Vietnamese bride Mei-feng married her husband about a year ago, with no knowledge about the culture, history or languages of Taiwan. Thanks to her husband's support, however, she started to learn Chinese two months ago and already she can communicate in simple sentences and write basic Chinese characters.
In an effort to improve the Chinese skills of the 126,361 foreign spouses in Taiwan like Mei-feng, the Ministry of Education (MOE) invited language teachers and linguists to design a Chinese-learning curriculum aimed at foreign spouses.
After publishing the basic-level curriculum last year, the MOE yesterday announced the publication of an advanced-level reading primer for those who have finished the basic course to further increase their vocabulary and communication skills.
Addressing a press conference at the new curriculum's launch, Vice-Minister of Education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) said that the ministry hopes to take good care of foreign spouses and their families through the promotion of education and Taiwanese culture.
"New immigrants in Taiwan are reshaping the culture in Taiwan. It is the ministry's responsibility, therefore, to help foreign spouses understand Taiwan better and learn to speak our language through education, so that they can blend in smoothly," Fan said.
Huang Fu-shun (黃富順), curriculum designer and education professor at National Chung Cheng University, said that while the design of Chinese textbooks for Taiwanese students are based on the level of difficulty, Chinese characters chosen in the reading primers for foreign spouses are all of commonly used words and everyday expressions.
"Chinese characters such as `the restroom' (盥洗室), for example, are considered difficult to write and would be put in fifth or six-grade textbooks. However, we chose the term as one of the 400 basic vocabulary items in the textbooks, because it is a common term used everywhere," Huang said.
According to Huang, the advanced-level curriculum consists of three textbooks covering introductions to the society, geography and cultural aspects in Taiwan.
The textbooks provide practical pieces -- including examples of conversations, press releases and a diary -- for students to practice different styles of writing. Huang said that after learning the total vocabulary of 1,011 words in the textbooks, students will be able to read pamphlets and simple articles with no difficulty.
An Keng Elementary School teacher Lin Hsiu-er (林秀娥), who teaches Chinese to Mei-feng and many other foreign spouses in evening classes, shared her teaching experience.
"My students come from various countries, so the most difficult part is for us to understand each other. But I find it rewarding to teach foreign spouses, because in addition to learning the language, we also learn about their different cultures and customs," Lin said.
Thanks to the systematic new curriculum, Lin said, it is easier for students to learn Chinese phonetic symbols. Students' Chinese vocabulary and language skills would be the same as those of third or fourth graders after approximately two years of study, she said.
Mei-feng goes to Chinese classes every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evening from 6pm to 8pm. She said that learning Chinese is hard yet interesting. With the ambition to finish all the classes with teacher Lin, Mei-feng said she sees the class as a good way to get to understand the history, culture and people of Taiwan, and she encourages more foreign spouses to join her to enjoy the language-learning experience.
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