Scholarship students face mandatory Mandarin test

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 17, 2006. It reports that starting in 2006, foreign students applying for scholarships from the government in Taiwan will be tested on their Mandarin proficiency, in an examination that is similar to the TOEFL taken by Taiwanese students who wish to study in an English-speaking country. The Ministry of Education plans to start the program in 2007.

Currently, local language training centers use their own language proficiency tests to evaluate the level of learning among their students. But the Ministry of Education plans to establish a standardized criteria with the mandatory Mandarin examination. At the early stage of the program, only potential applicants for the Taiwan Scholarship in certain countries will be asked to take the examination, including those from the United States, Russia, India, Japan and Vietnam. Since the finalists for the scholarships will be decided in June 2006, all potential candidates will have to take the examination before then.

The Taiwan Scholarship program is designed to attract foreign students to study Taiwan's culture, language and customs, and to increase their understanding of the nation's development. The scholarships are funded by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association, the National Science Council, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The scholarships are available in six categories. The annual quota for scholarships for Chinese, undergraduate and graduate studies is 300. Meanwhile, diplomatic scholarships are granted to students who are residents of Taiwan's diplomatic allies or of developing countries. The annual quota for this category is about 200.

Currently, a total of 668 Taiwan Scholarship students from 86 countries are studying in Taiwan. The government would like to see the number of foreign students pursuing graduate or undergraduate degrees in Taiwan rise to 5,000 by 2014.

This article provides more details about the mandatory Mandarin examination. For example, the examination is likely to be divided into three levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. The first two categories have two sub-levels, while the advanced level has three. Those foreign students who wish to major in Chinese or related language programs must possess a high language level, while those wanting to undertake undergraduate or graduate studies must pass at least the beginning level. Finally, the examination is likely to last 120 minutes, with 120 multiple-choice questions. It will consist of listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar as well as reading comprehension.