Taipei City Government

Despite the global COVID-19 outbreak in 2021, the Department of Education (DOE) continues to promote cross-border bilingual teacher training programs and international student exchanges with the help of technology and remote learning. For its effort, the agency received the ANZCham Business Award at the ceremony at Shangri-la’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel on November 16.
 
The ANZCham Business awards honor businesses, organizations, and individuals who contributed significantly to the economic relations among Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. DOE is the first education agency to be recognized by the ANZCham Business Award.
 
To promote bilingual teaching talent incubation, DOE continued its collaboration with Australia’s Education Queensland International to organize an online bilingual teacher training program for a second year. Through the two-week-long program, teachers are able to receive trainings and instruction on bilingual subjects.
 
In addition, through the online remote classrooms, local teachers can bring their students in Taipei on a virtual study-abroad trip, allowing them to interact with children on the other side of the ocean, as well as practicing their English and learning more about the culture of Australia.
 
In the interest of boosting international competitiveness and nurturing a mobile talent pool, DOE published the “Taipei City Bilingual Education Mid- and Long-term Implementation Program” in August. In the 2021 school year, a total of 51 elementary and middle schools have implemented bilingual class programs. Taipei City leads the nation with roughly one-third of the classes on the curriculum taught in a bilingual environment.