kindergartens to join the program and help preserve and develop Taiwan’s local languages and cultures.