|
Taiwan Church News 3048 Edition July 26~August 1, 2010
First-ever nationwide Taiwanese certification draws large crowds
Reported by Tan Hui-siok Written by Lydia Ma Photo provided by Center for Taiwanese Language Testing
The only center in Taiwan that administers certification for Taiwanese language proficiency staged its first testing session open to the public on July 24, 2010.
National Cheng-Kung University’s Center for Taiwanese Language Testing received more than 1,000 applications from people across Taiwan interested in taking this proficiency exam and proving their Taiwanese skills.
This test was open to anyone above 16 years of age and held at various universities in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. Test-takers included those interested in Taiwanese language, teachers, foreign brides, and some foreign missionaries. Test results will be available in October.
The center had been sought by Chiayi, Pingtung, and Tainan city and county governments last year to provide certification for high school and elementary school teachers and a testing session was arranged a few months ago for teachers exclusively.
The testing sessions held this time around were open to the general public and a few local governments even announced ahead of time that they would recognize this certification program, prompting many people to register for the test.
According to the center’s director, Wi-Vun Taiffalo Chiung, the center has been working hard toward promoting Taiwanese language certification, securing recognition of this certification from local governments, and providing testing services to those who need it.
Based on the score applicants receive on their test, they will be certified as possessing a basic, beginner, intermediate, intermediate-advanced, advanced, or professional command of Taiwanese language. The test includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing components.
Rev. David Alexander, an US missionary who has lived in Taiwan for about 30 years and currently serves atTainan Theological College and Seminary, was among those who took the test. He strongly encouraged Taiwanese people to get certified.
Rev. Alexander speaks Taiwanese fluently and reported that he had breezed through the listening comprehension and speaking components of this test. But the writing and reading components were more challenging for him because reading and writing Chinese characters required more effort and time.
Besides offering mass certification, Chiung said his center was also working on developing online testing services so that Taiwanese living overseas could also get certified. He hoped his center could become a trailblazer in Taiwanese certification programs and an internationally accredited institution for Taiwanese certification.
|
