San Francisco, Sept. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to the ever-growing interest in Mandarin language learning for both personal and professional reasons, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) San Francisco office announces a new opportunity for language instruction by Taiwanese teachers in the Bay Area.
The first two such courses are located in the South Bay. Silicon Valley Chinese School takes place at Lynbrook High School in West San Jose for both in-person and virtual instruction (SiliconValleyMandarin.org). A second course for in-person instruction only is at the Growing Tree Learning Center in Saratoga (gtlc-chineselearning.com).
While Mandarin teaching in the U.S. has a long history, its reach has mainly focused on the Taiwanese/Chinese community. Today’s larger audience is mainstream, and the quality of this program’s teachers and teaching methods are widely recognized for a practical approach.
In Taiwan, Mandarin is the official language of its nearly 24 million citizens. More than 1.3 billion people are native speakers of Mandarin, and another 1.12 billion speak Mandarin as a second language.
Americans may consider Taiwan as the most desirable place for international students that want to learn Mandarin Chinese. (Visit StudyInTaiwan.org.) Taiwan is the window to Asia for discovering beautiful places, meeting fascinating people, understanding the world in a whole new way. Via a fully immersive curriculum, American students can master conversation, while also learning to read and write traditional and simplified Chinese characters.”
“Taiwan is an ideal place to learn Mandarin,” said Director General Scott Lai of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco. “Many people would like to learn Mandarin in a free and democratic nation. While access to language instruction in Taiwan has been paused by Covid, this local language instruction is an opportunity that provides a wonderful introduction. In the long run, we hope that more Americans will come to Taiwan to learn the language.”
About Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, San Francisco: TECO- San Francisco is one of 12 offices of Taiwan, ROC in the United States under the Washington D.C.-based Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan's de facto embassy. TECO-SF serves Northern California (above Visalia), Nevada and Utah. For information about Taiwan, visit: taiwanembassy.org
About Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning: Launched in December 2020, the U.S. Taiwan Education Initiative provides a framework for increasing educational exchanges. Beginning in 2021, the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning is a new project under this initiative, with a plan for 15 language learning centers in the U.S. plus three in Europe in UK, Germany, and France. The San Francisco Bay Area has two Mandarin language centers, now expanding their reach beyond the Taiwanese/ Chinese community to the general public.
Media Contact: Yuling Hung | yhung@mofa.gov.tw | Tel: 415-364-5607
