National Immigration Agency to introduce language programs

This article was published by the Macroview Weekly on January 2, 2008. According to this article, subsidization for language learning programs in various localities will be the primary initiative for the National Immigration Agency (NIA) in Taiwan. This is because the language barrier is the most important factor marring communication between new immigrants and Taiwanese.

An annual fund of NT$300 million has been allocated and placed under the administration of the NIA, to which local governments can apply for establishing language learning programs to help new immigrants learn Mandarin and Taiwanese.

According to NIA officials, the Ministry of the Interior established the Foreign Spouse Care and Counseling Fund in 2005, with a total budget of NT$3 billion over a 10-year period.

The language issue is the biggest challenge for foreign spouses and workers in Taiwan. A recent film, titled “Nyonya's Taste of Life”, tells the stories of two female Indonesian caretakers and a Thai worker in Taiwan. “Once we get to understand and befriend them, we will realize that they are no different to us. Most of the cultural differences and misunderstandings come from the language barrier,” the film's director suggested.

According to NIA officials, another important initiative for 2008 will be after-school tutoring for the children of immigrant families, because some foreign spouses have difficulties counseling their children. This problem also originates from the language barrier.