Directions Governing Elementary and Junior High Schools Setting up Elective Courses on Languages of New Residents
Announced Date：2018-06-27
These Directions have been formulated by the K-12 Education Administration of the Ministry of Education (hereunder referred to as the “K-12 Education Administration”) to safeguard students' rights to select new residents’ languages to learn, and to assist elementary and junior high schools (hereunder also referred to as “schools” or a “school”) to offer new residents’ languages courses, in accordance with the 12-Year Basic Education General Curriculum Guidelines for Elementary School Level and Junior High School Level.
Article 2.
The term "new residents’ languages" used in these Directions refers to the official languages of the seven countries Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Malaysia: Vietnamese, Bahasa Indonesian, Thai, Burmese, Khmer, Filipino, and Malay.
Article 3.
Elementary school students in each grade from grade 1 to grade 6 shall freely select one language to learn from the following four choices in the Native Language category: Minnan, Hakka, an indigenous language, or a new residents’ language. Junior high school students shall freely select one language elective course from the same four choices, based on their own preference, and in principle, students will be encouraged to continue learning the same particular language.
If a student needs to learn a different language, they shall continue learning the language they originally selected for one year or more and may then learn a different language.
Article 4.
Before May 31 each year, each elementary school shall organize a survey of its current students in all grades from grade 1 to grade, and each junior high school shall organize a survey of its current students in grade 7 and in grade 8 to determine which, if any, language in the new residents’ language category each student wants to learn the next school year. Each school shall also organize such a survey of its new students when they report to the school, to use as the basis for offering new residents’ language elective courses.
When a school is organizing the surveys referred to in the preceding paragraph, it shall design a form to give to each student to fill out and return to the school after the student’s parents have signed the completed form, giving their consent.
Article 5.
Each elementary school shall offer new residents’ language classes in accordance with the results of the survey referred to in Article 4, Paragraph 1, and the classes shall be held weekly in the time allocated for the Language Arts category, during official school hours, at some time between the first session and the seventh session. An elementary school may, in accordance with its available resources, separately consider making use of flexible scheduling, or early morning or after-school activity times to provide additional sessions for teaching new residents’ languages.
Each junior high school shall offer new residents’ language elective courses or related club activities in accordance with the results of the survey referred to in Article 4, Paragraph 1, and the school may give priority to offering new residents’ language courses as Language Arts category subjects or as flexible learning courses.
If a school offering new residents’ language courses has difficulty scheduling a course or employing a teacher, the school may, on a case by case basis, report the situation to its competent authority conduct, and if it approval is then given, hold the classes for that course outside the normal school hours between the first session and the seventh session.
Article 6.
A school which is offering new residents’ language courses shall fully respect the students' and parents' right to choose any new residents’ language, and it shall inform students' parents which courses are being offered.
Each school may look at how many students selected each new residents’ language course and the students’ current learning levels, and then combine students from different homeroom classes or of different ages, to form classes for students to learn the language they selected, without being subject to the usual restrictions that govern forming classes or grades, and in principle, language class groups will be formed so that all students are at the same stage of the course. The number of students in a class is not permitted to exceed any maximum stipulated in the provisions of the Regulations Governing the Formation of Classes and Number of Teachers and Other Staff at Elementary and Junior High Schools. In principle, all homeroom classes shall have their new residents’ language electives scheduled at the same time in order to accommodate students’ choices of new residents’ language elective courses.
Regarding the number of students referred to in the previous paragraph, if the total number of students in any one grade who select the same language course is fifteen or less, students from different homeroom classes shall be put together for their new residents’ language classes.
Article 7.
The school shall offer any language in the new residents’ language category which its elementary school students select as an elective, to ensure students' rights to learn. If, however, the school has genuine difficulty employing a teacher and as a result it is unable to run a language course for which there is a demand, it may provide a long-distance live broadcast course for that language, or it may make adjustment to the course in an appropriate manner, after fully communicating and coordinating with the parents involved.
Article 8.
Within the first two weeks after the start of the first semester of each school year, each school shall submit precise details of the numbers of students who selected each of its elective new residents’ language courses and which elective courses the school is offering (including details of how many new residents’ language teachers have corresponding language teaching certifications) to the K-12 Education Administration’s Elementary and Junior High School Teaching and Other Staff Human Resources Network, and by September 30, each education bureau (department) shall complete its review of the online data submitted by the schools.
The forms used to survey the course selections of the school’s students shall be kept for one year for reference.
Article 9.
Each education bureau (department) shall actively organize practical teaching skills training, and recurrent education for people who work as support staff for the teaching of new residents’ language courses, and set up a human resources database of teachers for new residents’ language education for its special municipality or city (county). It shall also employ engage the services of support staff for teaching new residents’ languages, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of the Primary and Junior High School Act and of the relevant provisions of the Regulations Governing the Employment of Supporting Teaching Personnel at Elementary and Junior High Schools, to meet schools’ requirements for teachers.
Each education bureau (department) shall actively investigate possible measures to provide assistance to the schools under its jurisdiction when the teachers of new residents’ languages available to meet a school’s requirements.
Article 10.
To put in place and promote new residents’ language education, each education bureau (department) shall visit schools on a regular or irregular basis and inspect the range of elective new residents’ language classes being provided and the effectiveness of the implementation. Education bureaus (departments) shall give awards to schools that have handled the implementation well and achieved excellent results.
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