The National Academy of Civil Service is next month to include English as part of the mandatory training for civil servants, with an estimated 10,000 people expected to receive lessons each year.
Hao Pei-chih (郝培芝), head of the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission, who also heads the academy, on Thursday said that to comply with the government’s bilingual education policy, the academy has created English-related training programs to prepare civil servants.
The training programs include an all-English course focused on globalization livestreamed on the academy’s Facebook page every Thursday evening, as well as weekend workshops on topics such as giving presentations, hosting foreign guests, attending meetings and writing letters, Hao said.
There would also be opportunities for medium to high-level officials and high-potential talent to participate in overseas workshops or internships, Hao added.
Starting from Nov. 30th, additional changes would be made to meet the government’s goal of making Taiwan a bilingual nation by 2030, such as incorporating English into each link of the civil servant training program and introducing immersive situational exercises based on business tasks, she said.
The academy would also collaborate with other agencies on a series of online courses, which would include English-language news, daily English practice related to government tasks and lectures hosted by professional native English-speaking teachers, she said.
Examination Yuan President Huang Jung-tsun (黃榮村) said that improving civil servants’ English proficiency is a must in national development, and also a priority when the branch devises polices.
For someone to improve their English proficiency takes time, and education institutions should use the limited available training hours to teach students how to utilize a wide range of resources for self-learning, Huang said, adding that reading English-language newspapers and taking advantage of learning tools, such as apps, are helpful.
The Examination Yuan is responsible for administering national civil servant exams and appointing, training and protecting the rights of civil service personnel.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS